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Minty and the Cavalry.

A HISTORY

OF

CAVALRY CAMPAIGNS

IN THE

WESTERN ARMIES.

By JOSEPH G. VALE,
Of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, late Captain Seventh Pennsylvania
Cavalry ; Inspector First Brigade, Second Division
Cavalry, Army of the Cumberland

HARRISBURG, PA.:
EDWIN K. MEYERS, PRINTER AND BINDER.
1886.

ENTERED ACCORDING TO THE ACT OF CONGRESS THE 29TH DAY OF MARCH, I8SG,
BY JOSEPH Q VALE, OF CARLISLE, PA.,
IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON, u C.

Electrotyped by
Edwin K. Meyers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Page.
Preface,  xi-xiii
General D. S. Stanley, Life and Military Services,  xv-xxxi
CHAPTER I.
Introduction,  . . . 1-6
CHAPTER II.
History of the Fourth United States (Regular) Cavalry from the
Outbreak of the Rebellion to the Organization of the First Bri
gade, Second Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland,  7-13
CHAPTER III.
The Fourth Cavalry Continued — Operations against Columbus,
Kentucky — Battle of Fort Donaldson — Battle of Pittsburg Land
ing,  14-20
CHAPTER IV.
Fourth Cavalry Continued — Operations During the Siege of Corinth
— Pursuit of the Rebel Forces — Destruction of the Mobile and
Ohio Railroad — General Granger's Report — Operations in Mid
dle Tennessee and Kentucky — Attached to Minty's Brigade,. . . '21-29
^ CHAPTER V.
• September, 1861, to March, 1862.
The Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry — Organization — Departure for
Louisville, Kentucky — In Camp at Jeffersonville, Indiana — Off
to the Front — In Camp at Bardstown — The Military Situation —
March to Bowling Green — Description — March to Nashville,
Tennessee — In Camp at Nashville— Incidents,  30-48
CHAPTER VI.
From March 22 to Mat 6, 1862.
First Battalion at Columbus, Second at Nashville, and Third at
Murfreesboro' — Rebel Rising in Nashville —Fight at Pulaski —
Fight at Shelbyville — Battle of Lebanon — Incidents, &c,  49-66
(iii)

iv Minty and the Cavalry.
CHAPTER VII.
Mat 7 to November 15, 1862. Page.
Scouting and Picketing — Negley's Advance on Chattanooga —
Sweden's Cove — Forrest Captures Murfreesboro' — Dumont's
Advance to Pikeville— Captain Davis Captured — Readyville—
Forrest's Demonstration against Nashville — Stampede of Com
pany K — Nelson's Advance on Sparta — Capture of McMinn-
ville — Movements of Rebel and Union Armies — Battle of Gala-
tin — Comments — Bragg Invades Kentucky — Bear Wallow —
Perry ville — Siege of Nashville— Battle of Lavergne,  65-95
CHAPTER VIII.
The Fourth Michigan Cavalry.
Organization — Arrival at Louisville, Kentucky — Pursuit of Bragg —
Battle of Stanford, Kentucky — Defeat of Morgan at Lebanon —
Capture of Captain Abeel — Battle of Franklin, Tennessee  96-104
CHAPTER IX.
December, 1862, to January 31, 1863.
Military Situation — Cavalry Organization — Advance on Murfrees
boro' — Battle of Lavergne — Battle of Stone's River — Battle at
Jefferson Bridge — Fight Near Lawrence — Fight Near Overalls'
Creek— Battle Near Wilkinson Pike — Great Cavalry Battle on
December 31 — General Stanley's Charge Against the Rebel
Left — Minty Defeats Wheeler — Advance to Wilkinson Cross
road—Retreat of Bragg — Pursuit of the Enemy — Fight on Man
chester Pike — Battle at Beech Grove — In Camp at Murfrees
boro'— Officers and Men Honorably Mentioned— Incidents,  105-123
CHAPTER X.
February to March 14, 1863.
Rebel Advance on Donaldson — Movements to Intercept — Fight at
Rover and Unionville — General Jeff. C. Davis' Advance To
ward Donaldson,  121 113
CHAPTER XI.
March 15 to June 21, 1863.
Expedition to Milton— Fight on Shelbyville Pike— Sharpened
Sabers— Fourth United States at Franklin— Scout to Liberty-
Battle of Snow- Hill— Capture of McMinnville— Fight at Mid-
dleton — Expedition Against Morgan at Alexandria,  144-167

Table of Contents.
CHAPTER XII.
June 23 to July 30, 1863.

Page

Advance of the Army on Tullahoma — Battle of Shelbyville —
Great Charge of Captain C. C. Davis — Battle Near Scull Creek
Bridge — Incidents— Fight on Manchester Road — Capture of Tul
lahoma, — Gallant Conduct of the Second Brigade at Elk River —
Some Lesser Foes,  168-192
CHAPTER XIII.
July 6, 1863, to August 17, 1863.
The Army Concentrated Along the Tennessee River — Topography
of the Country — Minty Scouting on the Right — Moves to the
Left — McMinnville Occupied — Incidents — Fight with Dibrell at
Sparta,  193-204
CHAPTER XIV,
From August 17 to September 3, 1863.
Battle of Sparta — Occupation of Pikeville — Walden's Ridge — In
cidents — Fight Near Smith's Cross-roads — Loyal Uprising —
Picketing the Tennessee River — Fight Near Ringgold, Georgia —
Advance on Lee and Gordon's Mills — Fighting in the Pea Vine
Valley — Information of Rebel Movements and Intentions Fur
nished — Camped at Reed's Bridge, on the Chickamauga,  205-220
CHAPTER XV.
From September 17 to October 1, 1863.
Battle of Chickamauga— Description of the Field — Position of the
Armies — Minty's Battle of Reed's Bridge — Frustrates Bragg's
Plan— Repulse of the Enemy — Battle of the 19th— The Right
Wing Broken on the 20th — Minty's Fight on 21st at Mission
Mills — Battle at Rossville Gap on 23d — Guarding the Tennessee
River from 24th to October 1st,  221-242
CHAPTER XVI.
From October 4 to November 17, 1863.
Wheeler's Raid — Fight at Cottonport — Battle Near McMinnville —
Battle Near Farmington — Minty Under Arrest — Defeat of
Wheeler at Sugar Creek, Alabama — Colonel Low in Com
mand — First and Third Brigades Consolidated — First Brigade
Dismounted — Re-enlist as Veterans — Fourth United States in
North Mississippi— Battle of West Point, Alabama,  243-259

yj Minty and the Cavalry.
CHAPTER XVII.
November, 1863, to April, 1864
The Fourth Michigan with Second Brigade— In Front of Chatta

Page.

nooga— Major Gray's Battalion— Lieutenant Hudson's Detach
ment— Head-quarters at Huntsville— Colonel Minty Acquitted,
After Trial, Fully Vindicated— Resumes Command— Campaign
Reviewed— Summary of Results— Major Lawton's Expedition
Up the Red River— The "Horse Marines,"  260-271

CHAPTER XVIII.
1864— From April 2 to May 27.
Opening of the Campaign — Military Situation — Organization of
Cavalry— March to Villinou, Georgia— Battle of Aumuchee
Creek— Rome— The " Sand-flies "—Battle of Kingston— Ten-
mile Gallop— Capture of Gillem's Bridge— " Carrying Rails,". . . 272-291
CHAPTER XIX.
1864 — From May 19 to June 9.
Advance on Right Wing — Fight Near Burnt Hickory — Battle of
Dallas— In the Trenches — Battle on Villa Rica Road — In Rear
of Rebel Army — Occupation of Cartersville — Allatoona Pass —
Guarding the Left Plank of the Army— Battle of Big Shanty, . . 292-307
CHAPTER XX. •
From June 10 to July 17, 1864.
Advance of the Army on Kenesaw — Minty's Fight at McAfee's
Cross-roads — Cavalry Formation and Tactics in Battle Describ
ed — Rebel Commands Enumerated — Battle of Noonday Creek —
Rebel Account of Same — Incidents of — Account of, by Governor
Cox — List of Officers and Soldiers Distinguished in — Retreat of
the Rebel Army — Capture of Rosswell — Battle with the "Bees," 308-324
CHAPTER XXI.
1864 — From July 17 to August 17.
Capture of the Augusta Railroad — Decatur — Covington Raid —
Battle of Flat Rock Shoals — Movements of the Army — Battles
in Front of Atlanta —"In the Trenches" — Capturing the Rebel
Rifle Pits— Under Fire of Rebel Forts— Camp Shelled— Rebel
Sortie — Rebels Driven into Atlanta — Incidents during the Siege
of Atlanta,  325-336

Page.

Table of Contents. vii
CHAPTER XXII.
1864 — From August 18 to August 24.
Kilpatrick Raid— Fight at Red Bank— Fairfield— Battle at Flint
River — Capture of Jonesboro' — Destruction of the Macon Rail
road — Battle of Lovejoy Station — Great Saber Charge of Minty's
Brigade — Colonel Long's Battle on the McDonough Road— Cross
ing the Cotton River— Return toCamp,  337-365
CHAPTER XXIII.
From October 1 to 31, 1864.
General Eli Long in Command of Division — Sketch of General
Long — Capture of Atlanta — Battle of Jonesboro' — Lovejoy —
Review of Campaign — Hood's Advance on Allatoona — Cavalry *
in Pursuit — Battle of Rome, Georgia — Great Charge of Lieu
tenant Fisk — Rebel Battery Captured — Division Dismounted —
Close of the Campaign,  36G-383
CHAPTER XXIV.
1864.
The Dismounted Men — Colonel Sipes in Command at Columbia,
Tennessee — Building Stockades — Doing Garrison Duty — Guard
ing Railroads — Forrest's Raid — Wheeler's Raid — Battle and
Capture of Athens, Alabama — Hood's Advance — Forrest Cap
tures Sulphur Springs — Surrender of Lieutenant Nixon — Gallant
Defense of Captain Long — Fearless Conduct of Corporal Charles
BeckfortS, Fourth Michigan Cavalry,  384-398
CHAPTER XXV.
The Second Brigade— 1862-63.
Organization of the Fourth Ohio — Capture of Bowling Green —
Surrender of Nashville — Wild Chase after Morgan — Capture of
Huntsville, Alabama — Reports of Colonel Kennett, First Ohio
Cavalry — Lebanon, Kentucky — Fort Donaldson — Pittsburg
Landing — Corinth, Mississippi — Third Ohio Cavalry — Advance
on Savannah — Fight at Lawrenceburg, Tennessee,  399—414
CHAPTER XXVI.
From December 28, 1864, to February 15, 1865.
The Division Moves from Louisville, Kentucky — General Eli Long
in Command — Camp at Bardstown — Murder of Dr. Sherk and
Captain Robert McCormick — March to Nashville — To Colum
bia^ — To Gravelly Springs, Alabama —In Camp — Incidents,  415-422

viii Minty and the Cavalry.
CHAPTER XXVII.
From March 1 to April 21, 1865. Page.
Military Situation— Department of the Mississippi— Union Forces-
Wilson's Cavalry Organized— General Canby's Army at Mobile-
Rebel Armies in the Department— Forrest in Supreme Com
mand—Numbers and Dispositions of Rebel Armies— Wilson
Moves against Selma, Alabama— Captures Monto Velio— Battle
of Plantersville— Grand Tactics of Wilson— Great Battle of
Selma— Captures the City by AssauR— Capture of Mobile by
General Canby— Wilson Captures Columbus, Georgia — Battle
of Macon— Surrender of General Howell Cobb— Capture of
Macon, Georgia,  423—443
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Capture of Jefferson Davis,  444-473
CHAPTER XXIX.
Summary of the Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry,  474—491
CHAPTER XXX.
Conclusion,  492-500
CHAPTER XXXI.
Appendix.
Roster Fourth Michigan,  500-512
Roster Seventh Pennsylvania,  512-531
Roster Fourth United States,  531-538
Roster Ninth Pennsylvania,  538-550
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Author,  Frontispiece
Major General D. S. Stanley,  xv
Stanley at Franklin  xxvi
Colonel George C. Wynkoop,  30
Colonel R. H. G: Minty,  105
Major C. C. Davis,  168
Colonel William B. Sipes,  259
Major Frank W. Mix,  291
Brigadier General Eli Long,  366
Colonel Douglas Alexander Murray,  399
Captain Robert Burns, (in 1863,)  423
Robert Burns, (in 1884,)  423
Colonel Charles C. McCormick,  443

Table of Contents.

IX

MAPS
Page.
Campaigns of 1862-3,  65
Field of Stone's River,  117
Chickamauga Campaign,  205
Field of Chickamauga,  221
Campaign of 1864,  272
Kilpatrick Raid,  339

PREFACE

IHERE is no subject so fraught with controversy or which
calls out so much of sharp criticism as that relating
to the events and incidents of the War of the Rebel
lion. Many of the people of to-day vehemently insist that there
never was a "rebellion" against the United States, and are wont
to refer to the war as the " late unpleasantness," the " war be
tween the States," or other such half apologetic terms; deprecating
the while the use of the words "rebellion" and "rebel" as cal
culated to keep alive the " asperities of the war," and as being
inimical to the establishment of "good feeling between the sec
tions." In their vocabulary, the "rebellion" becomes the " Confed
erate Government," the rebel in arms the " Confederate soldier,"
and the traitor in civil life the " Confederate statesman" and
"Southern patriot!"
Not only is this radical difference of opinion as to the nature of
the conflict dominant in our Nation to-day, but among the de
fenders of ihe national honor and integrity who yet survive and
who were active participants in the great drama which gave to us
a redeemed and disenthralled nationality, and revivified the fading
glories of the tree of personal and constitutional liberty, there
are few who see the same events alike, or agree in the narration
of them.
Hence it is that the author of this work neither anticipates or
expects that his statements and accounts will be received without
question, or accepted without controversy. (xi)

xii Minty and the Cavalry.
To those who are fastidious about using the terms rebellion
and rebel, I can only say, that we of the army believed we were
engaged in the work of overthrowing a lawless and unjustified
and unjustifiable rebellion against the peace and territorial integ
rity of the Government of the United States; that the soldier in
arms against us was a rebel, and that those at the head of the
political machinery by which the forces in antagonism to the gov
ernment were organized and equipped were traitors ; and so be
lieving, we stamped the words on every line of our battle reports
and official war papers and correspondence, and to-day, in giving
to the public the story of our actions, I have not the inclination,
nor do I see any reason, to falsify the pages of history by dropping
the terms. We never recognized the "Confederacy" in our vo
cabulary during the war, and in this work, designed as it is to
give a true picture of how we felt, as well as how we acted, the
words " Confederate," " Southerner," and terms of that ilk have
no place.
To my comrades in arms, who may differ with me in the ac
counts herein contained, I would call to mind the difficulty of
getting any considerable number to agree upon all the circum
stances of even the most trivial incident in camp or field ; and
while I do not pretend to give all the notable or even important
events which transpired in our field of operations, I do claim to
have sought earnestly to state the exact facts in those noted. In
treating of the independent regiments, or parts of regiments, I
have, by extensive correspondence, extending over a. number of
years, arrived at the conclusions given, while in tracing the ope
rations of the brigades and the divisions, I have carefully followed
the official reports and official correspondence written at the time.
In the accounts of charges and battles, I have uniformly given
credit to those leading the advance, without, in any wise, however,
detracting from the important service rendered by those in rear
or in reserve.
I have chosen the title, " Minty and the Cavalry," for the rea

Preface. xiii
son that Minty was the last commander of the division, and not
out of any desire to unduly exalt him above the gallant Turchin,
the heroic Gerrard, or the invincible Long, who so successfully
and nobly commanded it before him.
I had prepared a large amount of matter — official documents,
correspondence, reports, &c. — together with a full list, giving the
name of every man killed, wounded, captured, or disabled in the
service belonging to the division, for insertion in the appendix of
this work, but the extent to which it has grown on my hands ren
ders it impossible to insert, and much is, therefore, omitted, while
in lieu of it I have enlarged the size of the pages, and put the
work in clean, clear, full type.
With this explanatory epistle, the work is submitted to the
public.
JOSEPH G. V£LE.
Carlisle, Pa., May 4, 1886.

X

"7

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6^

c^-x

^.f

Major General DAVID S. STANLEY.

SKETCH OF HIS LIFE AND MILITARY SERVICES.
[Prepared specially for this work by J. G. Bahanob. J
Among the many distinguished Ohio heroes that went forth to
engage in the defense of their country, none surpass the subject
of this sketch in valor, patriotism, and all that goes to make a
beloved chieftain, and none in whom fathers can find more admi
rable traits of character to hold up as examples to their sons.
David Sloan Stanley was born June 1, 1828, in Cedar Valley,
Wayne county, Ohio. He early evinced a desire for study, and
exhibited an admirable memory, which he stills retains in undi
minished vigor.
It was his intention to become a member of the medical pro
fession, and he became a student in the office of Dr. Firestone, of
Wooster, Ohio, and attended a partial course of medical lec
tures. He was appointed a cadet to the West Point military academy
by Hon. Samuel Lahm. On his way there, he met young Sheri
dan, Hascall, and Crook, who were also journeying thither for the
purpose of entering this justly celebrated institution. He en
tered West Point, July 1, 1848, and in a short time stood in the
front rank, both in his studies and military bearing. He gradu
ated July 1, 1852, and was appointed brevet second lieutenant in
the Second dragoons, (Second cavalry,) and was ordered to report
for duty at the cavalry school of instruction at Carlisle, Pennsyl
vania. In the spring of 1853, he reported as assistant to Lieutenant
Whipple, who been detailed to make a survey for a railroad to
the Pacific ocean, along the 35th parallel. The route surveyed
is substantially the same that is now traversed by the Atlantic
and Pacific railroad, from Albuquerque westward. While on that
duty, he received his promotion as second lieutenant, Second
(XV)

xvi Minty and the Cavalry
dragoons, (Second cavalry,) and was afterwards appointed
second lieutenant of the First (now Fourth) cavalry.
He was promoted first lieutenant of the First (now Fourth)
cavalry, March 27, 1855.
From 1856 — 1861, Lieutenant Stanley was in the saddle the
greater part of the time, either in protecting the peaceable citi
zens of Kansas from the ravages and lawlessness of the border-
ruffians and jay -hawkers, or in scouts against hostile Indians in
Texas and the Indian Territory.
Among the numerous Indian engagements, scouts, and expedi
tions in which he was engaged, was the campaign against the
Cheyenne Indians, in 1857. The Indians were discovered on
Solomon's Fork, where they — in imitation of civilized warfare —
drew up in a regular line of battle, in anticipation of an attack
on their village. This is believed to be the first recorded in
stance of Indians being formed in this manner, although such
a disposition has several times occurred since that date. A saber
charge was ordered, and the line of battle disappeared, as did the
Indians composing it, except those who were killed and severely
wounded. The expedition was successful in every respect and a
favorable treaty was made with the Cheyennes. In this fight,
the then celebrated Cheyenne chief, White Antelope, rushed on
Lieutenant Stanley and snapped a pistol in his face, which fortu
nately did not go off, and, before he could do further harm, he
was struck by Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart, (afterwards famous as
a Confederate cavalry general,) and Lieutenant Stanley pulled
his pistol and shot the Indian chief dead.
On February 27, 1859, he had a sharp fight with the Comanche
Indians, near Fort Arbuckle, in which he was very successful and
was complimented in general orders by General Scott.
On March 16, 1861, he was promoted captain of the First
cavalry. The question as to what each officer would do in the event of
a war between the States was the unceasing subject of conversa
tion at every mess-table. During all this time, Captain Stanley
was an unswerving and devoted advocate of the Union cause.
The Confederate government appreciated the advantages of
having regular officers to discipline the raw troops much quicker
than the National Government, and early endeavored to win all
the officers of the regular army over to its side by offers of high

Major General David S. Stanley. xvii
rank and command. Many officers were converted by those ar
guments to the doctrine then preached. Congressman Rust, af
terwards a rebel general, offered Captain Stanley the colonelcy of
a regiment in the Confederate service ; this offer was very tempt
ing to a military man, but it was, without hesitation, declined.
On June 24, he joined in the expedition to South-west Mis
souri, in pursuit of General Price. General Sweeney sent Cap
tain Stanley's cavalry command in advance of his, with orders to
surround the town of Forsyth, Missouri. Captain Stanley at
tacked the enemy in the town, on June 27, and drove them from
it. He was in the thickest of the fight, and his horse was shot
from under him.
A large quantity of arms, munitions of war, clothing, and ra
tions were captured. This event was one of the most brilliant
that took place in the early history of the war, and if it had oc
curred in the Eastern army, it would have obtained for Captain
Stanley a substantial recognition.
In this fight he exhibited that great coolness and courage which
were a distinguishing features of his whole course of action
throughout the late war.
A characteristic incident, that occurred later in the war, is re
lated of him by the colonel of a certain Ohio regiment, which
illustrates his coolness under fire. The colonel was in advance on
the skirmish line with his regiment, and as the bullets were flying
very thick, the colonel and his command were behind trees and
such other objects as would afford them protection. Stanley,
who was in the front line near him, asked him for a drink from
his canteen, which was handed him, and in plain view of the
enemy. As he started to raise it to his lips, a bullet struck the
canteen and tore off part of it. Stanley deliberately turned it
up and drank from the opening thus made, and handed it back
to the owner as unconcernedly as if he were taking a drink in his
own dining-room.
On August 2, 1861, at Dug Spring, Captain Stanley's command
was placed in reserve on the right, and at the critical moment he
gallantly attacked the enemy and drove him from the field, after
a severe hand-to-hand fight. His command formed part of the
army which, under General Lyon, fought the battle of Wilson's
creek. He was detailed to guard the train of the command, and
succeeded in preserving it to the littlo army, notwithstanding its
B

xviii Minty and the Cavalry.
repulse. In the retreat of the army, after the battle of Wilson's
creek, to Rolla, Captain Stanley had command of the rear guard,
and successfully covered its retreat by his untiring energy and
vigilance. A skirmish took place at Salem, in which the enemy
was defeated.
On account of his brilliant achievements at Independence, For
syth, and Dug Spring, the governors of Illinois and Iowa each
offered him the colonelcy of a regiment, but he declined both of
them. He wa3 promoted brigadier general of volunteers on Septem
ber 28, 1861.
While on his way to a review, in November, 1861, his horse, in
attempting to take a ditch, fell on him and broke his leg.
In the spring of 1862, he was assigned to the command of the
First division of the Army of the Mississippi. His division was
the first to occupy the trenches in front of the enemy's position
at New Madrid. The general commanding the Army of the Mis
sissippi, in his official report of the capture of New Madrid, states
that he was "especially indebted" to General Stanley, not only
for his " efficient aid on the last days of the operations here," but
also for his " uniform zeal and cooperation during the whole of
the operations near this place," and that his division, which was
" exposed to the full fury of the cannonade, without being able
to return a shot, * * * displayed coolness, courage, and
fortitude worthy of all praise."
In speaking of General Stanley's conduct throughout the cam
paign, which resulted in the capture of New Madrid and Island
No. 10, the general in command complimented him for the " un
tiring activity and skill" with which he commanded his division.
The thoroughness with which he successfully performed his
varied parts caused his superiors to feel that they could safely
intrust any work to him, and, as a consequence, throughout all
the war he always had an active command in the field, except
When disabled. General Stanley's reputation was such that he
was considered a very desirable officer for army commanders.
General Buell, on April 3, 1862, made an application for his ser
vices, as also did General McClellan.
He accompanied his division to Corinth, and took part in most
of the fighting around it ; was present at the skirmish at Mon
terey; in the battle of Farmington, and the second skirmish of

Major General David S. Stanley. xix
May 24. In the skirmish near the White House, on Bridge
creek, which took place on May 28, the enemy made a very spir
ited attack on General Stanley's division, but was repulsed with
severe loss, over fifty being buried in a space of three acres. The
enemy received a second severe repulse from this same division,
and it was not again molested during the operations around
Corinth. In these operations General Stanley followed out his
principle of throwing up cover in the presence of the enemy
whenever the opportunity offered, even if the occupation was to
be a temporary one. By following out this principle, he was en
abled to save the army of General Schofield at Spring Hill and
Franklin. In the fall of 1862, General Grant determined, by means of a
simultaneous attack from the north and south, to capture the
rebel army in Iuka. The attack from the north failed, but Rose-
crans attacked, at the hour designated, from the south. The
rebels were strongly intrenched on the crest of a hill, and they
succeeded in repulsing the attack made on them by the head of
Rosecrans' column, and in capturing his advanced battery. The
day seemed lost, when Stanley rushed to the front with his com
mand and drove the enemy out of the works, and this saved the
day. Stanley was especially commended by Rosecrans for his
gallantry in this fight.
General Stanley was, at the battle of Corinth, under the com
mand of Rosecrans. On October 3, the battle commenced ; Gen
eral Davies' command was attacked with such fury and by such
an overwhelming force that it was compelled to retreat. General
Stanley arrived in time to check the retreat, and, though attacked
by vastly superior numbers, maintained his position until dark.
During the night, the defenses were strengthened, and General
Stanley occupied the line between redoubts Robinett and Williams ;
and here was to be, as Rosecrans undoubtedly anticipated when
he placed General Stanley there, the grand contest of the fight.
The rebels charged and charged, but were unable to take either
place. Parts of tke line gave way in other places, but the omni
present Rosecrans would succeed each time in rallying them and
leading them back. The line held by Stanley's division never
once wavered, but stood like adamant, unaffected by the volleys
or bayonets of the enemy, and Van Dorn's army was defeated
with great loss.

xx Minty and the Cavalry.
In the meantime, General Rosecrans had been ordered to super
sede Buell in the command of the Army of the Cumberland, and
remembering that General Stanley had saved the day at luka and
Corinth, he applied for his services to command the cavalry of
that army, which request was granted.
His brilliant exploits received a merited recognition in Wash
ington, and on November 29, he was appointed major general of
volunteers. His career as commander of the cavalry of the Army of the
Cumberland is related in detail in another part of this volume,
and furnishes an astonishing number of battles, engagements, and
skirmishes, he having commanded the division, and been person
ally present in nearly every engagement in which any portion of
it participated. General Stanley, in September, 1863, was laid up at Stevenson,
Alabama, with chronic dysentery, too weak to move or raise his
head, and unable to take part in the battle of Chickamauga.
In the re-organization of the army of the Cumberland, in April,
1864, he commanded the First division of the Fourth army corps,
and took part in the operations around Dalton, including the bat
tle of Rocky-Faced Ridge.
For his "gallant and meritorious services" at the battle of
Resaca, he was promoted brevet colonel in the regular army.
On the 18th, General Stanley's division advanced and encamped
for the night at Kingston. The following morning, taking the
lead, he advanced towards Cassville. He was engaged in the
maneuvering and skirmishes around New Hope church ; in the
battle of Dallas ; in the maneuvering and skirmishes which caused
the abandonment of Pine mountain^ ; in the battles and skirmishes
around Kenesaw mountain, and in the assault on the enemy's
works at Ruff's station. At the latter place, General Stanley's di
vision, almost entirely unaided, had a desperate struggle with the
enemy, and finally succeeded in driving him to an interior line of
works. For his gallant and meritorious services in this battle he was
appointed brevet brigadier general in the regular army. In the
engagement, usually called the battle of Atlanta, General McPher
son was killed, and the Army of the Tennessee fought under the
orders of General Logan and gained the battle. The command
of the Army of the Tennessee was given to General Howard

Major General David S. Stanley. xxi
General Thomas warmly recommended that General Stanley be
given the command of the Fourth corps, and he was appointed to
it by the President, and he retained this command until he was
mustered out of the volunteer service.
On August 31, 1864, General Stanley was ordered to proceed
with his corps to Rough and Ready, and thence to Jonesboro',
thoroughly destroying the railroad. General Sherman was so
afraid that the railroad would not be thoroughly destroyed, that
he sent his staff officer, Colonel Warner, to General Stanley to
reiterate previous orders about destroying the road so that it
could not be easily repaired. This message was delivered by
Colonel Warner to General. Stanley about 3, p. m. When he had
completed his work, by burning the ties and making loops and
bows of the rails, he hastened forward to the enemy's works at
Jonesboro', and arrived in sight of the enemy about 4, p. m., one
hour after he received the order from Colonel Warner. Kimball's
division was deployed so as to join Davis near the railroad. The
enemy was well posted, in great force, on a ridge in front of Kim
ball's left and Newton's right.
The official reports of this battle are not at hand, but the fol
lowing is an extract from the report of General William Grose,
commanding the Third brigade of Kimball's division. * * *
"I was ordered by General Kimball to prolong the left of the
First brigade, -which I did without halting, until my advance was
checked by getting into a thick bramble of underbrush and a
swamp in a dense woodland, through which it was impossible to
ride, and the enemy, with a heavy skirmish line in our front and
his artillery in reach, playing on us, contributed to impede our
progress, * * * night came on, yet my lines, Seventy-sev
enth Pennsylvania, Eighty-fourth and Eightieth Illinois, and
Ninth Indiana in front line, pressed forward under a heavy fire
of canister from the enemy's guns." * * * Kimball's whole
line was resisted by infantry and artillery, and he experienced
great difficulty in placing his battery in position, on account of
the destructive fire of the latter.
In Sherman's memoirs, a very erroneous impression is given
by the statement that Captain Audenried, Colonel Poe, and Gen
eral Thomas were sent with orders to hurry up Stanley's corps,
which orders, if they had been received, would have superseded
the original instructions and the explicit orders of General Sher-

xxii - Minty and the Cavalry.
man, delivered at 3, p. m., by Colonel Warner. As it was some
distance from where General Sherman was to where General
Stanley was carrying out his orders, " to thoroughly destroy the
railroad, " these three messengers must have been sent in rapid
succession, and very soon after he sent Colonel Warner. The
foremost must have heard the booming of his cannon, and that
of the rebels opposed to him, before he arrived near General
Stanley. Whatever may have been the cause, none of the mes
sengers mentioned reached General Stanley ; if they had, it
would not have been until after he had become desperately en
gaged. The "Memoirs " fail to state that none of these orders
were delivered, nor that General Stanley had become engaged
with Hood's left before the messengers could deliver his orders ;
but a soliloquy is indulged in as to what might have been, had so
and so happened, which could not properly have happened in the
face of Sherman's unrevoked orders. General Sherman's atten
tion was called to these facts after the publication of the "Me
moirs, " and he very fairly proposed to correct the error in this
regard in his next edition, by publishing in a foot-note a letter
containing the facts substantially as above set forth, and the next
edition of his "Memoirs" will give the truth of this matter.
Stanley followed the retreating enemy to Lovejoy station, as
saulted him in his entrenchments, and succeeded in carrying a
portion of his works, but, owing to a misunderstanding on the
part of another commander, there was lack of cooperation, and
he was unable to hold the works gained.
General Thomas was ordered to Nashville on October 3d, and
on October 6, General Stanley was ordered to command the
Army of the Cumberland in his absence. This was the command
of a lieutenant general, and is the highest command he ever
held. On October 26, General Stanley was ordered with his whole
corps to Chattanooga, to report to General Thomas. Thomas
divined that the objective point of the enemy would be Nash
ville, and he ordered Stanley to concentrate the Fourth corps at
Pulaski. Hood continued to advance northward, and it became
evident that he intended to cut Schofield off from Nashville bv
capturing Columbia. There were two roads leading from ' Law-
renceburg to the railway, in Schofield's rear ; the larger and
more important one to Columbia, and the other to a small xAa.cc

Major General David S. Stanley. xxiii
called Lynnville, about half way to Columbia. Schofield pushed
one division (Cox's) of his own, and one (Wagner's) of Stanley's
corps, to Lynnville, to cover the road leading to that place, and
the following day Stanley arrived with the divisions of Wood and
Kimball. The army then advanced and entrenched at Columbia.
Knowing that the object of Thomas was to delay the advance
of Hood until he could concentrate sufficient troops at Nashville
to oppose him, Schofield determined to delay Hood's advance as
much as possible. With this end in view, he had Cox's division
thoroughly to entrench themselves on the north bank of Duck
river. Stanley's corps was posted as follows : Wood's division
in rear of Cox's position, (one brigade, (Post's,) being detached on
a reconnoissance up the river.) Kimball's division in the rear of
Wood's ; each division being in supporting distance of the one in
rear. Stanley proceeded in person with Wagner's division to Spring
Hill. This place, being directly in the line of retreat, was an ex
tremely important position to hold.* Stanley arrived at Spring
Hill in time to meet Forest's cavalry, who had just repulsed a
small force of Federal infantry and cavalry. Stanley, after driv
ing back Forrest, posted two brigades (Opdyke's and Lane's)
near the town and trains, and the other (Bradley's) on a knoll,
about three-fourths of a mile to the east. A furious assault on
Stanley's advanced position apprised him that the enemy's infan
try was near in large numbers. Twice was this assault made,
and twice the enemy driven back, but at the third assault, the bri
gade gave way and fell back on the main line, where the enemy
was repulsed with heavy loss.
Stanley, with one division, (Wagner's,) and Bridge's artillery,
succeeded in holding in check Forrest's cavalry at Thompson's
station, repulsing its attack at Spring Hill ; the assault of
Cheatham's corps, supported by Stewart's corps, and one division
of Lee's corps. Stanley threw up temporary cover, with in
trenching tools improvised for the most part on the spot, by split
ting the canteen of every other man and using the halves as
scoops to throw up dirt.
?General Schofield, under date of April 4, 1881, says : " At Spring Hill,
on the 29th of November, 1864, one of General Stanley's divisions, under
his immediate personal command, received and repelled the enemy's attack,
and held that position, which was of vital importance to the necessary night
march of the army. "

xxiv Minty and the Cavalry.
This severe and important engagement, in which three small
brigades whipped two infantry corps and a division, assisted by
cavalry, and in which the Union loss was one hundred and fifty,
and the rebel I03S reported to be five hundred, has not always re
ceived the notice that it deserves, and which it would have re
ceived had it not been for the greater (though not more impor
tant) one fought the next day at Franklin , where Stanley, with
one brigade, held in check the exultant rebel army ; nor has pop
ular opinion given to the brave Stanley that credit for his grand
defense of Spring Hill which history does and will give to him.
The following extract from Badeau's military history of U. S.
Grant gives, in a measure, the true effect of that engagement :
" Stanley reached Spring Hill just in time to drive off a body of
rebel cavalry and save the trains ; and about four o'clock, Hood
came upon the ground in force. Stewart's and Cheatham's corps
were with him and one division of S. D. Lee's ; the remainder of
the rebel infantry was left at Columbia, the only point where ar
tillery could cross the river. Cheatham led the advance, and the
attack on Stanley was made at once. The engagement was seri
ous and lasted until after dark, but Stanley held his own and re
pulsed the enemy repeatedly with heavy loss. * * *
Chicago and Cincinnati were defended at Spring Hill. "
This is undoubtedly true, for, had Stanley not held his posi
tion, Schofield' s army — which was then in extreme peril — would
have been routed, and, as A. J. Smith had not joined him, Thomas
would not have had anything which could successfully oppose
Hood's northward march. " It seems that the enemy ought to
have defeated Stanley at Spring Hill and cut off Schofield's re
treat; but Stanley maintained his position and saved the army. "
(Harper's History of the War.)
Schofield, hearing from Stanley that he was attacked by in
fantry, hastened to take Ruger's division to his support and ar
rived there about dark, after Stanley had succeeded in repulsing
the assault. Schofield then proceeded to clear the road to Frank
lin, which bad been occupied by a part of the enemy's cavalry
and intrusted the management of the march, and the safety of
the trains, to Stanley. Schofield's army was still in a very haz
ardous position, having on the flank of its line of retreat an
enemy numerically superior, in every respect, and with a much
better equipped force of cavalry. Hood states that he repeatedly

Major General David S. Stanley. xxv
urged Cheatham to attack the retreating army ; but, whatever may
have been the cause, the attack was not made, and an opportunity,
which gave more promise of success than usually occurs, was lost.
As a natural result of this, a great deal of recrimination was in
dulged in by the rebel commanders, which caused them, on the
following day, to fight at Franklin with a desperation that has
been seldom, if ever, equaled, and was never surpassed during
the entire war.
General Schofield reached Franklin at daylight on the follow
ing morning, November 30, and immediately set about preparing
for the crossing of the Harpeth river, behind which he had been
ordered to fall by General Thomas.
To cover this movement, he ordered a line of breast-works to
be thrown up in front of the village, with the ends resting on the
river, which, at Franklin, makes a turn nearly at right angles
to its course, and forms an angle open south and west. The line
of the river with the line of the works formed an irregular pen
tagon, the longest two sides being formed by the river. Cox's
division formed the left, Ruger's the center, and Kimball's the
right wing. The line of works was placed on a slight elevation,
with open ground in front. About half a mile in front of the
main line was a knoll, through a gap of which the Columbia road
ran. Stanley had breast-works thrown up on this knoll, and
caused them to be occupied, as an advanced post, by two brigades
of Wagner's division. He placed the third brigade of this divi
sion, as a reserve, in the rear of the main line, and to the west of
the Columbia road. This fortunate disposition, undoubtedly,
saved the day. Wood's division was placed on the north bank of
the Harpeth river, ready to move to either flank, in case an at
tempt should be made to turn them by crossing the river. Scho
field was with this division, at Fort Granger. Wagner was in
structed to simply retard the enemy's progress. Disregarding
his instructions, he made a determined opposition to the advance
of the enemy. He seemed to think that as these two brigades,
assisted by another —the day before, at Spring Hill — had been
able, under Stanley's command, to repulse two corps and a part
of another, that he could now with them repulse the whole rebel
army. His men fought with desperation, but they were driven
back on the main line, and carried several hundred yards of it to
the rear, massing the enemy as they retreated. The enemy had

xxvi

Minty and the Cavalry.

been in sight since 1, p. m., and Stanley, who had been sick all
day, was lying down in his tent at Fort Granger, and had no im
mediate expectation of. an attack in front, as he supposed the
enemy would pursue their usual tactics of avoiding an assault in
front, on an intrenched position. So improbable seemed an at
tack, that Schofield ordered the withdrawal of the army across
the river, to commence at 6, p. m. At the first sound of musketry,
Stanley jumped from his sick bed, and, on looking at the occasion
of it, was horrified to see Wagner attempting to withstand, with
two brigades, Hood's army. His experienced eye took in the sit
uation at a glance. He immediately mounted his horse, and
crossing the river, he arrived at the critical moment, when part of
the line had been carried to the rear by Wagner's fleeing brigades.
The enemy immediately mounted the works, and, having broken
the center, it seemed as if victory was easily within its grasp. It
was, and, ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, they would have
seized and kept it, but Stanley's opportune arrival, with Opdyke's
brigade, made this the hundreth time.
He laid aside all considerations as to being the corps command
er, and only considering the perilous position of the army, he
rushed to the head of a brigade to lead it to recover the lost
works,* but seeing that its brave commander fully understood the
peril, he did not take immediate command, but went to the left of
the brigade and boldly led the charge. Such an example, from such
a beloved commander, can have but one effect, and with a de
termination to retake the line or die in the attempt, they boldly
charged the enemy, saying: " We can go where the general can,"
and they did go, and, after the severest hand-to-hand conflict of
the war,f they succeeded in beating the enemy back, recovering
the line, and achieving one of the most important victories of the

?"Probably in no battle of the war was better fighting done than at Frank
lin. * * * * At onetime, the Federal line was broken, and had it not
been for the coolness and bravery of General D. S. Stanley, who was in the
fore-front of the battle, the Federal army would have been routed and driven
across the river in the greatest confusion, When he discovered the break in
the line, although a corps commander, he placed himself at the head of a
brigade, and, leading the charge, drove the enemy back, and reestablished
the continuity of the line." — Johnson's Memoirs of General Thomas.
f'The most terrible check that army [rebel] has received durino- the war "
— Thomas' Order of December 29, 186 J^.

Major General David S. Stanley. xxvii
war.* Such a result could only be accomplished by a Stanley,
with a brigade trained by an Opdyke.
In the charge, General Stanley had a horse shot from under
him, and was himself severely wounded in the neck, but he did
not leave the field until after it was dark, and the fight over, ex
cept some skirmishing, which lasted until midnight, and did not
have his wounds dressed until ten o'clock.
For his " gallant and meritorious services " in this battle, he
was appointed a brevet major general in the regular army.
Badeau says: "This victory was of enormous consequence to
the National cause. It not only saved Schofield's army — and at
the same time greatly weakened Hood's — but it was a fatal blow
to all the expectations of the enemy, and created a depression in
the rank and file from which they never recovered."
General Cox, in his book, erroneously speaks of himself as the
" commandant of the line " in this battle. He could not possibly
be so after Stanley's arrival. He did indicate to Kimball where
his division was to go before General Stanley's arrival on the
line, but when General Stanley did arrive, he posted the remain
ing troops of the Fourth corps, and he had more troops in the
line than Cox, who was a division commander, temporarily com
manding the Twenty-third corps.
General Stanley enjoyed the full confidence of General Thomas,
and he, knowing that full justice had not been done him in the
way of promotion for hiB distinguished services, wrote to the
Secretary of War, under date of September 14, 1865, a letter
recommending his promotion, f
* General Schofield spoke of the battle of Franklin as follows: "On the
following day, at Franklin, a part of the Fourth army corps, under General
Stanley, bore its full share with the Twenty-third corps, under General J.
D. Cox, in sustaining and repelling a most desperate assault, and in achiev
ing one of the most signal and important victories of the war. General
Stanley was present with his troops at the principal point of attack, and was
severely wounded." t " Head-quarters Middle Division of the Tennessee,
Nashville, Tennessee, September 14, 1865.
Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington, D. 0. :
Sir : In an especial and particular manner, I desire to call your attention
to the services and merits of Major General D. S. Stanley, commanding
Fourth army corps, asking your favorable consideration of the same, and

xxviii Minty and the Cavalry.
After recovery from his wound, he was ordered to Huntsville,
Alabama, to command the Fourth corps ; and at the close of the
war he was ordered, with the Fourth corps, to San Antonio, Texas.
He was appointed colonel of the Twenty- second United States
regular infantry, to date from July 28, 1866, and as such was in
command of, and served at, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from No-
requesting that he receive such promotion in the army of the United States
as shall be deemed consistent with the interests of the service and not unjust
to him.
Major General Stanley has served in the same army with myself since
the year 1862, and under my command from the time I took command of
the department of the Cumberland until his corps was ordered to Texas.
Occupying the intimate relations to each other of superior and subordi
nate, and being of necessity closely allied to each other,. I had abundant op
portunity both to observe and judge of his ability and capacity as an officer,
and I am, therefore, not at a loss to speak intelligently on the subject.
In the discharge of his duties in the various positions held by him as a
division and corps commander, as well as in less responsible positions, he
has given entire satisfaction. By his personal attention to the wants and
necessities of the troops subject to his orders, he was enabled to report
more than the usual proportion as being fit for duty, and though a strict
disciplinarian, his just and impartial treatment of all won for him the re
spect and high esteem of his entire command. Careful and skillful in the
handling and management of troops, both in putting them in proper posi
tions, and in directing movements under fire, he at all times exhibited before
his troops those sterling qualities of a true soldier, which they were but
waiting to adopt as their own, and with their leader breast the storm of
battle. A more cool and brave commander would be a difficult task to find,
and although he has been a participant in many of the most sanguinary en
gagements in the West, his conduct has on all occasions been so gallant
and marked that it would be almost doing an injustice to him to refer par
ticularly to any isolated battle-field. I refer, therefore, only to the battle
of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864, because it is the more re
cent and one in which his gallantry was so marked as to merit the admira
tion of all who saw him.
It was here that his personal bravery was more decidedly brought out
perhaps, than on any other field, and the terrible destruction and defeat,'
which disheartened and checked the fierce assaults of the enemv, are due
more to his heroism and gallantry than to any other officer on the field
I am unable to recite his entire military history, but confidently refer you
to the records and reports of operations in this department, in which he
has acted a most important part. Major General Stanley is an officer of ac
knowledged ability, industrious and faithful in the discharge of every duty
alive to the interests of the Government, as well as the welfare of the

Major General David S. Stanley. xxix
vember, 1860, to April, 1867 ; Fort Sully, May, 1867, to July,
1874. He organized and commanded the " Yellowstone expedi
tion" of 1872 and 1873, which wero sent out as an exploring
party, and as a guard for the protection of the surveying parties
of the Northern Pacific railroad. His reports of the condition and
resources of the country were widely read and commented on, and
his predictions as to the future population and wealth of the
country are being rapidly realized. The Northern Pacific railroad
and the people of the great North-West owe him a debt of grati
tude which they will never be able to pay.
It is a singular coincidence that he should have been instru
mental in locating the routes of two great Pacific railroads.
A little incident occurred on the expedition of 1872, which is
related for the benefit of the Eastern humanitarians, who form
their opinion of the noble and generous character of the Indians
while reading Cooper's novels.
The command had reached the mouth of Powder river, (the des
tination for that year,) and General Stanley was quietly eating his
lunch with a few persons, when suddenly the cry of " Indians ! In
dians 1" was raised, and, on looking up, he saw members of the
surveying party and some stragglers from the command running
to camp, pursued by Indians. A number of Indians collected on
the west bank of the river and yelled to the interpreter that they
troops under his command, and in the full exercise of an energetic and per
severing devotion to his country, has contributed much to the successful
overthrow of the rebellion. I am, sir, very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
(Signed) Geo. H. Thomas,
Major General United States Army Commanding.
I heartily concur with General Thomas in his estimate and classification
of the services of General Stanley, and earnestly recommend him for as
high rank, as can be given him in the re-orgamzation of the army, which
must necessarily take place.
(Signed) U. S Grant,
Lieutenant General.
Washington, D. C , January 25, 1866.
Official copy :
(Signed) E. D. Townsend,
Adjutant General.
Head-quarters of the Army, Adjutant General's Office,
Washington, D. C. March 29, 1879.

xxx Minty and the Cavalry'.
wanted to talk with General Stanley. They were headed by a
magnificent physical specimen of humanity, named " The Gaul."
General Stanley proceeded to the river bank, accompanied by
his adjutant, Lieutenant Ketchum, and the interpreter. "The Gaul"
made a grand speech, in which he told the general that he ob
jected to the surveying party being in the country, and that the
Indians demanded of him that he put every civilian white man
out of the. country, and then to leave himself. While this speech
was being delivered, the Indians were collecting in a thicket, in
rear of " The Gaul," and the guide warned General Stanley that
they were meditating some treacherous act. Suddenly, a heavy
volley was fired from the thicket, which was not over one hundred
yards distant, but, miraculously, no one was hit. The general's
party leaped on their horses and galloped away, the Indians kept
up the firing until the approach of the troops, when they ran away.
In 1874, General Stanley moved his regiment to the Lake sta
tions. He was stationed in Detroit and Buffalo, and for two years
was superintendent of the general recruiting service, with head
quarters in New York city.
In 1879, he was ordered with his regiment to Texas. He com
manded at Forts McKavett and Clark. In the fall of 1882, he
was ordered to command the District of New Mexico.
On March 24, 1884, he was appointed brigadier general in the
regular army, and was assigned to the Department of Texas, with
head-quarters at San Antonio, Texas, where he now is, (April,
1886.)

The Hero of Franklin. xxxi

THE HERO OF FRANKLIN.

BY MRS. D. N. BASH.

The western sun is streaming across the Southern sky,
Bright bayonets are gleaming as troop on troop pass by;
Here, messengers are hastening to do a chief's behest,
There, weary men have halted for greatly-needed rest ;
For all day long the battle had raged, as battle must,
When brothers strive with brothers, and feel their cause is just.
But' now the sun is setting, the hard day's work is o'er,
And watchful friend and foeman alike their dead deplore.
From far and near, the camp-fires send forth a feeble gleam,
While picket watches picket, on either side the stream.
With heavy hearts, the leaders consult as best they may,
And seek with anxious forethought to plan the coming day.
But hark ! What means the tumult ? Again is heard the peal
Of musketry, and cannon, and clang of glancing steel.
What means the sudden onset ? Whence comes the noise of war 1
From every side the answer is heard above the roar.
The rebels are upon us I Forrest has crossed the ford
And Hood upon our ramparts, with all his host has poured.
No time was now for counsel, for right and left give way ;
No power on earth can save us, and Hood will gain the day.
But to one man the peril brings purpose stern and high,
And, seizing on the moment, with fury in his eye,
He dashes 'mid the conflict, his only conscious thought,
" The patriot dead must be avenged, the battle lost refought. "
Like lightning in a tempest, he dashes far and near,
Death in his fiery onset, and anguish in his rear.
From line to line he hastens to meet the fierce attack,
And faltering hosts are strengthened, the foe is driven back.
What matter that a bullet an ugly wound has made,
Or that a host of heroes beneath the sod are laid ?
Once more the tide of battle is turned against the foe —
For this the hearts of Freemen with grateful ardor glow.
It was the hour of danger, the hour of glory, too,
The hour that nerves the bravest unwonted deeds to do.
Proud of their gallant leader, and proud of gallant deeds.
The soldiers shout, " We follow wher e'er the general leads. '
All honor, then, to every man whose valor saved the day
Upon the field of Franklin, and turned the bloody fray.
And when one's children's children shall read of heroes past,
Around the name of Stanley a glory shall be cast.
San Antonio, May 1, 1886.

*<jF*

Minty and the Cavalry.

chapter I.
INTRODUCTION.
Who fears to speak of sixty-one ?
Or blushes at the name ?
Not those who, at boom of Sumter's gun,
And its wild echoes, from red Bull Run,
Left each his home and loved one,
To stamp out treason's flame.
j|0 the student of the military operations during
the war of the rebellion, the question frequently
presents itself — What caused the almost unin
terrupted success of the Federal forces in the Middle De
partment, embracing the armies of the Ohio, Cumber
land, and Tennessee ; while at the same time, for so long
a period, the armies of the East were unable to make any
substantial progress against the Confederate forces ?
It can certainly not be contended that it was any superi
ority in bravery in the army of the West over that of the
East that enabled the former to make its advance from
the banks of the Ohio, through Kentucky, Tennessee, Ala
bama, Mississippi, and Georgia to the sea ; thence north
ward through South and North Carolina ; over the greatest
natural obstructions on the continent, and in the face of
a foe equal in number and their peers in bravery ; a march
alone of over fifteen hundred miles ; while the utmost
efforts of their comrades in Virginia, although compara
tively free from natural difficulties, and never confronted
(i)

2 Minty and the Cavalry.
with superior numbers, scarce enabled it to maintain itself
one hundred miles from its base.
Neither can it be said that the armies of the West were
superior in their military equipments and supplies to that
of the East ; for the latter was armed and equipped under
the very eye of the Capital and the whole nation, while
those of the former were supplied from the refuse of the
arsenals and workshops of the Government.
Nor yet, highly gratifying as it may be to the military
pride of those so lauded, can it be justly said that the
superior generalship of the commanders of the West gave
to our armies there their superiority. If, then, it was not
to numbers, to superior arms and equipments, to discipline
or to superior generalship that the Western armies owe
their unparalleled and astonishing success, while the army
of the Potomac, as the Eastern army was designated, was
but able to make its battle-fields in Virginia a Golgotha,
barren of practical results, to what cause should it be as
signed ? For in military campaigns, as in the operations.
of the physical world, for every effect a cause must exist.
In the opinion of the author, the verdict of posterity
will be that the prime and controlling cause of this differ
ence in the relative achievements of the two departments
is that the cavalry arm of the service was, in the West,
early in the war, developed and perfected into a mighty
engine of warfare ; while in the East, it was neglected,
ridiculed, dwarfed, and stunted until just before the final
overthrow of the enemy.
While the plan of organization was the same in each
department, namely, that of dividing the cavalry force
into small detachments, and attaching each of these to a
larger force of infantry and artillery, it was not carried
in the West to the absurd and disastrous extent that
it was in the East. In the former, as early as January

Introduction. 3
1862, the movement of comparatively large cavalry com
mands, either as independent reconnoitering expeditions,
or as advanced guards, developed the ability of the cavalry
to take care of itself and enabled the movements of our
main forces against Mill Creek, Fort Donaldson, and Bow
ling Green to be made, with an intelligent knowledge of
the location, position, and force of the enemy to be en
countered; in the latter, the policy of keeping the cavalry
under the protecting care and within the leading-strings
of the other arms of the service held the ' ' finest army in
the world ' ' over four months in trembling supineness be
fore the "Quaker guns of Manassas."
The contrast in the efficiency of this most powerful arm
of the service, in the two departments, is further and most
vividly shown a year later : for when, in April and May,
1863, in the Western our sabers were flashing in the out
post camps, in front, rear, and both flanks of the foe ;
holding the country, and confining the enemy within his
entrenched lines and the cordon of his camps ; making a
complete topographical survey of the country ; and carry
ing the eyes of the Federal commander into every posi
tion of the enemy ; in the Eastern, the commander-in-
chief of our forces in the field (General Hooker) offered
a reward of one hundred dollars for a dead cavalryman !
Thus, it will be seen, all through the war, it was to the
efficiency^ctivity, and successful operations of its cavalry
that the Western army owed its wonderful superiority in
wresting territory, forts, munitions, and men from the
enemy, over its eastern co-patriots. This fact is further
evinced when we remember that on the two notable occa
sions, when the clouds of adversity and disaster closed
around its lines at Chickamauga in September, 1863, and
in Hood's advance into Middle Tennessee in November,
1864, the cavalry had been almost wholly unhorsed by

4 Minty and the Cavalry.
the preceding months of continuous unrelieved service ;
while, at the same time, the enemy, having refilled and
remounted their cavalry, temporarily reversed the pre
vious conditions, and obtained a preponderance in cavalry
efficiency. In short, it may be accepted, as a proposi
tion in military science clearly proven, that that army
which, by its superiority in cavalry, is enabled to hold
the country, other conditions being equal, will triumph.
Among the distinguished cavalry commands of the
Western armies, the brigade commanded by Colonel R. H.
Gr. Minty, with the division to which it was attached, occu
pied no second place ; belonging as it did to the Army of
the Cumberland, it held a central position in the grand field
of the operations of the armies of the Ohio, the Cumber
land, and the Tennessee. Its sabers flashed on every battle
field from Knoxville to Vicksburg, and from Columbus,
Kentucky, to Macon, Georgia. Its guns were heard in
almost every ridge and ravine in the States of Kentucky,
Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, and its
horses were watered in every considerable stream from
the Ohio, at Louisville, to the Mississippi, at Vicksburg ;
and from the father of waters at Columbus, Kentucky,
to the Oconee, in Georgia.
It received the surrender of over thirty thousand men
and officers ; captured over eighty thousand stand of
arms; nearly twenty thousand horses, and took in battle
by direct charges, seventy-six pieces of artillery, including
fifteen heavy siege guns ; and, as a division commanded
by General Eli Long, but consisting of the two brigades
of Minty and Murray, captured by assault the second
strongest fortified city in the Southern Confederacy.
It made a topographical survey of Middle and East
Tennessee to Knoxville; of West Tennessee; of Alabama
from its northern boundary to Selma; of North-east Mis-

Introduction. 5
sissippi, and North Georgia, south to Macon, and east
almost to Augusta; and all with a total loss of less than
three hundred men and officers killed, four hundred
wounded, and two hundred captured.
It made five successful saber charges against far su
perior numbers of infantry, resulting in the total destruc
tion of its opponents. Four successful saber charges
against artillery, in battery, supported by infantry and
cavalry, resulting in the capture of the guns ; and over
one hundred saber charges against the enemy' s cavalry.
Neither the brigade or any portion of it was ever re
pulsed in a mounted charge. It made twenty-five charges
dismounted, and captured three strongly fortified and in
trenched positions, when fully manned, and defended by
infantry and artillery.
As a record of the heroism of America' s citizen-soldiery,
and for the purpose of giving to each officer and man the
honorable mention of his deeds of special bravery and
devotion, and to demonstrate to the student of martial
history the paramount importance of the cavalry arm of
the service, particularly of the cavalryman's great weapon
— the saber — a detailed account of the various marches,
battles, scouts, and reconnoisances, going to make up the
wonderful story of its achievements, cannot be otherwise
than exciting, entertaining, and instructive to the public.
Minty' s brigade was organized late in the year 1862, by
order of Major General William Rosecrans, command
ing the Army of the Cumberland, as will be detailed in the
proper place, and consisted, in the first place, of the fol
lowing regiments :
Fourth regiment, United States (regular) cavalry.
Fourth regiment, Michigan cavalry.
Third regiment, Indiana cavalry.
Seventh regiment, Pennsylvania cavalry.

6 Minty and the Cavalry.
Prior to this organization, the various cavalry regiments
had been attached to larger bodies of infantry, as already
intimated, and although sometimes temporarily organized
into brigades and divisions to meet sudden emergencies,
had not been accustomed to maneuver and move habitually
as an independent arm of the service. Fortunately, how
ever, the exigencies of the service, the topography of the
country, and the necessity of guarding and occupying so
large an extent of exposed territory, as lay on the flanks
and in the rear of our main army, compelled the frequent
use of the cavalry in independent operations; so that,
while the campaign of the year 1862, failed to record any
brilliant action of the cavalry on a field of its own, the
many scouting excursions, skirmishes, and constant activ
ity in which it was kept, formed a most admirable school
of training for its future operations.
It early learned the utility and power of the saber, and
found, that by daring charges, bringing on a hand-to-
hand encounter, it was uniformly successful in defeating
its cavalry enemy, who depended mainly on the double-
barreled shot-gun and revolver.
In this preparatory school, each regiment of the brigade
has its own individual history ; and as each of these sepa
rate histories is of the utmost importance in showing the
process of changing the quiet and peaceable mechanic,
farmer' s boy, or merchant' s clerk into the dashing, impetu
ous, fearless cavalryman, (for it must be remembered that,
excepting the Fourth regulars, the entire command was
composed, officers and men, of citizens, who, at the time
of enlistment, were entirely without military knowledge
or training,) it is deemed advisable to give an account of
each regiment separately from the date of muster into the
service to the organization of the brigade.

" " " '  I  C3E3 ¦ " — ^

CHAPTER II.
History of the Fourth United States (Regular) Cavalry from the out
break of the Rebellion to the Organization of the First Brigade,
Second Cavalry Division, Army of the Cumberland.
".Wild echoes thunder from each hill-top,
And rumble through each rocky glen.
While prairie, stream, and rushing river
Fling back aghast the mad refrain."
jT is not within the province of this work, to
trace the political causes which led to the overt
acts of treason, and which culminated in the
great war of the rebellion in the United States ; but there
is one phase, in the early days of the contest, which dis
proves the claims made by the rebel leaders and their
friends and apologists : that it was an honest difference
of opinion, relative to the duty the citizen owed to his
State and to his nation, which led most of the rebels into
the insurgent ranks. This phase was the flagrant, in
excusable treachery of so many of the officers in the regu
lar army of the United States.
These men, in utter disregard of every principle, not
only of patriotism, but as well of every sense of honor,
and with the oath of supreme allegiance to the Govern
ment yet trembling upon their perjured lips, turned
their swords against the very nation which had gener
ously educated and lavishly supported them ; and, using
the opportunities offered by the positions to which they
had been assigned, as the sworn guardians of the national
territory, arms, and public property, betrayed in one fell
sweep their own honor, their entrusted stations, their con-
(7)

8 Minty and the Cavalry.
fiding subalterns and dependent men; and drew their
swords as parricides against the father which had begot
ten and nurtured them.
Their treason and perjured dishonor has not even the
palliation of the miserable subterfuge that they were
bound to "go with their States" to excuse it, for they
were not citizens of any State, in the sense of owing an
allegiance of any kind to it. They were the educated,
trained, and sworn defenders of the Republic, and owed
their whole official life to the nation to which they had
pledged, in the most solemn manner, their vows of true
faith and allegiance. No splendor of rank or glamor of
bravery can ever redeem these men from the horror and
detestation in which all honorable men, in this and every
other land, will in all the future hold them.
Preeminent in this infamy, and collossal among the
perjured traitors of the day, was Brigadier General
Robert Twiggs, commanding the Department of Texas.
This man was entrusted with the most important com
mand in the United States ; guarding, as he did, the
whole Mexican frontier line of the country, as well as
holding all the forts and posts scattered through New
Mexico, Arizona, and the Indian Territory, he had under
his immediate command almost five sixths of the whole
army and field batteries of the nation.
On the 16th of February, 1861, without being assailed
by any hostile force, or having the slightest pretext of
military necessity, Twiggs, voluntarily and basely, for the
mere purpose of gratifying his traitorous instincts, sur
rendered the whole army, munitions of war, and all the
forts, arsenals, arms, military stores, and general property
within his department, to Brigadier General Ben. McCul-
lough, commanding the insurgent forces of the State of
Texas. Texas had not then seceded !

Location of Companies. 9
Among the troops thus basely surrendered, was the
body of regular cavalry then designated as the First
Cavalry, with Captain D. S. Stanley in command of the
companies in the field. Companies A and B, of that
regiment, were then at Fort Arbuckle, Indian Territory ;
companies C and I at Fort Washita, Indian Territory ;
D and E at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and F, G, H, and K
at Fort Wise, Colorado Territory.
Captain Stanley, on learning of the treason of Twiggs,
refused to be bound by the dishonored act ; and, with
drawing companies D and E from Fort Smith, gathered
the regiment at the three supporting posts of Arbuckle,
Washita, and Wise, and defended his honor, and the flag
of his country, during the months of March and April ;
against, not only the hostile arms, but the more danger
ous seductions of the emissaries of the insurgents.
During the month of May, 1861, leaving companies F,
G, H, and K at Fort Wise, he moved, with A, B, C, D, E,
and I, to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas ; and, in June, was
actively engaged in skirmishing through Missouri and
Colorado. Early in July, companies A and E were or
dered to Washington, D. O, in compliance with a request
of Major General McClellan, for the purpose of partici
pating in that general' s operations in West Virginia. On
arriving in Washington, however, their destination was
changed to the Army of Virginia, and they were attached
to the First Brigade, Second Division, of that army, and
placed under the command of Colonel David Hunter,
commanding the division.
In this organization, these companies participated in
the battle of Bull Run, on the 21st of July, 1861. The
squadron was, during the battle, commanded by Captain
Colburn. It actively supported Ricketts' and Griffin's

10 Minty and the Cavalry.
batteries, and conducted itself as a squadron ' ' in the
most gallant manner. ' '
When the rout of the army occurred, Captain Colburn
reported to Major J. N. Palmer, of the Second Cavalry,
who, assuming command, brought together all the cav
alry on the right of the army, and covered the retreat ;
checking the advance of the rebel " Black Horse Cavalry "
when ready to dash on the disordered mass, near the cross
ing of the Centerville road. The conduct of this body of
regulars was officially declared to be " in the highest de
gree praise-worthy." During the action, General Heint-
zelman, commanding the Third Division, reports that the
' ' rebel cavalry was discomfited by the fire of Captain Col
burn' s United States Cavalry " in an attack upon the rear
of Ricketts' Battery.
The companies at, and near Fort Leavenworth, were on
almost constant duty, scouting and skirmishing. On the
22d of July, Captain Stanley, commanding the cavalry
attached to a force under Brigadier General T. W.
Sweney, made an attack upon a large rebel force, com
prising the greater part of Price's rebel army, at For-
sythe, Missouri. For several hours the contest was doubt
ful, but at length, Captain Stanley, putting himself at
the head of the four companies of his regiment, (B, C, D,
and I,) charged the center of the rebel lines, and, after a
short sanguinary conflict, cut through them, capturing
two pieces of artillery and a large number of prisoners,
and utterly routing the whole force. The demoralization
soon communicated itself throughout Price's army, which
now retreated into Arkansas, losing, from desertion, nearly
five thousand men. In this charge, Captain Stanley's
horse was shot.
A few days after, on the 25th of July, Stanley, now in
command of all the cavalry in the Army of the Missouri,

First Cavalry Charge of the War. 11
led two hundred and fifty men, including forty. of Fre
mont' s Body Guard, commanded by. Lieutenant Zagonyi,
in the great charge upon the rebel rear guard at Spring
field, Missouri. This, being the first occasion in the war,
in which a volunteer cavalry force participated in a saber
charge, attracted great attention at the time, and the
charge of the ' ' Fremont Guard ' ' was so illustrated and
advertised as to create the impression that no other troops
were present. The fact is, however, that Captain Stanley
led the fight, and the regulars were equal participants with
the volunteers in its glorious results. In this engagement,
the entire rear guard of Price's army, over two thousand
strong, was cut to pieces and destroyed. It was a saber
fight, and from it the old Fourth Regulars, then the First
Cavalry, learned the lesson of the power of that weapon,
which they did not forget during the whole war. It was
a proud and glorious thing for the volunteers to be able
to ride alongside the veteran regulars, and deal as fast, as
furious blows, upon the enemy, as they themselves. The
importance of this conflict can scarcely be over-estimated,
in its influence both on the regulars and volunteers. The
boys of the Fourth never forgot that the men of Fremont' s
Guard proved equally good soldiers with themselves, and
always acted in perfect accord with any body of volunteer
cavalry that would fight, while the dashing gallantry of
the regulars became an inspiration for all cavalry to emu
late. To Captain Zagonyi, of the Fremont Guard, the
following stanza, by George H. Boker, is inserted :
" I hear thy jingling spurs and reins,
Thy saber at thy knee ;
The blood runs lighter through my veins
As I before me see
Thy hundred men with thrusts and blows,
Ride down a thousand stubborn foes,
The foremost led by thee."

12 Minty and the Cavalry.
On the 2d of August, Stanley again struck the enemy
at Dry Spring, Missouri, and immediately dashing upon
his lines with the saber, cut through them, routing them
in disorder, capturing two hundred with their horses,
arms, and equipments complete. Stanley's loss in this
affair was four killed and six wounded. After routing
the enemy, the pursuit was continued for eighteen miles
at a rapid gallop, and only ceased with the approach of
night. These successive dashing victories had now
brought Captain Stanley prominently in the eye of the
commanding general and to the notice of the War De
partment, and, on the 3d of August, the designation of the
First Cavalry being, by act of Congress, changed to that
of the Fourth XI. S. Cavalry, Captain Stanley was pro
moted and assigned to its command ; the ranking officers
being detached to command volunteer organizations.
Meanwhile, the rebel army under Price, after its disas
trous retreat from Missouri, had been re-inf orced by the
commands of McCullough and Van Dome ; and, again at
tempting the conquest of the State, advanced toward
Springfield, reaching Wilson's Creek about the 8th or 9th
of August. General Lyon and Colonel F. Sigel advanced
to meet them, and on the 10th made a determined attack.
In this battle, one squadron of the Fourth, commanded by
Lieutenant Canfield, was attached to the First Brigade,
commanded, after the death of General Lyon, by Colonel S.
L. Sturgis. This brigade, or right wing of the army, bore
the burden of the fight, and for a time drove the rebel
army rapidly before it ; but the left not coming into action
promptly, it was in the end repulsed with heavy loss, and
the brave Lyon killed. The squadron of the Fourth had
fought dismounted as infantry, and Lieutenant Canfield
and his men are honorably mentioned in the official report
of Colonel Sturgis "for conspicuous bravery in the field."

Battle of Wilson's Creek. 13
The other squadron of the Fourth, commanded by Cap
tain Eugene A. Carr, was attached to the Second Brigade,
or the left wing, under the command of Colonel Franz
Sigel. Captain Carr led the advance of the wing, mount
ed, and, gaining the left and the rear of the rebel position,
cut through the enemy's lines and captured their exten
sive camps on that part of the field. Carr was not, how
ever, supported, nor was the attack of Sigel delivered at
the time nor with the spirit it should, have been. Sigel
was in the end defeated and driven from the field.
When he retreated, Sigel left nearly one half of his
artillery on his abandoned line, which Captain Carr dis
covering, when he interposed his cavalry between the re
treating troops and the on-rushing rebels, he dismounted
a sufficient number of his men to furnish horses for the
guns, and succeeded in bringing off the field two full
batteries, leaving but three guns in the hands of the foe.
For this and other equally gallant services, Captain Carr
was subsequently made a brigadier general of volunteers.
With the battle of Wilson's Creek, the active opera
tions of the Fourth in the field closed for the campaign ;
its duties during the remainder of the summer and fall
being that of scouting the country and the usual routine
of picket and guard duty. Companies G and K were sent
early in November from Fort Wise, Colorado, to Fort
Leavenworth, company "I" was about the same time
dispatched to Paducah, Kentucky; reporting to Brigadier
General Grant, at Cairo, Illinois ; companies B, C, and D
remaining in the vicinity of Sedalia, Missouri ; and com
panies A and E were, during the whole summer, on duty
at army head-quarters at Washington, D. O, while com
panies F and H were at Fort Kearney, Nebraska ; doing
garrison duty and scouting in that vicinity.

CHAPTER III.
The Fourth Cavalry Continued — Operations against Columbus, Ken
tucky — Battle of Fort Donaldson — Battle of Pittsburg Landing.
" The dawn is breaking, day is waking,
The sun is sending forth
Its million rays of light and beauty
To gladden all the earth ;
And with each ray a surge of voices
Like the rushing of the sea,
Is pouring forth the glorious anthem,
' This Nation one shall be.' "

FTER the occupation of Paducah, Kentucky,
company I remained in that vicinity scouting the
country and doing picket duty. Early in Janu
ary, General Grant, with about six: thousand men of
McClernand's command, made a demonstration against
Columbus, Kentucky, for the purpose of preventing the
enemy from sending troops from that point to Bowling
Green. Company I led the advance of this expedition,
and did valiant service in driving in the enemy' s pickets
and out-posts; so active, indeed, was the movement, not
withstanding the continued rain and the wretched condi
tion of the roads, that General Polk, in command of the
rebel forces, was impressed with the danger of an immedi
ate attack, and instead of sending away any part of his
forces, called lustily for re-inforcements to enable him to
hold his position.
Early in February, company K reported for duty in the
department, and the two companies moved with the
advance of General Grant's column against Fort Donald
son. Landing at Fort Henry, on the Tennessee river, the
(14)

Campaign against Fort Donaldson, 15
day after the capture of that place, the squadron was
thrown forward on the road toward Donaldson, pushing
out to within three miles of that place, on the 7th of the
month, and establishing a strong line of pickets, besides
making a complete topographical survey of the country
almost to the enemy's works.
On the morning of the 8th, the squadron moved forward,
and were soon actively engaged with a body of the rebel
cavalry, consisting of four companies under command of
Colonel N. B. Forrest. The country being at this point
heavily wooded, the engagement was fought dismounted,
and resulted in the repulse of the rebel attack and driv
ing Forrest inside the entrenched position at Donaldson.
On the morning of the 12th, two companies of the
Fourth, under Lieutenant Powell, being attached to the
First Brigade of McClernand' s division, pushed forward to
the right, attacking the enemy' s works at Dover, and after
a sharp fight with Forrest, drove him inside the main forti
fications and enabled McClernand to deploy his command
and make the investment of the rebel position complete.
On the 13th, these companies, with the Second Illinois
Cavalry, and under the immediate command of Colonel
Noble of that regiment, successfully repulsed a rebel at
tack made by Forrest, supported by infantry and artillery,
near the river road; and, holding their position, drove the
enemy back to their works. A counter attack was then
ordered by McClernand about 11, a. m., during which
Colonel Oglesby, commanding the brigade, captured the
rifle-pits and outlying works of the enemy, driving them
off the ridge; while Colonel Noble, with the cavalry, ad
vanced to within half a mile of Dover, finally establish
ing the line of investment clear to the over-flow of the
Cumberland river.
On the night of the 14th, Colonel Noble was directed to

16 Minty and the Cavalry.
withdraw his cavalry to the rear of the right wing; which
position he held during the battle of the 15th. The great
sortie of the rebels on the 15th having failed, the sur
render of the fort and its garrison of over sixteen thou-
saud men, followed on the morning of the 16th, the first
great Union victory of the war and the forerunner of the
wonderful advance of the National armies in the West.
General McClernand, in his report of the capture of
Donaldson, in speaking of the position and services of
this command on the 14th, says :
" At this time my right was half a mile from Dover, and about four hundred
yards from the backwater of a small creek, rendering their escape impossi
ble, except through this narrow opening of three or four hundred yards.
Colonels Noble and Dickey's cavalry reported to me early this morning, and
soon made a thorough reconnoissance around the left of the enemy nearly
into Dover. As I have no official report from these forces, I am not able
to state what particular companies did this labor. It was very hazardous
and opened the way to the river."
After the surrender of the fort and rebel army, on the
16th, General Grant moved, with General Smith's corps,
by boat, up the Cumberland river to Nashville, while a
cavalry force, company I, Fourth United States, in the ad
vance, marched on the same place, moving on the river
road, in active pursuit of Forrest' s cavalry. The whole
country was in a wild panic, and evidences of the most
complete demoralization of the enemy were seen on every
hand. When about eighteen miles out, the command
met a citizen who was riding at break-neck pace, his horse
covered with foam, and ready to drop with long-con
tinued violent exertion, who, mistaking the company for
rebels, they being covered with gum coats, and hence
their uniforms were not prominent, advised them, with
great excitement and loud voice, to "Run, run, for the
Yankees, in overwhelming force, are in Nashville, and
are moving down the river, to cut you all off ! They will
kill, ' ' said he, ' ' the last one of you all, suah ! " His fears

March to Nashville — Incidents. 17
were displaced by his astonishment when he learned that
he had fallen into the hands of the terrible Yankees. His
astonishment was still further increased when, on learn
ing he was not in active military service of the State or
Confederacy, the officer in charge of the advance told him
he could go his way, that it was only rebels in arms and
those actively engaged in the civic administration of the
rebel government, that war was waged against.
So widespread and absurd was the panic that the peo
ple, en masse, were seen, men, women, and children,
leaving their homes, and fleeing in every direction, seem
ing only anxious to go somewhere. All the people had
heard of the gun-boats, as the most terrible of the engines
of war, while but few knew or had any idea of what they
were, and, when overtaken, they were, in general, in deadly
fear of the harmless bundles of blankets and extra cloth
ing which the cavalry had strapped in the cantels of their
saddles, believing they were some infernal machines or
parts of the dreaded gun-boats; and, when a few weeks
after, our pontoon trains moved through the country
south of Nashville, you could not get a man, woman, or
child to come near the line of march, along which they
were passing, they were the "gun boats, suah !"
After leaving Clarksville, probably the first morning
after passing that place, the officers, wishing to have the
carbines in good condition, directed the pieces to be dis
charged, as there had been a good deal of wet and sleety
weather. Accordingly, the men were formed and directed
to fire by volleys of sections, i.e., half platoons. This, of
course, took some little time, and made a good deal of
noise. A rebel battalion or regiment happened to be in
hearing, and, believing themselves in imminent danger of
being shelled by the gun-boats, started on a rapid retreat
to Nashville. The fear of each individual communicated
2

18 Minty and the Cavalry.
itself to his fellow, and soon they were rushing in the
wildest kind of a panic towards the city. They scattered
along the road, for the next ten miles, first hats, caps, and
extra clothing, then their cooking pans and mess kits,
then threw out of the wagons their tents, provisions, and
heavy baggage, and a few miles further on the drivers
"hung up" the wagons themselves against trees and
fences, alongside the road ! These evidences of a rout in
front could scarcely be credited by the orderly moving
column, and created a very natural impatience to push on,
if for no other purpose, to let the Johnnies know there
was not such a terrible danger after all.
The command arrived near the city on the 24th, and
found that negotiations were pending for the surrender of
the place to General Buell, who had occupied Edgefield
on the 23d. These arrangements being completed on the
morning of the 25th, the command entered the city, and
was immediately established as a patrol guard ; on which
duty it continued to the 1st of March, when company I
was relieved, and returned, with General Smith's corps,
to Fort Donaldson ; company K being attached with com
pany G to Geneal Buell' s army.
While these operations were in progress, companies B,
C, and D were scouting and operating in the country
near New Madrid, Missouri, and F and H were at Fort
Kearney, Nebraska.
During the month of March, companies G and K moved,
with the advance of General Buell' s army, from Nash
ville. Arriving at Columbia, Tennesse, they there halted
until the 31st, when they moved rapidly to the Tennessee
river at Savannah, and thence proceeded to Pittsburg
Landing, arriving on the field during Sunday, the 6th of
April. Company I had, meanwhile, moved from Nash
ville to Fort Donaldson, thence marched to Fort Henry,

Pittsburg Landing. 19
on the Tennessee river, and had been transported from
that place by steamers to Pittsburg Landing, where it re
ported on the 31st of March.
On the morning of the 6th of April, this company,
under Lieutenant James Powell, was deployed as a line
of videttes, to keep open the road between the right of
General Sherman' s Division and the position of General
Lew. Wallace, and on which he, Wallace, was expected
to move from Crump' s Landing to the field. On the 7th,
the squadron was actively engaged, under the immediate
command of Major General Wallace, and in the pursuit
of the enemy captured a number of prisoners.
The following extract, from the official report of Major
General Lew. Wallace, is inserted, making honorable men
tion of two gallant men of the Fourth Cavalry, in the
great battle of Pittsburg Landing :
" After the battle of Donaldson, I took pleasure in honorably mention
ing two of my orderlies. One of them, Thomas W. Simson, of company I,
Fourth United States Cavalry, I again call attention to. His gallantry is
deserving reward. Along with him, I place Albert Kauffman, a sergeant
in the same company, who was of great service to me, and has every qual
ity that goes to make a practical officer."
Lieutenant James Powell, commanding squadron of
regular cavalry, makes the following official report :
" Sir : I have the honor to report the part taken in the late battle of
Pittsburg Landing, on Sunday and Monday, April 6 and 7, by company C,
Second, and company I, Fourth Cavalry. On Sunday morning, the 6th,
at about 9, a. m., I ordered the squadron to deploy as skirmishers, on the
right flank of our army, to annoy a rebel battery that kept shelling our
camps; -and at the same time, keeping the communications open between
the expected re-inforcements under the command of Major General L.
Wallace, and the army, which position I held, against superior force, until
the arrival of the above-mentioned general, (after night,) and then I biv
ouacked in the rear of our right flank.
" On Monday morning, the 7th, I received orders to support a battery,
under the immediate command of Major General Wallace. I kept that po
sition during the day, following up the enemy and taking several prisoners.
I remained with this division during the night.

20 Minty and the Cavalry.
" Tuesday, the 8th, I received orders to proceed on the road toward
Corinth. Found the enemy in force. Returned and reported accordingly.
"Casualties during the action * * Private Frederick Rhy-
man, ' I ' Fourth Cavalry, killed. * * Privates Heberick, Ahms,
Mc Williams, Green, and Hastings wounded."
(Signed) James Powell,
Commanding Squadron Regular Cavalry.
To Adjutant General Second Division.
April 13, 1862.

CHAPTER IV.

Fourth Cavalry Continued — Operations During the Siege of Corinth
Pursuit of the Rebel Forces — Destruction of the Mobile and Ohio
Railroad — General Granger's Report — Operations in Middle Ten
nessee and Kentucky — Attached to Minty's Brigade.
" The squadron is forming, the war bugles play,
To saddle, brave comrades, stout hearts for a fray,
Our commander is mounted, strike spurs and away."

iFTERthe battle of Pittsburg Landing, and with
the gathering of the great army of the Missis-
x sippi, under General Halleck, for the capture of
Corinth, companies B, C, D, and G, and with I and K
already there, gave six companies of the Fourth cavalry
on that field of operation.
On the 23d of April, all the cavalry were organized into
a single division, and placed under the command of Brig
adier General Gordon Granger. The division consisted of
four full' regiments and the six companies of the Fourth
cavalry. As the operations of these six companies are
intimately associated with the division, so much so as to
make their separate history impossible without doing in
justice to the other organizations, and as most of the reg
iments were subsequently parts of the cavalry to which
this work is specially devoted, the official report of Gen
eral Granger is given in full, for the purpose of covering
the active operations of this period, and bringing the his
tory of each regiment up to the organization of the cav
alry in the Army of the Cumberland in the fall of 1862.
" Head-quarters Cavalry Division, Army of the Mississippi,
Corinth, June 19, 1862.
" General : The division which I have the honor to command is com
posed of four regiments of cavalry, of twelve companies each, comprising
(21)

22 Minty and the Cavalry.
the First brigade, under Colonel J. K. Mizner, consisting of the Third
Michigan and Seventh Illinois, and the Second brigade, consisting of the
Second Iowa and Second Michigan, under Colonel Elliott, and six compa
nies of the Fourth United States (regular) cavalry, attached to head
quarters. " The division organized at Hamburg, on the Tennessee river, on the 23d
of April last, and immediately commenced a series of scoutings and recon-
noissanees, embracing the whole country lying between the Memphis and
Charleston railroad on the South, and the Monterey and Hamburg road on
the North, embracing a scope of country of about twenty miles in breadth.
The general character of the country, thus explored, was found to be a suc
cession of high rolling ridges and intermediate low, swampy bottoms, all
covered with heavy timber, and the low lands, in addition, being covered
with a dense growth of tangled vines and underwood almost impenetrable.
These bottoms abound in streams, which, at this time, had overflowed their
banks, flooding the low lands, and rendering them impassable for wagons
and infantry until the construction of miles of corduroy roads and bridges.
During the whole time of eighteen days, occupied by the march of the army
to Farmington, my whole division was thus laboriously employed in the
advance. Frequently the heavy rains would render the roads impassable
for wagons, and I was then obliged to pack out upon saddle horses the
requisite supplies of rations and forage, thus doubling the labor of both men
and animals.
" I desire here to remark that these arduous services, and frequent priva
tions, have not only been cheerfully undergone, by both officers and men,
but, in many instances, the very unusual service to mounted men by build
ing roads and bridges, earthworks for batteries, rifle pits, and lying in the
trenches as infantry, have likewise been undergone without a single mur
mur. " Where almost every day brought with it some sharp skirmish with a
vigilant enemy, it seems useless to particularize, but a brief synopsis is here
with appended of some of the principal affairs in which this division has
been engaged up to the retreat of the enemy.
"April 24. Colonel Elliott, commanding Second brigade, with a battalion
each of the Second and Third Michigan, Second Iowa, and Seventh Illinois,
proceeded to Greer's Ford. On the 26th, Captain Fowler, Second Michi
gan, while on escort duty with his company, was fired upon by the enemy's
pickets, severely wounding Private John Fosher, company G. The enemy
retreated, and the nature of the ground forbade much pursuit. Four com
panies, same regiment, under Major Shaw, drove in the enemy's pickets at
Atkins' Mill. Had one man wounded. Colonel Elliott's force, for several
days, was continually scouring the country toward Monterey.
"April 27. Major Burton, with two companies, each Third Michigan, and
Seventh Illinois, proceeded out on the Corinth road from Hamburo- at
tacked and drove in a body of two hundred and fifty rebel cavalry, killing
five and taking twenty-two prisoners, besides capturing fifteen horses and

Granger's Report. 23
equipments, and thirty-five stand of arms. Captain Botham, company I,
Third Michigan cavalry, in this affair acted with great bravery, killing one
man and wounding another with his saber, and, accompanied by Corporal
Cochran, company L, and Private MacNab, company M, only, he took
thirteen prisoners.
"¦April 29. — The Second Brigade, Colonel Elliott commanding, made a
forced reconnoissance toward Monterey, attacked the enemy's camp near
Monterey, driving him from it, and following him up until he covered him
self by his artillery, under a heavy fire from which the command was with
drawn, the Second Iowa losing one private killed, three wounded. Returned
to camp with nine prisoners captured. No casualties in the Second Michi
gan. " May 3. — The Second Iowa regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel Hatch,
proceeded to a point on the Memphis » and Charleston railroad between
Burnsville and Glendale, and destroyed the track by burning the trestle
work, bending the rails, and destroying the switches. Captured three wagons,
ten mules, and four prisoners. One battalion, Second Michigan, Captain
Alger commanding, made a reconnoissance toward the Memphis and Charles
ton railroad, encountering the enemy and taking nine prisoners.
'' May J/,. — Lieutenant Colonel Minty, Third Michigan, company F, with
companies A, G, I, and K of that regiment, being ordered to report to Gen
eral Paine, was sent in the advance on the Farmington road. He en
countered the enemy, three hundred strong, on the Farmington Heights,
drove them back after a sharp running fight of an hour, losing only one
man wounded. This was the day of the first reconnoissance toward Farm
ington, and Colonel Minty, with his cavalry, occupied the field the follow
ing night. On this day, also. Captain Quackenbush, company G, Third
Michigan cavalry, who had been detached under command of Colonel
Roberts, Forty-second Illinois, was ordered to explore the road to Nichols'
Ford. Within half a mile of the ford, he came upon about seventy-five of
the enemy, who retired. Further on, at a cross-road, they rallied to dis
pute the passage, but his dismounted riflemen speedily scattered them, leav
ing, in their flight, tents, knapsacks, and blankets in abundance.
May 8. — Major Love, Second Iowa cavalry, was sent down the Memphis
and Charleston railroad south-east of Farmington. When within half a mile
of the railroad, he met the enemy's pickets, drove them nearly to the rail
road, when he encountered a large body of infantry and cavalry, whom he
engaged, with a loss of one killed and three wounded. Lieutenant Wash
burn, having had his horse shot under him, was taken prisoner, but cut
through the enemy and effected his escape. Having accomplished this re
connoissance, Major Love returned.
" A report having reached me in the meantime that Major Love's battalion
was in great danger of being surrounded by a largely superior force, I im
mediately dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Gorham with eight companies of
Second Michigan, and Lieutenant Gordon with one company Fourth regu-

24 Minty and the Cavalry.
lar cavah-y, to his assistance; but Major Love having meanwhile extricated
himself from his perilous position, they returned to their stations.
" Colonel Elliott, also, in the forenoon, proceeded with three battalions of
his command to the Memphis and Charleston railroad by a road leading south
from Farmington, but meeting the enemy in large force, both of artillery,
infantry, and cavalry, was forced to retire. On this day, also, Lieutenant
Colonel Minty, with two battalions Third Michigan cavalry, under Majors
Gray and Moyers, and one battalion Seventh Illinois cavalry,, under Major
Applington, proceeded to the junction of the Purdy, Corinth and Farming-
ton roads, in a dense woods. The wood was gallantly cleared of the enemy
by a charge of Captain Wilcox, company B, Third Michigan cavalry. Major
Gray, Third Michigan, with three companies, was ordered by General Paine
to support Houghtaling's battery, which was efficiently done. Lieutenant
Colonel Minty, being ordered to charge in front, did so; but finding the
enemy too strong, retired. In this charge, Major Applington fell while
gallantly leading his battalion, and a private of the Seventh niinois was
severely wounded in the lungs. This was the day of our first occupation
of Farmington, and subsequent events warrant me in saying that these con
stant movements of large bodies of my command upon our extreme left
effectually prevented the enemy from consummating his plan of a flank
movement. "May 9. — The enemy having this day appeared in strong force to dispute
our occupation of Farmington, Lieutenant Colonel Hatch, Second Iowa
cavalry, was ordered by me to the front, with his regiment; the Second
Michigan, under Lieutenant Colonel Gorham being held in reserve.
" On arriving at Seven Mile Creek, one mile from Farmington, he found
General Paine's division hotly pressed, and in some confusion. Crossing
the causeway and bridge over the creek, he found their batteries sweeping
every approach from the creek. The ground was much broken by hills
and ravines, and utterly unsuited to cavalry movements, but, nevertheless,
upon receiving the order from General Paine to charge, Colonel Hatch di
vided his force, sending Major Hepburn, with the First battalion, to charge
the left battery, while he himself, accompanied by Majors Love and Coon,
with the Second and Third battalions, charged upon the center and right
batteries in splendid style, driving in the strong force of the enemy's
skirmishers and battery supports with great fury, and completely silencing
the fire of both batteries ; but, finding the enemy's infantry in great force in
the woods, in the rear of the batteries, he returned in good order, but with
a loss of no less than forty-three killed, wounded, and missing, besides a
large number of horses.
" I cannot but express my conviction that this heavy loss was attributa
ble to the entirely unfit nature of the ground over which the charge was
ordered. Major Hepburn found his ground entirely impracticable, his men
being unable to reach the guns of the left battery, yet the enemy, evidently
alarmed at his charge, suspended their fire. Major Hepburn then retired
his command to the foot of the hill in good order, and with no loss. The

Granger's Report. 25
object of the charge, however, was entirely accomplished. The infantry
and artillery, who were crowding the narrow causeway in much con
fusion, were given time by it to extricate themselves, retire, and form upon
the opposite side ; and the gallant Hescock had time to withdraw his bat
teries, which had been in some danger.
" May 10. — Major Burton, with six companies of the Third Michigan and
Seventh Illinois cavalry, was sent on a reconnoissance toward Sharp's Mill.
* * * On this da}r, Captain Latimer, company E, ThirdMichigan
cavalry, while on picket duty before Farmington, had a brisk skirmish, losing
one man, taken prisoner, and several wounded. Six companies Second
Iowa, and six companies Second Michigan, with one battery, Colonel El
liott commanding, made a forced reconnoissance on the Alabama road. On
the 12th, one battalion, Second Michigan, under Captain Campbell, and one
battalion, Second Iowa, under Major Hepburn, encountered the enemy's
pickets near Farmington, and drove them some distance in the direction of
Corinth. " May 13. — Colonel Elliott, with his brigade, consisting of the Second
Iowa and Second Michigan, the Third Michigan, and » section of Powell's
battery, made a heavy reconnoissance to the front of Farmington, toward
Corinth, and to the Memphis and Charleston railroad, upon two roads to
the left of Farmington. Their pickets were scattered and driven out of
sight and the object of the reconnoissance accomplished. On the 15th, two
battalions, Second Michigan, with one of the Second Iowa, had a slight
skirmish near the Memphis and Charleston railroad.
" On the evening of the 16th, I received orders from the Major General
commanding to have the cavalry in readiness at daylight the next morning,
to move on Farmington, and guard the approaches to that place, and also
join him in a reconnoissance of the position, with a view to posting our
corps d'armee upon the extreme left of the advance upon Corinth. I ac
cordingly moved my cavalry, about 6, a. m., to Farmington, and after post
ing a considerable portion of it on the various roads, reported to General
Pope in person, and from him received orders to carefully examine the po
sition to be occupied by our left flank, which I did, and reported the result
as soon as completed. This reconnoissance continued until a little past 12,
M., when we returned to camp. Shortly after, I received orders from the
General commanding to proceed to Farmington, and post the whole army
upon the ground indicated by him in the morning. I immediately ad
vanced the whole line of pickets about two 'miles, and posted them one
half to three quarters of a mile in front of Farmington. * * *
" May 19. — Major Moyers' Third battalion, Third Michigan, made a recon
noissance to the front and left of Farmington, driving back the enemy's
pickets one mile. On the 22d, Lieutenant Caldwell's company, (&,) Third
Michigan, being on picket, was attacked by a large force of skirmishers,
and though flanked, he held his position until relieved. Colonel Mizner,
with detachments of Third Michigan and Seventh Illinois, made a recon
noissance to Burnsville and luka, and the country lying between Chambers
and Yellow creeks. He took several prisoners, but met no enemy in force.

26 Minty and the Cavalry.
" On the 28th, I detached Colonel Elliott, with his brigade, Second Iowa
and Second Michigan, with instructions to penetrate, by some circuitous
route, the country to the South, and to strike, if possible, the Mobile and
Ohio railroad at some point thirty or forty miles below Corinth. This ex
pedition, although a very hazardous and arduous service, was attended with
the most complete success. Colonel Elliott succeeded in reaching the rail
road at Booneville, some thirty miles below Corinth, and after a sharp skir
mish with about two hundred and fifty of the enemy's cavalry, succeeded
in obtaining possession of the town, which contained from two thousand to
three thousand of the enemy's sick, wounded, and convalescent, together
with a train of twenty-six cars, filled with arms, ammunition, baggage, and
equipments, and three pieces of artillery, and a locomotive ; all of which
he destroyed. He also burned the depot, which was filled with provisions
and military stores of .every description. He also cut the railroad in a
number of places, and, having accomplished all this immense damage to the
enemy, he returned", unmolested, to his camp at Farmington, his entire
casualties having been but one wounded and nine taken prisoners.
" On the 30th of May, the enemy having evacuated Corinth, I started
from Farmington in pursuit with the First brigade, under Colonel Mizner. I
found the country rugged, and the road strewn with blankets, knapsacks,
small arms, carriages, and wagons, broken and abandoned by the enemy in
his flight. * * * At the causeway at Tuscumbia creek, eight
miles south of Corinth, I found the enemy's pickets in strong force in the
woods. Deploying Colonel Bissell's regiment of infantry as skirmishers, I
sent one company, Seventh Illinois cavalry, under Major Rawalt, to charge
over the bridge. They were met by a severe fire of grape from a masked battery
and obliged to retreat. The engineers' infantry then threw down their arms and
fled, and it being now dark, I retired my whole force to the hill and bivouacked
for the night. Major Rawalt lost one killed, and six severely wounded. On
the same day, Captain Kendrick, Second Iowa, with thirty men, having
taken the Ripley road, came up with the enemy about two and one half
miles from Corinth, and drove them two miles further, taking fifty prisoners
and saving three bridges. He found a large force burning a bridge, and
attacked them, when they opened fire from a battery of three guns when
he retired in good order, losing one man killed, and one wounded.
"On Sunday, June 1, I recommenced the pursuit, passing Rienzi, fording
streams with much difficulty, all the bridges having been destroyed. I
bivouacked one mile north of -Booneville, at 1.30, a. m., and entered that town
at 5, a. m., of the 2nd, where I remained that day, sending out from thence
my cavalry in every direction. In this service, Lieutenants Dykeman, Reese,
and Ives particularly distinguished themselves. Lieutenant Colonel Smith,
who joined me at Rienzi with the First Ohio cavalry, and Colonel Ingersoll'
with one battalion of the Eleventh Illinois, rendered most valuable assistance
in reconnoitering.
"At Booneville, I learned that the enemy had marched from that point
by four different roads, Price and Van Dome taking the two roads east of

Granger's Report. 27
the railroad, other portions by two roads west, while Polk's and Braggs'
column's were passing on roads still more to the westward, one diverging
from Rienzi, and the other leading west from Corinth through Kossuth.
Being now some ten miles in advance of our main infantry advance, I
deemed it prudent to halt a portion of my force, and carefully reconnoiter
all the routes and the country between Booneville and Twenty Mile creek.
Scouts were sent out, and about seven o'clock messengers arrived from all
the scouts, reporting the enemy in force at several points along Twenty Mile
creek, particularly at the main crossings. The railroad and bridges were
found to be on fire.
" On the 3d of June, I received orders to proceed toward Baldwin. *
* * * I continued to press the enemy closely with the Forty-
second Illinois and portions of the Third Michigan, and Seventh Illinois,
and Powell's battery deployed, and the rest of Roberts' brigade closely fol
lowing to within one and a half miles of Twenty Mile creek, where I re
ceived orders to return to Booneville with the whole command, which I
did, arriving in camp at 10, p. m. On the same day, Lieutenant Colonel
Smith, First Ohio cavalry, m'ade a, reconnoissance toward Ripley. At
Blockland, he encountered the enemy, whom he charged and drove in. Col
onel Smith reports Sergeant Major Scott as having been in this affair par
ticularly distinguished for coolness and daring.
" June 4- Colonel Elliott, with his brigade and four guns of Powell's
battery, was sent down the Blockland road. He encountered the enemy at
Osburn's ereek, and the Second Michigan drove them four miles. At
Wolf's creek, he again met the enemy in force, and after a sharp skirmish,
returned in good order. On the 6th of June, Colonel Sheridan made a re
connoissance toward Baldwin, defeating the enemy and capturing Captain
Avery, of the Georgia cavalry, and on the 9th of June, he advanced again
with the Second brigade by night to Baldwin, where he arrived at 4, a. m.,
of the 10th, and found the enemy had retired. He then detached Lieuten
ant Colonel Hatch, with a battalion each of Second Iowa and Second Mich
igan, in the direction of Guntown, who attacked the enemy's rear guard and
drove it to within one and a half miles of the town. On the 4th of June,
Captain Patton, First Ohio cavalry, with forty-eight men, repulsed a vigor
ous attack of two hundred and fifty of the enemy while on outpost duty
at Booneville. ** * *******
'• Of the killed and wounded of the enemy, no reliable data can be ob
tained. His loss is probably one hundred killed and three hundred and
fifty-six wounded. We have captured over six hundred prisoners, taken
seven thousand stands of small arms, a very large quantity of commissary
stores, tents, and baggage.
Very respectfully, I am, General, your obedient servant, G. Granger,
Brigadier General Commanding Cavalry Division.
Brigadier General W. L. Elliott,
Chief of Staff, Army of Mississippi.

28 Minty and the Cavalry
After the capture of Corinth, the six companies of the
Fourth cavalry moved with General Buell, as his escort
to Athens, Alabama; being on duty at that place on the
30th of June, 1862.
A short time before General Buell arrived at this place
the town had been occupied by a brigade of his army, com
manded by Brigadier General Turchen. When Turchen' s
advance, comprising two companies of the Fourth, entered
the town, and after its complete evacuation by the rebel
cavalry, the citizens, noticing that there were but com
paratively few Union soldiers present, began an indis
criminate firing on them from the houses, stables, &c.
Notice of the attack was sent to the General, who has
tened forward with his brigade, reaching the town shortly
after the Fourth boys had succeeded in silencing the hos
tile fire, and about two hours after the advance had en
tered. Turchen formed his command in the center of the town,
and, referring to the dastardly attack on his advance, con
cluded his speech to his men about in these words :
"Now, boys, you stops in tis repel down dis night, and I
shuts mine eyes for von hour." In about an hour, Tur
chen called to his adjutant and wanted to know if the
town was burned down yet. The adjutant told him it
was not. "Veil, veil," said he, "tell de poys I shuts
mine eyes for von hour and a half. ' ' The ' 'poys' ' seemed
to understand, and when General Buell arrived a day or
so after, the site where Athens had stood was marked by
badly wrecked, demolished, and plundered buildings.
The town was not burned, but it was badly torn to pieces,
and every building from which a shot had been fired was*
demolished. Moving with General Buell, the companies of the
Fourth occupied Huntsville, Alabama, in July; remain-

The Fourth in Tennessee and Kentucky. 29
ing in that place until the 2nd of August. From Hunts-
ville, they moved to Shelbyville, Tennessee; and thence to
Tullahoma, where they remained until the 18th of Sep
tember. On that day they started with army head-quar
ters to Nashville, and thence moved back through Ken
tucky to Louisville, where they were remounted on the
30th of September. On the 2nd of October, the advance
against Bragg' s army at Bardstown, Kentucky, was com
menced, and without participating actively in any en
gagement of note, Woodsonville was reached on the 31st
of October, and Nashville, Tennessee, on the 30th of No
vember, 1862. At which place, early in December, they
were incorporated in the First brigade, Second cavalry
division.

CHAPTER V.

SEPTEMBER, 1861, TO MARCH, 1862.
The Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry — Organization —Departure for
Louisville, Kentucky — In Camp at Jeffersonville, Indiana — Off to
the Front — In Camp at Bardstown — The Military Situation — -March
to Bowling Green — Description — March to Nashville, Tennessee —
In Camp at Nashville — Incidents.
"In Freedom's cause our blades are drawn;
The traitor yet shall feel,
Before the day of Peace shall dawn,
How strong is Northern steel."
[HE Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, whose fame
was heard through the length and breadth of
the land; in loyal hearts enkindling the liveliest
emotions of pride, and forcing even from disloyal foes re
luctant admiration for its deeds of daring and its prowess;
was recruited by authority of the Secretary of War, and
of Governor Curtin, under the following circumstances :
The disastrous result of the battle of Bull Run, in
July, 1861, emphasized the need previously felt by the
Secretary of War for a larger. force of cavalry than the
Government then had in the field. It was also thought
best, at that time, to encourage the formation of organi
zations from the more populous of the loyal States, larger
than that of regiments. To that end, authority was
granted various persons in Pennsylvania to raise divi
sions and brigades. Before, however, this project was
fully carried out, a conflict of authority was developed
between the Governor and the Secretary; it being claimed
by the former that the latter had no warrant, under the
(30)

IK

¦

GEORGE C. WYNKOOP,
Colonel Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry.

Organization of Regiment. 31
Constitution and laws of the United States, to commission
regimental or company officers, and that which he could
not do directly, he could not accomplish indirectly, by
delegating the power in the hands of persons selected by
him. This position of Governor Curtin was subsequently
sustained, and the authority granted by the Secretary of
War revoked.
In July, 1861, Wm. B. Sipes, a prominent citizen of
Philadelphia, was authorized by the Secretary of War to
raise in Pennsylvania a regiment of cavalry, to form a
part of what was designed to be "James's Brigade of
Pennsylvania Volunteers." Mr. Sipes, with the energy
which characterized all his undertakings, immediately
opened recruiting stations at various points, and estab
lished rendezvous for the recruits at Philadelphia, Nor-
ristown, and Harrisburg. About the same time, George
C. Wynkoop, a resident of Pottsville, Schuylkill county,
who had served with distinction in the Mexican war as a
colonel, (receiving a brevet of Brigadier General of Vol
unteers,) and as Brigadier General of Pennsylvania Vol
unteers in the three month's service; was authorized by
Governor Curtin to raise a regiment of cavalry, as part of
Pennsylvania's quota, under the President's call for three
hundred thousand volunteers "for the war."
Under authority of Colonel Wynkoop, recruiting sta
tions were opened in Pottsville and other points in
Schuylkill county, also in Clearfield and Cumberland
counties, and at Harrisburg.
The Secretary of War, having in August revoked the
authority to Mr. Sipes, a consolidation of the companies
already recruited was had, and regimental organization
effected at Pottsville on the 21st of August, 1861; and the
following field and staff selected :

32 Minty and the Cavalry.
Colonel George C. Wynkoop,' of Pottsville, commis
sioned from August 21, 1861.
Lieutenant Colonel Wm. B. Sipes, of Philadelphia,
commissioned from August 21, 1861.
Major John E. Wynkoop, of Pottsville, commissioned
from November 9, 1861.
Major James L. Seibert, of Philadelphia, commissioned
from November 14, 1861.
Major James Given, of Philadelphia, commissioned
from December 20, 1861.
Adjutant Richard F. Mosen, commissioned from No
vember 5, 1861.
Quartermaster Thomas H. Ricketts, of St. Clair, pro
moted from First Lieutenant, company A.
Commissary John B. Reed, commissioned November
14, 1861.
Surgeon Alexander M. Speer, commissioned November
14, 1861.
Assistant Surgeon John L. Sherk, commissioned No
vember 4, 1861.
The regiment was at first ordered to rendezvous at
Chambersburg, but two days after a part of one company
had arrived there, the designation was changed to a point
three miles east of Harrisburg, where, on the 26th of
August, it went into a camp named in honor of the Sec
retary of War, Camp Cameron. Between that date and
the 20th of September, nine companies of maximum
strength, were mustered into the United States service.
On the 10th of October, another company of maximum
strength made up by consolidating two parts of compa
nies, was mustered into the service, and on the 20th of
November, two more, one with maximum and the other
with minimum numbers, were mustered in.

Organization of Regiment. 33
The company organizations at the time of the complete
muster was :
Company A— Captain Wm. H. Jennings, of Pottsville,
commissioned from September 28, 1861; First Lieutenant
Percey H. White, of Pottsville, commissioned from
November 25, 1861; Second Lieutenant John D. Jones,
of Pottsville, commissioned from September 28, 1861.
Company B. — Captain John M. Essington, commis
sioned from November 14, 1861 ; First Lieutenant Amos
B. Rhoads, of Watsontown, commissioned from Novem
ber 14, 1861 ; Second Lieutenant Nathaniel B. Stevens, of
Watsontown, commissioned from November 14, 1861.
Company C. — Captain Benjamin F. Dartt, commis
sioned from November 1, 1861; First Lieutenant John
G. Hillier, commissioned from November 1, 1861; Second
Lieutenant Charles L. Greeno, commissioned from No
vember 1, 1861.
Company D. — Captain James Bryson, of Watsontown,'
commissioned from October 31, 1861; First Lieutenant
Joseph Castles, of Watsontown, commissioned from Oc
tober 9, 1861 ; Second Lieutenant James S. Henderson, of
Watsontown, commissioned from October 31, 1861.
Company E. — Captain Israel B. Sheaffer, commis
sioned from October 29, 1861; First Lieutenant John
Leidy, commissioned from October 29, 1861; Second
Lieutenant Harvey H. Best, commissioned from October
29, 1861.
Company F. — Captain Cyrus Newlin, of Philadelphia,
commissioned from October 25, 1861; First Lieutenant
Heber S. Thompson, of Pottsville, commissioned from
October 22, 1861 ; Second Lieutenant Bernard Reilly, Jr. ,
of Pottsville, commissioned from November 11, 1861.
Company O. — Captain James F. Andress, of Chester,
commissioned from November 4, 1861; First Lieutenant

34 Minty and the Cavalry.

William Foote, commissioned from October 1, 1861;
Second Lieutenant James W. Childs, commissioned from
October 12, 1861.
Company IT.— Captain Samuel Hibler, commissioned
November 30, 1861 ; First Lieutenant Wm. C. Garrett,
commissioned November 20, 1861 ; Second Lieutenant
Shadrock Foley, commissioned November 30, 1861.
Company I. — Captain Charles C. Davis, Harrisburg,
commissioned September 1, 1861 ; First Lieutenant* John
C. Fields, Harrisburg, commissioned December 21, 1861 ;
Second Lieutenant Henry H. Lutz, Harrisburg, com
missioned September 30, 1861.
Company K. —Captain David G. May, West Fairview,
commissioned November 4, 1861 ; First Lieutenant
Joseph G. Vale, Camp Hill, commissioned October 12,
1861 ; Second Lieutenant James G. Taylor, Connellsville,
commissioned October 12, 1861.
Company L. — Captain Charles C. McCormick, Read
ing, commissioned October 9, 1861 ; First Lieutenant
John Umpleby, commissioned December 7, 1861 ; Second
Lieutenant Albert Bechtel, commissioned December 18,
1861. Company M. — Captain Bartholomew Scanlin, Pitts
burgh, commissioned August 4, 1862 ; First Lieutenant
Wm. Einstein, commissioned December 5, 1861 ; Second
Lieutenant James L. Graham, commissioned December
5, 1861.
*The original first lieutenant of company I, was John S. Wood, of
Carlisle, who was commissioned from September 1, 1861, and mustered
into the service. He was supplanted, without authority, by the muster in.
of Lieutenant Fields, at Bardstown, Kentucky, February 28, 1 862. It was
not until 1882 that he was officially mustered out of the United States ser
vice, to date, however, from the 23d of August, 1865 ! During, this period
of three years John S. Wood was the legal first lieutenant of this com
pany.

Organization of Regiment. 35
Companies A and F were recruited in Schuylkill
county; B, in Lycoming and Tioga; C, in Tioga and
Bradford; D, in Northumberland and Montour; E, in
Clinton and Centre; G, in Chester; H, in Montour and
Luzerne; I, in Dauphin; K, in Cumberland and Lancaster;
with a detachment under Lieutenant Taylor, in Fayette;
L, in Berks, and M, in Allegheny.
The expenses of recruiting were borne by the line
officers, out of their private funds, their commissions de
pending upon their success in the work. But few of them
had any military knowledge or experience, but this defi
ciency was rapidly overcome by careful and continuous
study, as soon as they entered camp.
Clothing and side arms for the men were issued as fast
as they arrived, and a thorough and systematic course of
instruction in dismounted drill, and saber and pistol ex
ercise was continued during the whole time the regiment
lay in camp.
Horses and horse equipments, with complete camp and
garrison equipage, and full complement of wagons for
transportation were supplied and immediately shipped in
charge of a detail, by rail to Pittsburgh. On the 18th of
December, the colors of the regiment were presented to it
by Governor Curtin, from the capitol at Harrisburg, in
the presence of a large congregation of citizens; the
destination of the regiment being then known to be the
great field of the West, caused unusual interest to be
manifested by the people, in its departure for the seat of
war. On the morning of the 19th, the regiment, in pursuance
of orders from the Secretary of War, started for Louis
ville, Kentucky, being assigned to the command of Gen
eral Buell. Arriving at Pittsburgh about 1, a. m., on the
20th, it was handsomely entertained by the citizens in a

gg Minty and the Cavalry.
public hall, and then marched to the steamboats provided
for its transportation, thence to Louisville. So faithfully
had the detail, which had left Harrisburg on the 17th,
worked that all the horses, forage, rations, camp and gar
rison equipage were already on board, and, casting off, the
fleet of six magnificent steamers bore it away, amid the
cheers of the populace and salutes of artillery, toward
the " seat of war in the South-west."
It left Pittsburgh about 2, a. m., on the 20th, and re
ported to General Buell, at Louisville, on the morning of
the 26th, and was, by his orders, placed in camp on the
Indiana side of the river in rear of Jeffersonville. When
it came to debark, a furious rain was falling; the mules
were entirely unbroken; the wagons had never been put
together before; and the "bottom had fallen out" of the
roads leading from the town to the camping ground;
added to these interesting factors, was the fact that the
men detailed as teamsters and assistants were absolutely
without experience in army transportation, and the lively
kind of a circus the regiment treated itself to before it
got settled in camp that night may be imagined, but can
not be adequately described.
The next morning, it having grown intensely cold dur
ing the night, the men had the novel experience of cutting
the horses' feet loose from the frozen ground. This freeze
was attended with very serious results. The horses had
been taken from stables and the more recent warmth and
shelter of the cars and boats, and were wholly unprepared
for the sudden exposure. On hundreds, the skin was
frozen into blisters, which soon became sore, and standing
in the deep mud, from which they could not be protected,
developed a most malignant form of ' ' scratches " or " gree-
zed-heel," causing lameness, which was not gotten rid of
for more than six months after ; in fact, about two hun-

Incidents of Camp Life. 37
dred had ultimately to be condemned and turned in as
worthless. Notwithstanding this trouble with the horses, the regi
ment rapidly became proficient in the mounted drill, pass
ing, while it lay in this camp, through that portion of the
"tactics " which treats of the "school of the soldier, the
squad, the company, and the battalion." In this daily
drilling, with mud almost knee-deep one day, and frozen
ground and ice the next, many casualties of a minor'
nature occurred from horses falling or throwing the
men, the most serious of which was that to Lieutenant
Taylor, who was badly injured by being kicked on the leg
while on drill.
The regiment received its second payment on the 14th
of January. This payment, so promptly following the
muster of December 31, shows that the officers had been
careful and intelligent in the preparation of the rolls. The
Belgen rifles issued were found to be worthless and were
condemned, and companies A, F, H, G, K, and L were, on
the 21st of January, armed with the Burnside carbine,
while companies B, C, D, I, and M received the Smith car
bine. Before arriving at " the front," many amusing incidents
occurred, one of which, as it served for a long standing
joke on the officer, is inserted. At Camp Cameron, some
of the officers would occasionally go into Harrisburg, and
in their patriotic effort to convince their friends that they
were just the fellows to put down the rebellion, would get
mixed up in their reckonings by too frequent libations of
a compound of sweetened milk, eggs, etc., dispensed at
the "Exchange."
One bright moonlight night, the captain of company B,
wending his weary way from the city to camp, was halted
by the outer guard, when the following dialogue occurred :

38 Minty and the Cavalry.
Sentinel. — Halt ! who comes there ?
Captain. — Friend with' t ' thcount' sign.
Sentinel. — Who are you ?
Captain. — Friendwith' t ' thcount' sign.
Sentinel.— Advance, friend, and give the countersign.
Captain. — Toldyu'haddn't it.
Sentinel. — Are you a citizen or a soldier?
Captain.— You' r a fool. I ain't either a solder' er a
gentl'man, 'am a officer' ame, I am.
Another incident, which occurred on the way down the
Ohio on one of the boats, has since the war been pub
lished in many newspapers, with its hero as "numerous "
as the accounts themselves.
One night, Captain Essington and a few of the officers
were playing a little game of poker, when a man, appar
ently connected in some way with the boat, managed to
get into the game, and soon succeeded in getting in a good
deal of the loose change. Essington was drinking a good
deal, and, after a time, appeared considerably affected.
He had lost several hundred dollars, and was strongly
urged to drop the game. He, however, persisted in play
ing, and the game was changed to euchre. During this
latter game, the stranger said to Essington, who had the
deal, ' ' If this was poker now, I would bet on my hand. "
Essington replied, ' ' What would you bet if it was poker ? ' '
The stranger said, "I would bet five hundred dollars on
my hand in poker." Essington looked at his own hand
awhile, then said, "If you will allow me to discard one
card and take up that queen," which he had turned up
as trump, "I will make it poker." The stranger readily
agreed, the discard was made, and the stranger put up
his five hundred dollars. Essington saw it and raised it
five hundred more, when the stranger called it. The
stranger, lying down four kings, said, "Captain, your

Review at Louisville. 39
four queens are not good." Essington replied, " No, but
four aces are," showing the four aces. The stranger sur
rendered, remained quiet a little while, then said, very
seriously, "Captain, that is all right, but what did you
want with that queen along with your four spots ? "
At five o'clock, on the morning of the 26th of January,
the regiment "struck tents " and, with one day's cooked
rations in haversacks, moved at 8 a. m., to the Louisville
ferry. By eleven o' clock it was transferred ' ' bag and
baggage," without loss of men or material into the city
and formed on Broad street. It was there inspected by
the inspecting officers of the department, and, in marching
trim, reviewed by Major General Buell, in person, passing
the reviewing stand in column of platoons. It presented
a fine appearance and was highly complimented by the
General. It marched in review with nine hundred and
sixty-three officers and men in ranks, which, with team
sters and train guards, gave a total ' ' present equipped for
the field of one thousand and sixty-two officers and men;
with a train of fifteen wagons and three ambulances.
General Buell, in an official communication to the Hon
orable Secretary of War, subsequently wrote: "The
Pennsylvanians are the finest troops in this command.
Send more like Negley's brigade. I am confident the
Seventh cavalry will be a credit to the State. My officers
speak highly of the Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry."
The military situation in the department had, all
through the summer and fall of 1861, been such as excit
ed great anxiety among those versed in the science of
war. The rebels held the Mississippi river from Colum
bus, Kentucky, to its mouth; the former, with Fort Pil
low and Memphis, were strongly fortified camps, garri
soned with a force reported at seven thousand men of all
arms under command of Lieutenant General Polk.

40 Minty and the Cavalry.
Major General Pillow occupied New Madrid, Missouri ;
with a reported .force of twenty thousand infantry and
artillery; Major General Price in Missouri had a known
force in the field of over twenty thousand cavalry and
artillery; Brigadier General Van Dome, in south-west
Missouri, was known to have at least ten thousand cavalry
and artillery; General Albert Sidney Johnson, in chief
command of the whole force, occupied a strongly fortified
position at Bowling Green, in the heart of Kentucky,
with a reported force of fifty thousand men of all arms;
Marshal] and Zollicoffer, with five thousand cavalry and
fifteen thousand infantry and artillery, held the line of
the Cumberland river and mountains in south-eastern
Kentucky. Up to September 6, the Federal forces were : Under
Major General Fremont, in Missouri, twenty-two thousand
men of all arms; under Brigadier General Grant, at
Cairo, Illinois, and Paducah, Kentucky, eleven thousand
two hundred; under Major General Sherman, near Louis
ville, Kentucky, ten thousand five hundred. At Camp
Dick Robinson, under Brigadier General Nelson, six
thousand three hundred, and extending from Covington
to Camp Wild Cat, under Brigadier General Thomas,
eight thousand six hundred.
Believing this to be the situation, it is not strange -that
when, in September, General Sherman was asked what
force he would require to drive the rebels out of Ken
tucky, occupy Nashville, and hold East Tennessee, he
replied, without hesitation, two hundred thousand men
of all arms.
Even, knowing, as we now do, the extent to which the
numbers of the rebel force was exaggerated, it is evident
that, had the rebel leaders the ability to have grasped the
situation, they could, in August or September, have

Campaign in Kentucky. 41
mounted one hundred thousand men, with a park of fifty
or sixty pieces of artillery, and swept from almost any
point in Kentucky, across the States of Indiana and
Ohio; producing a political revolution in these as well as
the State of Illinois; and, following by an infantry advance
up the Mississippi river, supported by their fleet of gun
boats, might, and probably would, have wrested the whole
Mississippi and Ohio valley from the Union.
That this, or a similar project on their part, was looked
for by General Sherman, while he was in command at
Louisville, is shown by his correspondence. For his
anxiety and solicitude at that time, General Sherman was
ridiculed and pronounced 'crazy' by the leading news
papers of the day, and has been criticised, more or less
unfavorably ever since, by most, who have attempted to
write a history of the war; they assuming that the dicta
of Horace Greely, contained in his American Conflict, is
the truth, althpugh not supported by any evidence. .
The figures, as given in the ' 'official records of the Re
bellion, series 1, vols. Ill and IV, show that on the 15th
of November, 1861, General A. S. Johnson had a total of
all arms 'present for duty,' of a hundred and one thousand
six hundred and fifty-five officers and men, with one hun
dred and fifty-five pieces of field artillery. Now, when
it is remembered, that at this time, in the same report,
both Polk and Johnson state 'that the larger portion of
their commands are down with the measles, by which the
present for duty is vastly reduced, but hope soon to be
able to report the restoration of the men to their ranks,
&c;" and taking the only report on file, which gives the
number of sick, to wit : Hardee's, in which he gives
"Present sick"  2,809
Absent sick  3,978
 6,787"

42 Minty and the Cavalry.
and present effectives twelve thousand five hundred, we
see that out of a total of nineteen thousand two hundred
and eighty-seven, more than thirty-five per cent, is re
ported sick; a proportion which would swell the armies of
Polk and Johnson, exclusive of the cavalry, to eighty
thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven, and with the
cavalry to one hundred and twenty-five thousand six
hundred and twenty-eight ! And when we consider that
the " army of the Gulf," under Beauregard, numbered
"nearly forty thousand effectives, " and the gunboat
fleets of Memphis and New Orleans were all within reach
of easy and rapid concentration in his front; the ' crazy '
Sherman stands forth as the only man with sufficient
military grasp of mind to take in the whole situation, or
of fortitude to make it known to his chiefs.
The clamor of the newspapers was, however, so great
that Sherman, at his own request, was relieved and Major
General Don Carlos Buell assigned to the command of
the Department.
The leading characteristic of General Buell was a calm
determination to do the best possible with the material
and force at hand. He seems to have believed that the
best and quickest way to teach a soldier how to fight was
to put him at it; hence, he early inaugurated a series of
demonstrations against the rebel lines, which compelled
the enemy to assume the defensive.
By the middle of January, 1862, the military situation
in the entire West was vastly changed from that of the
preceding November.
The army, which had been operating in Missouri west
of the Mississippi, was brought to Paducah and Smith-
field, and placed under the command of Brigadier Gen
eral Grant. A fleet of gunboats, rams, &c, had been
built, and was ready to meet the enemy on the river;

Campaign in Kentucky. 43
while both Grant and Buell were gathering their strength
and ready to hurl their forces on the fortified lines of the
foe. In Kentucky, Humphries Marshall had been defeated
and scattered; Buckner driven from Munfordsville and
the Green river; a rebel force defeated and scattered on
the Big Sandy; and Zollicoffer defeated, routed, and killed
at Cumberland Ford.
It was now the purpose of General Buell to concentrate
his army as rapidly as possible, eastward of Bowling
Green; and, forcing the enemy's lines, penetrate to the
neighborhood of Galatin, Tennessee, and force Johnson
to give battle outside of his entrenched line, south or
south-east of Bowling Green. Grant, in the meantime,
was to attack, and, if possible, carry the fortifications at
and around Columbus.
The Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, under orders to re
port to General Thomas, near Cumberland Ford, moved,
as before stated, on the 26th of January; arriving at Bards-
town on the 29th, it was then unexpectedly ordered to
halt and go into camp. In these few days, (as we now
know, but then had no means of learning, ) the whole situ
ation had changed.
On the 25th, two gunboats from the Mississippi flotilla,
reconnoitering up the Tennessee river, were fired upon
from an unfinished work which it was thought could be
captured without great difficulty. On being apprised of
this fact, and the location of the battery or fort, General
Grant saw that its capture would pierce the rebel lines,
and enable him to attack Columbus in the rear; with a
good base and a short communication; He, therefore,
asked and obtained permission to make the attempt;
General Buell being ordered, in the meantime, to suspend

44 Minty and the Cavalry.
his movements and hold his army in readiness to march
as the exigencies of the campaign might require.
Thomas and Nelson were, therefore, ordered to march
towards Bardstown, and Crittenden and Mitchell to hold
the line of the Green river and demonstrate toward Hop-
kinsville. The gunboats moved up the Tennessee on the 5th of
February, and, on the 6th, captured the battery known as
Fort Henry. The rebel line being thus pierced, Johnston
ordered Pillow, with his division and large detachments
from Polk's army, as well as Buckner, with his division
from Bowling Green, to reestablish it by holding a forti
fied position near Dover, on the Cumberland river, twelve
miles northward of Fort Henry. This was the famous
Fort Donaldson, and was captured, with nine thousand
five hundred prisoners, by Grant on the morning of the
16th, causing, with the killed and wounded, a loss of six
teen thousand men to the enemy. Buell had, meanwhile,
pushed forward, threatening an attack on Johnston, who,
on the 17th, evacuated Bowling Green, and retreated
rapidly to Nashville. Buell followed and occupied Bowl
ing Green on the 18th.
The following extracts from a private letter, dated
Bardstown, Kentucky; February 16, shows the condition
of the regiment at that time :
********
"February 7. — For a week past we have been in camp at this place ; have
got pretty well fixed, but a strange disease has broken out among the horses,
viz : an apparent epidemic of 'scratches.' Three fourths of them are hardly
able to walk, the hind legs particularly being swollen and ulcerated, in many
cases from the hoof to the knee. We can do nothing more than keep them
clean and trust to time to heal them up. There is a great deal of sickness
among the men. * * The rebel army, one hundred thousand strong,
is reported at Bowling Green,' waiting within their intrenchments our ad
vance. " February 10. — We are still in camp near Bardstown. There is evidently
a great deal of activity all along the line. For several days the command

Campaign in Kentucky. 45
of General G. H. Thomas has been marching by us, having come in from the
battle of Mill Creek or Cumberland Ford, where the rebel General Zolli
coffer was killed and his army routed. General Nelson, from Camp Dick
Robinson, has been joined to Thomas; all march to Bardstown, then wheel
to the left and take direction of Bowling Green. Fort Henry, on the Ten
nessee river, was captured on the 6th. The army is concentrating, and
will soon advance. We do not know yet what place will be given to us,
but hope to be in the front. Men and horses are, however, in very bad con
dition ; fully seventy per cent, of the former are unfit for duty. Lieutenant
Taylor has the camp fever, and had to be sent to the hospital. Captain
May and Lieutenant Vale are sick, the former getting worse and the latter
improving. Captain Bryson, company B ; Captain Sheaffer, company E ;
Captain Dartt, company D, and Captain Jennings, company A, are sick, as
are Lieutenants Joseph Castles, company D; H. Best, company E; S.
Foley, company H, and John Umbleby, company L. Lieutenant Colonel
Sipes has been sent to a hospital at Louisville. The surgeon says, however,
that there is a marked improvement in the command within the last few
days; that the sickness is the result of exposure and the process of harden
ing the men to the service, and that within a short time the command will
be all right and able to bear the exposure of camp and field better than if
the sickness had not occurred. They really speak of it as a matter of course
and of ultimate benefit."
Several of the officers, and as many of the men as could
be, were housed while sick in the residence of Mr. Wil
liam B. Grigsby, near whose mansion the regiment
camped, who kindly threw open his house and placed all
his provisions, beds, and bedding at the disposal of the
command. This action on his and the part of his family
was entirely voluntary. Mrs. Grigsby, his wife, took
upon herself the care of many of the sick. For this, the
family received the grateful regard of the officers and men.
On the night of February 16, orders were received for
the regiment to march, and on the morning of the 17th
it moved out amid a tremendous rain-storm, taking the
direction of Munfordsville. By this time, the health of
the men had vastly improved, and the ¦ regiment moved,
seven hundred strong. Many of. the officers and men
were scarcely able to sit their horses, but believing that a
battle was soon to be fought, they took their places, de-

46 Minty and the Cavalry.
spite their weakness. Some two hundred had, however,
to be left in the hospital at Bardstown and Louisville;
among whom were Captains Bryson and May, and Lieu
tenants Best, Casetles, and Taylor.
The general condition of the men and horses improved
during the march, and arriving in the vicinity of Mun
fordsville on the evening of March 1, there was, for a short
time, a prospect of having its "first fight." A party of
foragers, on approaching a hay-stack, about a mile from
camp, were fired upon, and two companies, K and L, were
ordered to their support. The ' 'Johnnies, ' ' however, about
thirty in number, left without waiting to be interviewed;
no injury to either side, except that Samuel Eyster,
bugler in K company, was thrown from his horse and in
jured so as to be sent to the hospital.
Finding the main road to Bowling Green was obstructed
by fallen timber, pike broken, and bridges destroyed, the
regiment was directed to march as rear guard to Mitchell's
division; via Glasgow and the Mammoth Cave; its duty
being to protect the left flank of the army. The march
was very difficult, and rendered extremely fatiguing by
the terrible condition of the weather and roads, so that
it only arrived at Bowling Green' on the 13th of March,
and passed through Nashville, Tennessee; on the 17th,
going into camp about three miles out, on the Zollicoffer
property between the Franklin and Granny White pikes.
The following extracts from a letter written by an officer
to a friend, dated "Camp Worth, Nashville; March 22,
1862," gives an accurate picture of the march from Bards
town to Nashville. " You may, no doubt, be surprised to learn that we were
nearly a month in traveling from Bardstown to Nashville; for, says your
knowledge of the -geography of the country, 'they had a good turnpike
road all the way.' To that I will answer, that the rebels first burned all
the bridges; next, in many places, plowed up the pike; theh, in others,

March to Nashville. 47
felled trees across the road, so that we were frequently compelled to leave
the main road and strike off through the country, and then we had a time
of it I Plunging through the mud two to three feet deep, bouncing over
rocks that, under other circumstances, I would hardly have attempted to pass
on foot; climbing mountains, and winding around precipices! You may form
some idea of the entire march to Bowling Green, when I state that one
day our utmost efforts were required to get two and a half miles ; and rarely
did we make ten miles in a day ; add to this almost constant rain, and you
will not think that we loitered by the way.
*****" The fortifications at Bowling Green were
rather formidable, but neither so extensive or strong as I expected. They
numbered nine forts, or detached earthworks, and mounted, probably, twenty
heavy guns. The largest fort was an enclosed star-shaped work, covering
about five acres of ground on the top of a hill in the south-eastern part of
the town, and commanding it and most of its approaches. It is built of
stone and earth, with parapet about twenty feet high from the bottom of
1 the ditch ; has two large bomb proofs, and mounted nine heavy guns.
*********
'' The march from Bowling Green to Nashville was much more pleasant.
The road was good, and the weather clear and agreeable. It is spring here,
the peaches were in bloom all along from Bowling Green. The country was
highly cultivated, and, but for the destruction wrought by the rebels when
they occupied and passed through it, would compare favorably with the
finest parts of Cumberland or Lancaster valleys in Pennsylvania. The
most serious difficulty we had to contend with was want of good water,
the rebels having killed a great deal of stock and thrown it into the ponds
and streams, rendering the water unfit for use. Of course all the bridges
were burned and forage destroyed. * * * *
" Nashville is a beautiful city, and the country around is a perfect para
dise of beauty. The people are nearly all rebels and the "houses are closed,
so that the city looks as if it was asleep, or taking a Sunday rest. * *
* * The rebels are withdrawing from this State, too, and as they
can beat us running, I don't think we will have a battle soon. We caught
a live one the other night, a certain captain, who was a little too much of a
1 rear guard.' This is our only exploit thus far."
When passing through Nashville, the regiment having
rested a day at Edgefield and "brushed up," presented a
very fine appearance. It marched, over seven hundred.
strong, in column of sections, the ranks well closed and
dressed, with drawn sabers, and the equipments, clothing,
men, and horses, clean and in good condition. The few
Union flags which were displayed called forth hearty

48 Minty and the Cavalry.
cheers, while the sullen frowns of the rebel sympathizers
excited neither notice or comment.
On wheeling near the Zollicoffer house into the street
leading to the Franklin pike, a little boy, not over four
years old, was seen standing on the top of an iron railing
in front of a very fine residence. The little fellow, the
whole time the regiment was passing, kept swinging his
cap and shouting at the top of his voice : ' 'Look at the
Yanks ! " " Hurrah for Jeff ! " "Who's afraid !" "I'm
for Jeff!" "Oh! You Yanks!" "Who's afraid!" It
is needless to say that he was greeted all along the whole
line with good-humored cheers.

CHAPTER VI.

FROM MARCH 22 TO MAY 6.
First Battalion at Columbus, Second at Nashville, and Third at
Murfreesboro' — Rebel Rising in Nashville — Fight at Pulaski —
Fight at Shelbyville — Battle of Lebanon — Incidents, &c.
Now, through the fields of Tennessee,
Our sabers brightly flash ;
We pit against " the chivalry "
The Keystone plow-boy's dash.
N the 22nd of March, the First battalion, under
command of Major John E. Wynkoop, being
assigned to duty with General Negley's bri
gade, moved to Columbia, Tennessee. The Second, un
der Colonel Wynkoop, assigned to the command of Gen
eral Dumont, constituted a part of the garrison of Nash
ville, and remained at Camp Worth; while, about the first
of April, the Third, under Major Given, being assigned
to Colonel Duffield, moved to Murfreesboro'. Camp
Worth remained the head-quarters of the regiment, and
all reports, &c, were sent to it.
During the comparative quiet, between the occupation
of Nashville and the battle of Pittsburg Landing, the
companies were actively engaged in scouting and picket
duty, gathering forage, procuring information, and mak
ing topographical surveys of the country. On these
duties, the First battalion operated from Columbia, south,
and east to the Tennessee river and Huntsville, Alabama;
the Second south-west and west, down the Cumberland
river; and the Third, south to the Elk river, and east to
4 (49)

50 Minty and the Cavalry.
the Cumberland mountains. In this work, the regiment
rapidly became proficient in the field duties of the soldier,
in the presence of the enemy.
Soon after the battle of Pittsburg Landing, an ugly
feeling showed itself among the people of Nashville,
toward all the federal soldiers. There were well authen
ticated reports of a general plot among the rebel citizens
to rise in the night, seize the military. Governor, and
Union officers, and either hold or destroy the city. Men
in large numbers appeared upon the streets; the houses,
, which, before, had been kept closed, were now opened
every night. A great deal of visiting was apparently
going on, and the ladies, who, before this, kept studious
ly out of sight, now appeared in great numbers on the
streets, and, by every gesture of contempt, expressed
their disgust for the Yankee officer and soldier.
Under these circumstances, it became necessary to have
a heavy guard (one regiment of infantry) and patrol (one
company of cavalry) on duty in the city every night. '
It was reported through the camp for several days that
the rebel ladies were in the habit of spitting on the offi
cers, whenever they got an opportunity. One evening, a
detail from the regiment, being on patrol duty, under the
command of Lieutenant Vale, as "officer of the day"
for the city, a report was brought to the officer, that the
ladies in the wealthy and aristocratic portions of the city,
were generally indulging themselves in this practice.
The lieutenant, on consultation with the officer com
manding the infantry guard, determined to see for him
self, and, if the report was true, to take measures to stop
it. It was generally believed that any repressive meas
ures would precipitate a conflict with the citizens. The
lieutenant, dismounted, and with the lieutenant colo
nel commanding the infantry guard, walked quietly up

Insults by Rebel Ladies. 51
the street. For about a square they were unmolested,
but, when about to pass a fine residence on the most
fashionable street, a young lady stepped from the piazza,
and, timing her pace to that of the officers, reached the
gate in front of the house just as they were passing, and
deliberately spat in the face of the lieutenant colonel,
who happened to be on the side next the yard ! The offi
cers made no remark, nor in any way appeared to notice
it, but quietly detailed an infantry guard to take charge
of the front, and a cavalry patrol of five men to patrol
the rear of the residence, ordering them to allow no one
to leave the house. Lieutenant Vale then reported the
occurrence, and what he had done, to General Rousseau,
who was then in command of the city.
It was not long before a certain Dr. Martin appeared
at the general' s head-quarters, complaining that a guard
had been placed over his house and his family under ar
rest; that he was not at home at the time, but was in
formed by the corporal that he could enter, if he wished,
but could not go out again. He, with great indignation,
demanded that the guard be removed, &c. , &c. Rousseau
calmly investigated the matter, and, finding the facts as
reported by the' officers, gave the doctor the alternative of
giving bond, with five other prominent citizens, which he
named as surety, for the future good conduct of his family,
or see all the adult females in the house lodged in the
military prison at the penitentiary. The security was
given, and from that time until the close of the war,
there was not a city in the whole country which gave so
little trouble, or that treated the Federal garrison with
more respect.
It is proper to state that Dr. Martin stoutly declared
that the insult was without his knowledge, was entirely
unjustifiable, and would not have been given had he been

52 Minty and the Cavalry.
at home. It was never definitely known whether the
lady was Dr. Martin's daughter, or one of several young
ladies spending the evening at his house.
About this time, an incident occurred in the camp of
the Seventh, which had its influence in changing the
policy of the Government toward the institution of
slavery. In accordance with instructions from Washington, on
advancing into Kentucky and Tennessee, General Buell
had, by general orders, directed all officers within the de
partment to deliver up to the claimant all fugitive slaves
who might conceal themselves within their respective
commands and camps. Early one morning, a party of
eight mounted men presented themselves at the entrance
of the camp, with an order from General Rousseau, com
manding in Nashville, authorizing them to search for,
and if found, seize a certain colored man, claimed as the
property of one of the party. The officer of the day re
ported their presence and authority to Lieutenant Colo
nel Sipes, then in command of the camp, and by his
direction, escorted them into and through the regiment;
offering every possible facility to assist them in the search.
The political complexion of all the companies, except
one, was that of decided Democrats, and but little anti-
slavery sentiment was heard in the regiment.
The officer of the day requested the supposed citizens
to dismount stating that the search could be more easily
made by so doing than if they remained mounted. They,
however, declined, saying they preferred to be mounted,
&c. The search commenced at K company, and progressed
without incident, or remark on the part of the soldiers,
until they came to the rear of C company, when a colored
man ran out of the cook-tent, and, darting through the.

Slave-hunters Caught. 53
company streets, sought to gain the woods. The visitors
called excitedly to him to stop: ' ' Stop, you d — d nigger !' '
" Stop, till we see who you are ! " " Stop, or I'll shoot,"
&c. ; at the same time dashing after him on a gallop, and
firing their pistols indiscriminately in the direction in
which he was running.
The officer of the day, Captain Sheaffer, of E company,
commanded them to halt and cease firing in camp, but,
finding they paid no attention to him, called out the
guard and started to report to the colonel. Almost in
stantly, however, after they opened fire, the soldiers, as
one man, flew to arms, surrounded the citizens, dismounted
and disarmed them, and held them, until, in a few minutes,
the officer of the guard arrived and marched them, as
prisoners, to the colonel's quarters. They were sent,
with their arms, Colt' s revolvers, with plenty of ammuni
tion, and a full report of the affair, to the general in
Nashville; where an investigation developed the fact that
they were regularly enlisted soldiers of Captain Adams'
company, First Mississippi rebel cavalry; that the darkey
was a cook in Captain Dartt's company, who had been
hired and accompanied the regiment from Pittsburgh;
and that the whole object was to obtain an opportunity to
traverse the camps and obtain information. The "citizens"
were sent as prisoners of war to Columbus, Ohio; and no
order to search camps for runaway slaves was ever after
issued in the Department ! The entire political sentiment
of the regiment was changed by the incident, and, hence
forth, it was one of the strongest anti-slavery regiments
in the service.
On the 1st of May, Captain Newlin, with company F,
while scouting on the Tennessee and Alabama pike in the
neighborhood of Pulaski, was met by a couple of regi
ments of the enemy, under the command of, then, Colo-

54 ¦ Minty and the Cavalry.
nel John Morgan. Captain Newlin, seeing that he was
largely out-numbered, and that to attempt anything more
than merely to develop the strength of the enemy would
endanger his command, retired in good order, falling
back from hill to hill in skirmish line. He lost two men
captured. Morgan lost two killed, and five wounded.
On the 2d of May, the First battalion marched from
Columbia on Pulaski, but Morgan, after remaining there
over night, moved, early in the morning, in the direction
of Murfreesboro', so that Major Wynkoop, on gaining
Pulaski, was only able to see his rear guard disappear
rapidly. Morgan, about the last of April, had been sent, with
his own and parts of two other regiments, to cut the rail
road in rear of Buell' s army, then posted in North Ala
bama, from Florence to Huntsville. The skirmish with
Captain Newlin, and the approach of the First battalion,
under Major Wynkoop, prevented him, however, from
doing damage to the Tennessee and Alabama road.
On the 3d, he made a demonstration, early in the morn
ing, on Shelbyville, but was repulsed, without much
effort, it being only a feint to enable him to strike the
Nashville and Chattanooga road between Murfrees
boro' and Nashville. On the morning of the 4th, he cut
the road near Stewart's Creek, by burning a small bridge,
and also demonstrated against Murfreesboro' . The Third
battalion, under Major Given, marched out and easily
drove him back in the direction of Shelbyville.
The Second battalion was roused early on the 4th, and
reported to General Dumont, on the Murfreesboro' pike,
at 4, a. m., then, under that officer, moved with the First
and Fourth Kentucky cavalry, at a rapid walk, toward
Murfreesboro', where it arrived at 1, p. m., without en
countering the enemy.

Pursuit of Morgan. 55
While feeding the horses and eating dinner, scouts from
the Third battalion came in and reported Morgan ap
proaching from the direction of Shelbyville, with a force
of several thousand.
General Dumont immediately mounted his command,
and about 2, p. m., moved out to meet him, taking the
Shelbyville pike. After marching about five miles, it was
discovered that Morgan had moved across the country
westward of Murfreesboro', crossing the Wilkinson and
Nashville pikes, and slightly damaging the railroad near
Stone's River crossing, and had thence moved down the
river, reaching the Murfreesboro' and Lebanon pike at
Black's cross road, where, taking that pike, had marched
in the direction of Lebanon.
It was nearly 7, p. ml, when General Dumont' s com
mand reached Black's cross roads, and, wishing to induce
Morgan to halt, that he might get within striking dis
tance, he called in the advance, which had been skirmish
ing with the enemy's rear guard, as though he intended
to return to Murfreesboro' ; and, in order to strengthen
this impression, he directed the First and Fourth Ken
tucky to march over the hill, in the direction of Murfrees
boro' . This hill is in complete view of the pike, for a
distance of over five miles north of Black's; and, it being
a bright night, the forces could easily be seen by the rebel
scouts, retreating, as they supposed, to Murfreesboro' .
The ruse, as we learned next day, was successful, for
Morgan, seeing, as he thought, the whole force pass over
the hill, and finding his rear entirely unmolested, con
gratulated himself on having shaken off his adversary;
and, moving on to Lebanon, twenty miles distant, went
into bivouac in the town; intending the next day to cut
the Nashville and Louisville railroad at Galatin, capture

56 Minty and the Cavalry.
the garrison, and destroy the trestle work and tunnel near
that place.
Meanwhile, General Dumont, after feeding the horses
and allowing the men time to get such supper as they
could prepare without fires, about 10, p. ml, moved
quietly in the direction of Lebanon. About three o' clock
on the morning of the 5th, he again halted, and massed
his forces within five miles of the town; and, sending out
scouts, discovered Morgan quietly resting there.
At 4, a. m., Dumont again mounted and pushed on;
the command being directed to move on each side of the
road-bed, so as to lessen the noise of the march. Moving
thus well closed up, he struck the enemy' s pickets about
a mile and a half from the town, when the charge was
sounded. The pickets were captured, and the Second
battalion of the Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry leading
the advance, entered the town at a gallop, giving Morgan
the first notice he had that Dumont was on him; and
making the surprise complete.
It appears, however, that Morgan intended to make an
early start for Galatin on the 5th ; consequently, when
Dumont struck, he was preparing to leave, and had his
own regiment of five companies and the First Mississippi
already mounted. He formed his regiment quickly, by
companies, on the Murfreesboro' street, and the First Mis
sissippi on the Nashville and Alexandria pikes, fronting
the square, with two companies of the Second Tennes
see mounted, in column of fours, on the street to the right
of the Murfreesboro' pike, around the rear of the Odd
Fellows' hall. The dismounted men of the "Kentucky
battalion," he threw into the court-house, and the build
ings around the square," and the houses along the Mur
freesboro' pike; the Odd Fellows' hall and buildings on
the Nashville pike; and also formed, with dismounted

Pursuit of Morgan. 57
men, a strong line in a field at the north edge of the
town; reaching from the Carthage pike to the college
east of the Alexandria pike; and with two companies of
the Second Tennessee, occupied the college.
The Second battalion of the Seventh, Captain Dartt,
company C, leading, had the advance, followed by the
Third battalion, both under the immediate command of
Colonel Wynkoop. Next came four companies of the
Fourth Kentucky, under Captain Chilsom, followed by
the First Kentucky, commanded by Colonel Wolford.
On arriving at the bridge, immediately south of the
town, the general directed Colonel Wynkoop to deliver a
saber charge on the enemy, then forming in plain sight,
on the street in his front, the Fourth Kentucky to hold
position in column, on the pike ; and the First Kentucky
to move down the stream to the left, gain the Nashville
pike, at the western suburbs, and engage the enemy from
that quarter.
Drawing saber, the Seventh Pennsylvania, with loud
cheers, dashed forward on their maiden encounter, struck
in quick succession the five companies of "Morgan's
Own," and, though exposed to a heavy fire from the
court-house and other buildings lining the street, as well
as encountering the opposition of the mounted men, with
out a halt or break of formation, cleared the street from
end to end ; broke and scattered the line of dismounted
men formed in the field north of the town, driving them
from the field and out of sight, into the woods north of
the Carthage pike. Then re-forming, charged back again,
through the thickening masses of the enemy, who had
again formed on the street, returning to the first position
at the bridge.
While the Seventh was re-forming at the bridge, the
Fourth Kentucky, who were armed with Colt's repeating

58 Minty and the Cavalry.
rifles, were ordered to advance, mounted, at a walk, and
attempt to drive the dismounted enemy out of the court
house and adjacent buildings on the west side of the
square. This they did, with the most commendable stead^
iness, marching in column of fours, under a heavy fire, up
the street to the square, then wheeling by fours left into
line, they dressed their ranks, and, by word of command,
with all the precision of an exhibition drill, fired five vol
leys into the court-house, the buildings, and up the Nash
ville pike ; then, breaking by fours, from right to left,
marched out on a walk to the position at the bridge from
whence they had started !
By this time, the rifles of the First Kentucky were
heard speaking rapidly in the south-western part of the
town, and observing a movement of the enemy westward
from the Alexandria pike, the Seventh again charged
through and beyond the square, cutting their mounted
force into two parts, driving one into the north-west
and the other into the north-eastern part of the town ;
then, re-forming, returned to the square and held all the
streets leading to it. While the Seventh was holding the
square, Major Given, seeing a body of the enemy forming
westward of the college, mistook them for the First Ken
tucky, which regiment not being uniformed, had consid
erable of the motley appearance of Morgan's men; and
riding up to their line, directed them to move beyond the
Murfreesboro' pike, on the right of the Seventh. The
major was in full uniform, and the " Johnnies," leveling
their guns on him, invited him inside their lines, and re
lieved him frpm further efforts to direct their movements,
taking charge of his sword and arms as well. A few
minutes after the major was thus taken in, General Du
mont likewise rode up to the same force and gave a simi-

Pursuit of Morgan. 59
lar order, when he, too, was relieved of command, and
placed within their ranks !
The battle was now raging furiously in the square,
along the Murfreesboro' street, in the north-western
quarter, and along the Nashville street, where the First
Kentucky had cut the enemy off from the Galatin pike,
and was gradually dislodging them from the buildings
around the Odd Fellows' Hall. The right of the Seventh
was all this time exposed to a heavy fire from the enemy
in their rear, at the college, as well as the whole line from
the direct fire in their front.
General Dumont had a rubber coat over his uniform,
and his identity was not discovered by the enemy, so that,
on their changing position toward the north-west, from
the college, in order to get a flanking fire on the Seventh,
he was able to make his escape, and joined the Seventh
in the square. Sending orders to the First Kentucky to
press the enemy vigorously, and to the Fourth Kentucky
to follow, he put himself at the head of the Seventh,
formed it in column of fours, and moved it, by {he first
street south of the Alexandria pike, east, then north
across that pike to the college, beyond which, finding the
enemy gone, he moved east a short distance, then turning
up a street, north-west, met the whole rebel force in full
retreat on the Carthage pike.
He immediately ordered the Seventh to draw sabers and
charge into the rebel column. It was done with a will and
their line was cut in two. Leaving that portion of the
enemy, who were thus cut off, to be attended to by the
other forces, the Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth Ken
tucky started in a wild, headlong pursuit of the por
tion fleeing toward Carthage. The battle up to this time
had lasted about two hours, and had been well and stub
bornly fought by the enemy ; but now, with the victor-

60 Minty and the Cavalry.
ious shouts of the Seventh ringing in their ears, and its
active sabers slashing in and through their ranks, they
abandoned all pretense of a defense, and throwing away
their arms, fled in wildest panic, without order, rear guard,
or formation, as fast as they could urge their horses
toward the Cumberland river at Carthage, twenty miles
distant. The Seventh followed with equal rapidity and
vigor, mingling almost constantly in their ranks, and
taking prisoners every mile for the whole distance. A
large proportion of the rebels abandoned their horses on
the road and escaped, dismounted and unarmed, into the
woods and bushes which, at short distances, lined the road.
Many were killed, and, with the captured, so reduced Mor
gan' s forces that he was only able to escape across the
river with seventeen men and twenty-two horses. He
was even compelled by Captain Dartt to abandon five
men and twenty-five horses, among which was his own
favorite black mare, on the bank of the Cumberland.
He, however, succeeded in taking with him Major Given
and ten men of the Seventh, whom he captured.
The Seventh alone captured and turned into the hands
of the provost marshal one hundred and seventy prison
ers, including one lieutenant colonel, three majors, ten
captains, and eight lieutenants. Seventy-seven of the
enemy were found dead within the limits of the town,
and buried by our forces. Some thirty others were found
along the Carthage pike at different points and left to be
buried by the citizens. Over four hundred horses and
equipments, besides nearly one thousand stand of arms,
including some good carbines, several repeating rifles, and
twenty Manyard breech -loading rifles, and many excellent
Colt's navy revolvers; with clothing, blankets, and over
coats in large quantities, fell into our hands. The enemy

Pursuit of Morgan. 61
carried no colors, nor had he any baggage train, hence
these do not figure among our trophies.
The importance of this brilliant affair cannot be meas
ured by the number of the enemy killed, wounded, and
captured; for, by it not only were the communications of
General Buell' s army preserved from serious interruption
and perhaps complete destruction, and a large and picked
force of the enemy's cavalry annihilated; but a most seri
ous threatened rising of all the rebel element in Middle
Tennessee was nipped in the bud; and, best of all, for
the Seventh, it learned thus early in the campaign the
superiority of its sabers over the fire-arms and unskill-
fully wielded sabers and cutlasses of the enemy. It
never forgot the lesson, or that it was victorious in its
first fight.
The loss of the e'nemy cannot be accurately given.
We know of one hundred and seven killed, and besides
the one hundred and seventy captured by the Seventh,
the Fourth Kentucky report having captured and turned
in twenty-seven, and the First Kentucky received the sur
render of one hundred and five in the northern part of
the town, — they being that portion cut off when the
Seventh charged the column. The number of wounded
cannot be stated, for hundreds escaped into the woods
and bushes. Jordan Stokes, of Lebanon, is authority
for the statement that more died from their wounds,
after they had escaped to the farm-houses round about,
than were captured in the fight. From all that is known,
it is safe to say, that Morgan's loss aggregated over five
hundred men killed, wounded, and captured. His force
was entirely destroyed and scattered and his expedition
completely defeated.
Morgan's forces were : five companies of his regiment,
three hundred men ; First Mississippi, eight companies,

62 Minty and the Cavalry.
four hundred; Kentucky battalion, three companies,
one hundred and twenty men, and Second Tennessee,
two hundred and forty, a total of one thousand and sixty
picked men. Staff and escort, sixty-five; aggregate,
one thousand one hundred and twenty-five". General
Dumont' s forces were : First Kentucky, six hundred and
twelve ; Fourth Kentucky, four companies, one hundred
and forty-six ; Seventh Pennsylvania, four hundred and
fifty -three. Total, one thousand three hundred and eleven.
Staff and escort, fifteen. Aggregate, one thousand three
hundred and twenty-six. Dumont" lost, in First Kentucky
cavalry, ten killed ; in Fourth Kentucky cavalry, seven
killed and thirteen wounded; in Seventh Pennsylvania
cavalry, five killed, four wounded, and three captured.
Total, twenty-two killed, seventeen wounded, and three
captured. The killed in the Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry were :
Thomas McGrand, corporal company K; John Reilly,
sergeant company L ; A. Winkleleck, sergeant company
E ; Eli J. Verleck, private company C. The wounded re
ported by name were : James H. Howe, private, company
C ; Charles C. Greeno, second lieutenant company C ;
James G. Taylor, second lieutenant company K, and
Richard F. Mosen, first lieutenant and adjutant.
The regiment was highly complimented by General
Dumont, and received honorable mention for " distin
guished services " in general orders. The following were
"honorably mentioned" for gallantry and good conduct:
Captain B. S. Dartt, company C; Captain Charles C.
McCormick, company L ; Captain D. G. May, company K ;
Lieutenant Charles C. Greeno, company C ; Lieutenant J.
G. Vale, company K ; and Lieutenant William C. Garrett,
company H, and Sergeant Samuel Milmore, company L.
In the first charge up the street, Sergeant Samuel Mil-

Pursuit of Morgan. 63
more, of company L, had his horse killed in the square,
when, lying down alongside the dead horse, he kept up
a continuous fire upon the enemy in the court-house, and,
after the return charge, finding three other men in like
manner dismounted, he got them together and fought
their way to the entrance to the ' ' spring, ' ' in the north
west part of the square, when, taking position on the
steps of the cave-like opening, they held their position,
maintaining a constant firing all around until the final re
treat of the enemy; being for almost two hours cut off
and in the very midst of the rebel forces.* Although
their clothes were riddled with bullets, they did not re
ceive any injury.
The spring mentioned in the foregoing paragraph is
one of nature' s curiosities. It is in a cave directly under
the square, about twenty feet below the surface, and
covers about one acre. The water flows off through a
subterraneous passage* in a northerly direction. It is
reached by a flight of steps down a natural opening in the
rock, and furnishes the main water-supply to the town.
While in the pursuit, about half a mile beyond the
residence of Jordan Stokes, Lieutenant Vale, in leading
a charge, saw an officer in a hand-to-hand conflict with
two rebels, a short distance to the right of the road. No
ticing that the officer was wounded, he hastened to his
assistance, caught the blow of one, as it was descending
on the officer' s head, and, with a right cut, unhorsed the
other, and received the surrender of both. He then dis
covered, much to his gratification, that he had rescued
Lieutenant Taylor, of the same company, who had re
ceived an ugly gash over the left eye, and was so blinded
by the flow of blood as to be unable to defend himself to
advantage. Lieutenant Vale was complimented on the

64 Minty and the Cavalry.
field by his colonel and captain, and honorably men
tioned in general orders.
Lieutenant Taylor had a colored man named Abe Par
ker, who, by the way, now resides in Carlisle, Pa., to at
tend to his horses, etc. The man was a good-natured fel
low, but excessively fond of display in horsemanship. It
happened that the lieutenant was that night riding a
horse which he preferred for long marches, while Abe had
his favorite drill horse in charge as a "lead animal."
When the charge was ordered, the lieutenant had not time
to change, so was compelled to go into the fight leaving
his favorite in the rear.
Now Abe, during the halt, had put his own saddle on
the lieutenant's horse, and, with an old pair of spurs, was
riding him with all the pride of a rebel lieutenant general.
When the bugles sounded the charge, the horse, chafing
under foolish prickings from the darkey's spurs, and rec
ognizing the call, took the bit between his teeth, and car
ried the affrighted Abe to the lieutenant' s side, almost at
the head of the charging column. Poor Abe was a comi
cal sight, as hatless, pale, almost to greenness, and with
staring eyeballs rolling from side to side at every hostile
volley, he tugged and pulled at the bridle reins, in the
vain effort to stop the headlong dash of his charger, at
one moment praying, at the top of his voice, "Oh ! Lor'
jes sabe dis pooh darkey f oh jes dis one time," and, in
the next, swearing like a " West-Pointer " at the horse
for taking him into "de fite." His contortions, appear
ance, and language raised a shout of laughter from one end
of the line to the other. Abe was into a fight ! A situa
tion he dreaded more than anything else in his life.
But his troubles were not yet over. In his struggles to
restrain the horse, he forgot he had spurs on, and com
menced to strike his heels into the horse's flanks. This

Campaion of 1861, 1862, and Part of 1863.

Pursuit of Morgan. 65
roused the spirited animal to frenzy, and, in a maddened
run, he burst through the three companies of the rebels
on the street beyond the square, out into the open fields
north of town, through the line of dismounted men, out
on to the Carthage pike, and disappeared in the direction
of the Cumberland river !
Of course Taylor gave up the horse and man as lost, but
that evening, on our return, when about ten miles from
Lebanon, Abe and the horse, not much the worse for the
excursion, came out of a cedar thicket, and joined a de
tachment of the company ! It appears that, after running
several miles, Abe got the horse under control, and
thought of trying to get back, but concluded he would
feed first ; so, entering the thicket, he "got" corn from a
plantation, and was about ready to start, when he heard
the rush of the fleeing rebels approaching. He got the
horse to lie down, and so remained, not a dozen yards
from the road, during the confusion of the retreat and our
pursuit. The next morning, Abe asked permission to
"resign," saying : " I's brave ; I's not 'fraid to be in a
fight, but, 'tenant, dat hoss of yours got all my brabery
into hisself yesterday, an' I ha'nt got none left! Sol
reken I better 'sine !" And 'sine he did.

CHAPTER VII.
MAY 7, TO NOVEMBER 15
Scouting and Picketing — Negley's Advance on Chattanooga — Sweden's
Cove — Forrest Captures Murfreesboro' — Dumont's Advance to Pike
ville — Captain Davis Captured — Readyville — Forrest's Demonstra
tion against Nashville — Stampede of Company K — Nelson's Advance
on Sparta — Capture of McMinnville — Movemf.nts of Rebel and Union
Armies — Battle of Galatin — Comments — Bragg Invades Kentucky —
Bear Wallow — Perryville —Siege of Nashville — Battle of Lavergne.
jN the 7th of May, the Second battalion returned
to Nashville, and the Third to Murfreesboro' .
On the 15th, companies C, D, E, and K, under
Captain Dartt, moved to Galatin, scouting the country to
the Cumberland river as far as Clarksville, companies C
and E moved thence on the 25th to Lebanon, where the
head-quarters of the battalion was established on the 25th,
on which day, company K, under Lieutenant Vale, was
sent forward to Alexandria. These companies remained
at these points until about the 6th of July.
While Captain Dartt was at Lebanon, he sent Sergeant
Charles F. Powell, of company C, and two men, of K,
disguised as citizens, inside the rebel lines at Sparta, as
spies. They were detected while in Forrest's camp, tried
by a court-martial, and, as spies, condemned to be shot !
They, however, escaped by a fortunate combination of
circumstances and their ready tact in taking advantage of
the opportunity offered.
The following is a brief narrative of their experience,
given nearly in the language of one of the men of K com
pany: ' ' After we got outside of Lieutenant Vale' s lines at
(66)

Scouting and Picketing. 67
Alexandria, we agreed that we would pass ourselves off
as recruits from Kentucky, and Powell, who could imitate
the Southern drawl very well, and knew a good deal
about the people and country along the Big Sandy, was
to be spokesman, I was to play 'Dutchman,' and not
know much or talk. We traveled all night and got our
breakfast at a farm-house, where Powell told his story
and inquired the way to Sparta. From the way the people
talked, I believed they were Union folks, but they gave
us our breakfast, and would not take any of the rebel
money we offered in payment ; they told us, however, the
way to Sparta.
' ' We went on, and about 2 o' clock, came to the bridge
and passed right on into Forrest's camp. Powell met an
officer, and, first calling him 'Kurnel,' and finally, 'gen-
nerel, ' pretended to mistake him for Forrest, told him we
wanted to enlist ' to fit agin the Lincolnites,' and, in order
to play the green recruit the better, finally pulled out a
bottle, and offered to treat. The liquor was, of course,
confiscated, and we were taken into a camp and all en
listed in the rebel service. After this, we were allowed to
go pretty much where we pleased.
' ' The evening of the fifth day after we got there, Powell
told us, in a whisper, that Forrest was going to move on
some point along the railroad in a few days, and on his
way would sweep down on the detachment at Alexandria,
and that we must escape the next day. So next morning
Powell got permission to go out on the Chattanooga road
for forage, and took us along. We started after company
drill, and after getting outside their pickets, struck across
the country and got on the Liberty road. We pushed on
until nearly 4 o' clock, and were just about intending to
hide until it got dark enough to pass through the country
across to Alexandria when we came suddenly upon a

68 Minty and the Cavalry
body of rebels, stationed apparently as an outpost, on the
Liberty road. We saw that it would not do to attempt
to pass them, so we went up to them, jumped off our
horses, and said we had got lost, and wanted to go with
them back to camp; we thought, of course, they would
stay there all night, and we could slip off in the darkness.
' ' The rebs seemed grump and would not talk much, and,
in a few moments, the lieutenant in charge ordered the
company to mount, and moved off toward Sparta, taking
us along. I got a chance to ask Powell if we hadn't
better take the risk of cutting sticks as fast as our horses
could run, but he said our horses were not fresh enough
for that, and he did not think we were suspected. I be
lieved all the time we were caught, because the rebel
officer had not asked us for our pass, or any other ques
tions ; but still hoped we might get into camp without
being put under arrest, and so have another chance to
escape ; but as soon as we got to camp, the officer took his
company to Forrest's head-quarters, ordered us to dis
mount, a guard came up, and we were placed in a shed
under guard.
' ' We were soon after separated, and taken to different
parts of the camp. About midnight, I was taken to For
rest's head-quarters, into a room where several officers
were sitting around a table. I was t©ld it was a court
martial, detailed to try us as spies ! That the others had
confessed, and the best thing I could do was to make a
full statement of the whole thing. I protested I was a
Dutchman, a boatman on the Big Sandy river, was last
on the boat ' Eliza Jane,' and did not know what they
wanted. If they asked me anything I could not answer,
I would not understand them. I was soon taken out, and
learned after that I was the first one examined. Powell
was brought in last, and, for awhile, got along well

Scouting and Picketing. 69
enough. He was asked all about the country he pre
tended to be from, the names of the towns and the ad
jacent counties, and the people he knew there, but was
finally confronted by three men whose family names he
had mentioned, and who declared they were from the very
county he claimed to be a resident of, that they did not
know him, and that he could not give correctly the names
of the very families he claimed to be well acquainted
with. They tripped him up badly, and he became sullen,
and refused to answer. In the course of the examination,
he forgot his Kentucky slang, and spoke in his ordinary
Northern dialect. His attention was called to this fact,
and he was taken out for further hearing. Bob Sechrist
played off the reckless dodge, refused to answer any
questions, said he enlisted to be shot, and didn't care when
or where.
' ' They then sent men to us to pretend to be friends and
get us to talk. I told them not to bother me, and pre
tended to go to sleep. Sechrist would not say anything,
but before morning they got Powell to tell the whole
thing, who we were, what company and what regiment we
belonged to, and all about it. At 9 o' clock next morn
ing we were all brought in together. Powell owned up,
and then we all did, and in about five minutes the court
found us guilty of being spies, and sentenced us to be
shot in a week from that day. We were put in a shed
in a field, and a strong guard placed over us. I heard
Forrest say that he would approve the sentence of the
court, but if he caught Captain Dartt or Lieutenant Vale,
the officers who sent the spies into his camp, he would get
us pardoned and hang the officers instead.
" The next day, July 11 or 12, Forrest and his command
moved out of Sparta toward Liberty, leaving us under a
guard of about one hundred sick and dismounted men.

70 Minty and the Cavalry.
Two days after, late at night, a considerable part of the
rebel force came back to camp and brought in a lot of pris
oners they had captured. Among them were some of the
Third battalion of our regiment. The prisoners were
under the charge of Colonel Starnes, who turned them
into the field in which the shed was where we were. The
guard around the shed, in the confusion, were remiss,
and soon our shed, being the only shelter, was filled
full of the prisoners. We saw our chance, and borrowed
of one a pair of pants, of another a coat or cavalry jacket,
of others caps, boots, etc., until we got into pretty good
uniform. We took the names of men of the regiment we
knew, got our hair cut short, and next morning mustered
with the other prisoners ! The rebs tried their best to pick
us out from among the balance of the boys, but failed
entirely. They never recognized Sechrist or me, but had
Powell in a squad of about twenty whom they suspected.
It happened that Powell was the first one called out, when
a large number of the boys came forward and declared
that they knew him as a member of company G, that he
was captured at Mui'f reesboro' , and had been with them
all the time. So we all escaped, were paroled, sent to An
napolis, and, in due time, rejoined the regiment."
On the first of June, the First battalion, under Major
Wynkoop, led the advance of Negley's column in his de
monstration against Chattanooga. The column marched
from Columbia via Shelbyville and Winchester, crossing
the Cumberland mountains northward of Bridgeport,
and, descending into Sweden's cove, approached Chatta
nooga from the north.
On descending into the cove, on the evening of the 6th,
the battalion of the Seventh ran suddenly on the Eighth
Texas cavalry, commanded by Colonel John A. Wharton,
and Helm's Kentucky cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant

Sweden's Cove. 71
Colonel Woodward. Being considerably in advance of
the infantry supports, Major Wynkoop, finding himself
in the presence of a largely superior force, determined, as
the best way to secure the safety of his command, to at
tack and rout the enemy. He, accordingly, late as it was,
ordered the bugles to sound the charge, and, drawing
sabers, dashed into the hostile ranks, routing them from
their camp and sending them in the wildest confusion down
the cove, and pursuing them to the river, drove them
panic-stricken into Chattanooga. Seven of the enemy
were killed by the sabers of the Seventh, a large num
ber — more than one half the rebel command — were
wounded, and twenty-nine captured. The wounded who
were unhorsed generally escaped by hiding in the dark
ness, in the thick undergrowth which lined the road.
Over two hundred stand of arms were picked up the next
day, which the enemy had thrown away in their flight.
One of the results flowing from this defeat of the enemy
is thus put by the Historian in ' ' Forrest, and his Cav
alry, " page 161. In speaking of Helm' s regiment, he says
" it had recently undergone a surprise and night attack
in the Sequatchie valley * * * * disin
clined to remain in the service, in their organization, in
a few days there only remained of it two companies ; " it
had before numbered ten companies and over eight hun
dred men ! Thus it will be seen that the rebels lost on
this occasion over six hundred of their finest cavalry.
On the next day, Sunday, the 7th, General Negley ad
vanced to the river bank in front of the town, and, after
demanding its surrender, without effect, opened fire, and
shelled the forts and city all day. Had the steamboats
promised, been there, he could have occupied the place
and successfully held it ; but being without the means to .
cross the river, he was compelled to see train-load after

72 Minty and the Cavalry.
train-load of re-inf orcements enter the town from Knox
ville and Corinth, and fully man the forts and defenses.
Anticipating a movement on his right flank the next day,
he that evening withdrew his command and returned to
Winchester, Major Wynkoop, with the battalion of the
Seventh, reaching Shelbyville on the 10th. The object of
this expedition, being to draw off the rebel forces from
Cumberland Gap, was fully accomplished. Major Wyn
koop and his cavalry were specially mentioned and high
ly commended for their gallant fight at Sweden's cove,
in the official reports of the expedition.
On the evening of the 17th of June, Lieutenant Colonel
Sipes; taking command of the Second and Third bat
talions, moved, on the morning of the 18th, at the head
of the column commanded by Brigadier General Dumont,
towards McMinnville. On the morning of the 19th, he
pushed forward and reached the top of the Cumberland
mountains, where he halted about midway on the table
land, and rested until about 4, A. m. , of the 20th. Moving
forward at a good marching gait, he descended the mount
ain in the early dawn, arriving in the Sequatchie Valley
about 8, A. m. After securing the roads in front and
flanks, he rested until about 10 o'clock for the infantry
and artillery to close up. General Dumont now directed
him to push forward with the cavalry, drive the enemy
out of Pikeville, and occupy the town.
About two miles in advance of our pickets, the advance
guard, company E, under Captain Sheaffer, met a recon-
noitering party of the enemy — a battalion of the Eighth
Texas, under Major Starnes — and, drawing sabers, charged
them at sight. Colonel Sipes quickly closed the column,
and followed at a gallop. Arriving within a mile of Pike
ville, the remainder of the enemy's force, Eighth Texas
and Second Georgia, were met, drawn up in line of bat-

Dumont 's Advance on Pikeville. 73
tie. The enemy numbered about six hundred cavalry,
while the only Union force in sight was the two battalions
of the Seventh and, two companies of the Fourth Ken
tucky, in all about five hundred troopers. Colonel Sipes
formed his command in column of platoons, and charged
the center of the rebel position with drawn sabers. After
firing a straggling volley, which did no damage, the rebels
broke in confusion, scattered in every direction, and were
pursued through the town, into Waldon's ridge, and the
whole valley was, by 3, p. ml , cleared of the rebel forces.
The infantry and artillery entered Pikeville about 5,
p. ml This was the first Union command which entered
East Tennessee, and the loyal people of that sorely op
pressed region hailed its advent with every possible dem
onstration of joy and expression of gladness. General
Dumont was earnestly urged by the citizens to remain, at
least for one week, they declaring that a full regiment of
of loyal Tennessee mountaineers would be raised in that
time for the Union cause, but finding that General Negley
was not in front of Chattanooga, as expected, and being
under orders to- conform his movements to that column, he
reluctantly informed them of the impossibility of comply
ing with their request. About two hundred of them there
upon determined to accompany the column on Its return.
Seven gallant young men, Franklin Knight, John Knight,
William Monneyham, Alexander Simmons, James Sim
mons, William T. Simmons, and John Thomas, enlisted
that evening, June 20, in company K, Seventh Pennsyl
vania cavalry. They became excellent soldiers, served
faithfully with the company until December 20, when, by
orders from the War Department, they were transferred
to the Fourth Tennessee cavalry. They were prominent
citizens residing in the neighborhood of Pikeville, and the

74 Minty and the Cavalry.
best wishes of all their comrades in the old Seventh Penn
sylvania attends them wherever they may be.
On the 24th, the command withdrew from Pikeville
and returned to Murfreesboro' , v ia McMinnville ; arriving
at Murfreesboro' on the 28th, having captured one hun
dred and forty -five of the enemy, without any loss.
On the morning of July 2, just before daylight, Captain
C. C. Davis, of company I, while on picket near Man
chester, was surprised by Forrest, and, with nine of his
men, captured.
On the evening of July 11, Lieutenant Vale, at Alex
andria, received information that he would be attacked
that night by a large force under Forrest. Not feeling
warranted in abandoning his position, he drew in his com
mand and occupied the second floor of the seminary build
ing, and determined to await the attack. He was, how
ever, saved the consequence of his folly by an order re
ceived at about 11, p. ml, directing him to destroy all
heavy transportation and fall back to Lebanon at once.
From Lebanon, the Second battalion retreated under like
peremptory orders, to Nashville, arriving at that place
about 2, p. m.
Lieutenant Vale's disposition of his command to meet
the expected attack was entirely wrong, and is attributa
ble alone to his inexperience. Instead of dismounting
his men and attempting to hold the building as a fort, he
should have saddled up, moved out of the town after
dark, formed his men in line, and held his command to
horse, so that, if attacked by superior numbers, he could
have fallen back fighting. Had he been attacked as he
disposed his command, the destruction or capture of him
self and company was inevitable. The lesson was never
forgotten by him, nor was his defective preparations ever
made known even to his regimental officers.

Forrest Captures Murfreesboro'. 75
On the 13th of July, occurred at Murfreesboro' one of
those disasters to our arms to which our forces in the
early part of the war were everywhere subject ; and, too,
generally caused by the careless over-confidence of fancied
security. On the 7th of July, Forrest, with his brigade, consist
ing of the Eighth Texas, " Second Georgia, and Colonel
Morrison's battalion, numbering, in all, about fourteen
hundred cavalry, moved from Chattanooga to Sparta.
He remained in the neighborhood of Sparta until the 11th,
when he moved to McMinnville, detaching Morrison's
battalion, four hundred strong, to attack and capture
Lieutenant Vale, with his company, at Alexandria. On
the afternoon of the 12th, Forrest moved rapidly from
McMinnville to Woodbury, where he arrived about 11,
p. ml He rested there until 1, a. m., of the 13th, when he
moved on Murfreesboro', eighteen miles distant. He
arrived at Murfreesboro' at daybreak, and without dis
turbing the pickets or creating the slightest alarm, closed
up his column ; then moved to the attack on a rapid trot.
After running over the pickets on that road, he, when in
sight of the camp of our forces, sent a regiment to charge
the camp of the Ninth Michigan on the Liberty pike,
and near which was the camp of the Third battalion of
the Seventh. The charge of this regiment, Eighth Texas,
under Colonel Wharton, led them through the battalion
of the Seventh, many of whom were killed, wounded, and
captured in their tents. After passing through this camp,
Wharton rode through the camp of the Ninth Michigan
infantry in like manner, severely wounding and capturing
Colonel Duffield and a number of the regiment.
A short pause now occurred in the fighting, during
which the rebels, in an effort to recharge the campj of the
Third battalion, ran into some picket ropes, and became

76 Minty and the Cavalry.
dismounted and disorganized, and the officers and most
of the men of the Seventh had time to mount. The
Ninth Michigan also rallied in the middle of their camp,
and, being joined by the men of the Seventh, after a
sharp contest of over an hour, drove Wharton, wounded
and defeated, out of their camp and over to the McMinn
ville road.
Meanwhile, Forrest had led the main part of his force
directly into the town, surrounded the court-house, and,
after a brief contest, captured it with one company of the
Ninth Michigan, which was there on provost duty. For
rest then gathered his command and assaulted the camp
of the Second Minnesota Infantry, in which about one
hundred men, not having time to join the main body,
had formed behind a barricade of wagons. He was three
times repulsed, with severe loss, by these brave men, fight
ing though they were without officers or organization ;
but the fourth assault, led by Forrest in person, at the
head of his whole force, except the Eighth Texas, was
successful ; and the entire band was either killed or
wounded. In this capture, Forrest could not refrain from
an exhibition of the blood-thirsty disposition and im
placable hatred which ever characterized him ; particular
ly toward a negro. He refused quarter to these men, nor
ceased to kill and wound until all lay weltering in their
blood ! A poor colored man, a non-combatant, servant
to Captain Garrett, had run, at the first alarm, over to the
camp of the infantry and hid in a wagon. After the bar
ricade was captured and the butchery of the soldiers
finished, this man was found, dragged out and beaten
with gun and pistol butts, and finally shot by Forrest
with his own hand, in cold-blooded murder ; on the frivo
lous pretext that the negro had fired at him !
Colonel Lester, Second Minnesota, being now in com-

Surrender of Colonel Lester. 11
mand of the forces not killed or captured, retreated to the
camp of the Fourth Kentucky battery ; where he formed
line of battle on a ridge south of the Liberty pike, and
near the Manchester and Wartrace roads. His position
was a good one, and, though outnumbered, he had four
good pieces of artillery, and nearly one thousand effect
ive infantry ; besides two hundred cavalry, who had dis
mounted and formed in his ranks ; he knew that within
twelve hours ample re-inforcements would rush to his
assistance. Forrest made repeated demonstrations, and several
sharp attacks, all of which were easily repulsed, until
after 1, p. m. , when, despairing of carrying the position,
he collected all the wagons and other captured property,
burned some quartermasters' and commissary stores,
marched the prisoners he had taken out toward McMinn
ville, and was preparing to withdraw, when, for the pur
pose of covering his retreat, he sent in a flag of truce,
demanding the immediate surrender of the whole force,
under the threat of its massacre, in the event of a refusal.
Wharton and his men, having now recovered from their
panic, returned and joined Forrest ; these, coming in as
they did, on the McMinnville road, led Colonel Lester to
believe that the enemy was receiving re-inforcements.
Lester asked for and obtained an interview with Colonel
Duffield, who, wounded, was a prisoner at the time. In
passing to and from this interview, Lester was taken by
such a route as impressed him with the overwhelming
force of the enemy, and, in half an hour after, without
any further assault being made upon him, surrendered
the whole force.
In this surrender was included Major James J. Seibert,
commanding Third battalion ; Captain John M. Essing
ton and Lieutenant Amos B. Rhoads, of company B ;

78 Minty and the Cavalry.
Lieutenant Samuel C. Dixon and First Sergeant John C.
McCay, company G ; Lieutenants William Einsteine and
Charles D. Brandt, company M.
Captain C. C. McCormick and Lieutenant Garrett, with
about seventy men, escaped to Nashville by leaving the
ranks when the surrender became evident. In the bat
talion eleven were killed and ten captured ; nearly all the
captured being wounded.
This was the first serious blow our army received and
was exceedingly damaging to our ascendency in Tennes
see. It was a great step in the marvelous progress of
Forrest, and served to elate the rebel element inside our
lines as no previous event had done. The immediate loss
was the capture of one thousand five hundred and sixty-
five officers and soldiers, two hundred teamsters, clerks,
&c, six hundred horses, seventy of them being from the
battalion of the Seventh, forty wagons, five ambulances,
four pieces of splendid field artillery, twelve hundred
muskets and rifles, and thirty thousand suites of clothing.
The total loss to the Government was placed at over nine
hundred thousand dollars' worth of property, captured
or destroyed. It had a demoralizing influence on the
Seventh, almost destroyed the organization of the Third
battalion, and for a time effaced the confidence infused
in the regiment by the affair at Lebanon. It was a bitter
blow, caused by the careless over-confidence of the officers
in command and the undecided humanitarianism of Colo
nel Lester in the act of final surrender.
The disaster was reported at Nashville on the night of
the 13th, and next morning Lieutenant Colonel Sipes,
with the Second, and so much of the Third battalion as
had escaped, moved on Murfreesboro', arriving there
about 1, p. ml That evening, General Nelson, with his
division, reached the place from the direction of Frank-

Colonel Sipes at Lebanon. 79
lin. On the 16th, Colonel Sipes was ordered to Nashville ;
from which place he moved on the 20th, with three
hundred men of the Second and Third battalions, to
Lebanon. He reached Lebanon after a march of thirty
miles about 4, p. ml, and, sending pickets out five miles
on each road, went into camp. About 8, p. m. , Lieutenant
Vale, in charge of the picket on the Alexandria pike,
discovered the approach of the enemy, and learned from
a scout that there was a large force encamped two miles
beyond him at Spring Creek.
Colonel Sipes sent one of the Tennessee refugees, who
had accompanied the command from Pikeville, forward to
gain more definite information, who, returning about 10,
p. m., stated that Forrest was at Spring Creek, with
three thousand men and four pieces of artillery ; that he
was resting his command, with his horses saddled and
harnessed, and was evidently intending to dash into Leb
anon at or before daylight. The colonel decided to with
draw immediately in the direction of Murfreesboro' .
The picket guard that night was company K, and under
the charge of Captain Dartt. When the lieutenant joined
the column, after being withdrawn from the Alexandria
pike, he found but twenty-five of his men in place, and
that twenty were still on post on the different roads un
relieved. He obtained permission to remain and en
deavor to gather in the missing men, and, going out on
the Nashville, Carthage, and Hartsville roads, brought
in those stationed on each. This required a ride, at a
gallop, in all of thirty miles. When he was passing
through the town from the Hartsville road, about 2, a. ml,
the rebels entered it from the Alexandria pike, their
bugles sounding the charge, and they yelling like demons.
It being now impossible to reach the picket on the old
Sparta road, consisting of Corporal Hugh Armstrong and

80 Minty and the Cavalry.
five men of company K, they were captured by the enemy
the next morning. The lieutenant moved toward Mur
freesboro', and rejoined the column near that place at 7,
a. ml, having ridden one horse, on a single feed, over one
hundred miles in less than twenty hours.
On the 21st, the regiment, except company K, was
ordered, by General Nelson, to scout the country on all
the roads leading out of Murfreesboro' . In this duty,
companies E and C, under Captain Sheaffer, had a sharp
skirmish with a squad of rebels near Ready ville, in which
two men of company E were killed. Sheaffer drove the
enemy handsomely, but, as they scattered into the woods,
did not succeed in making any captures. He returned to
Murfreesboro' the next day. Companies G, B, and L,
under Captain C. C. McCormick, moved out the Man
chester pike to near Beech Grove, where he met a force of
about one hundred and fifty irregulars or recruits. They
fired a few shots and scattered ; appearing again, in a
short time, as peaceful citizens, engaged in their ordinary
industry. Captain McCormick brought in fifty-four of
them, but they, declaring they were not enlisted soldiers,
were subsequently released on taking an oath of alle
giance ; an obligation they valued about as highly as the
Southern rebels ever have regarded their word, their
honor, or any promise they have ever made to the Na
tional authority, i. e., as not worthy a moment's con
sideration. Companies D and M, under Lieutenant New
comer, scouted out the Lebanon pike to Black's cross
road; thence, by Stone's River pike, to near Lavergne ;
thence, by Nashville pike, returned to Murfreesboro',
meeting no enemy.
At 11, p. ml, on the 21st, Lieutenant Vale was ordered
by General Nelson to move on Lebanon, or, until strik
ing the enemy in that direction, find out what force, if

Company K Stampeded. 81
any, was at Lebanon, and report to that general the next
day on the Lebanon pike, "and be sure your information
is correct," said the order.
Near Beard's Mill, about 2, a. ml, he learned from a
citizen in the secret service of the Government that For
rest had been, on the 21st, in Lebanon with a force re
ported at four thousand cavalry and four pieces of artil
lery. Sending a courier to General Nelson with this in
formation and a statement that the number of the enemy
was probably exaggerated, he moved on toward Lebanon,
intending to capture a picket or outpost ; sending for
ward, for this purpose, a squad of eight men, under Lieu
tenant Wood, of company I. On nearing the toll-gate,
about two miles from town, a part of this advance party
dashed back through the column shouting, ' ' Run, Lieu
tenant — run, for God's sake, run, there are five hundred
rebels just behind us ! " The rapid passing of these men
caused a stampede in the ranks, and, in a second, the whole
company was rushing in wild confusion at full speed
towards Murfreesboro'; leaving the lieutenant and his
first sergeant dumfounded in the road !
Having an excellent horse, he started after, and over
taking, rallied them some five miles distant. He found
Lieutenant Wood had been thrown from his horse and
badly injured ; one of the men, McClintock, was thrown
forward on the pommel of his saddle and permanently in
jured ; another, Jackson, rode his horse to death and
was, himself, permanently disabled ; John Knight and
 Simmons were thrown from their horses, took to
the woods and were captured ; another man rode to near
Black's cross-roads, where, finding the enemy uncomforta
bly near, he hid in a cornfield.
The lieutenant, after rallying the men, and indulging
in language not recognized in the "New Edition," in-

82 Minty and the Cavalry.
formed them that he was going into Lebanon, and moved
forward. Near the town, he found Sergeant Harlan and
the other man of the advance quietly waiting, and wonder
ing at the unusual delay in the arrival of the column.
They had not seen anything to scare them.
Forming his command so as to create the impression
that it was the advance guard of a larger force, he moved
into the town just at daybreak. He soon learned that
Forrest, with about twenty-five hundred men and four
pieces of artillery, had been there the day before, but
had moved towards Nashville in the afternoon and night,
and that a rear guard of two hundred still occupied
the seminary in the town. He then withdrew at a walk,
but was followed by the rebel scouts for a couple of miles.
On arriving near Beard's Mill, he deployed the com
pany, fearing an ambush at the cross-roads. In the
woods near the mill, he ran on seven rebels, who were in
the act of hanging Knight and Simmons, two of his men
they had just captured. Knight was strung up by the
neck and struggling, while a halter was around Simmons'
neck ! Two of the rebels were killed and the other five
captured. They were not, however, brought into camp,
as the guard placed over them reported them "lost" "in
the woods ! " Knight and Simmons were natives of Ten
nessee, and had been enlisted at Pikeville about a month
before ; and the guard who " lost " the prisoners were the
seven men enlisted at Pikeville at the same time !
Forrest moved to the Hermitage, the burial place of the
immortal Jackson ; from which he demonstrated toward
the Nashville and Murfreesboro' railroad ; making at the
same time an attack on the pickets at Nashville. Being
repulsed, he moved down the railroad to Mill creek and
burned a small bridge. In consequence of this move
ment. General Nelson marched toward Nashville on the

Nelson's Advance on McMinnville. 83
21st, instead of toward Lebanon, as he had intended.
Forrest, after also destroying the bridge and station at
Antioch and capturing about one hundred infantry
guards, on the approach of Nelson, drew off, taking the
Stone's River pike, in the direction of Liberty ; this led
him across the Murfreesboro' and Nashville pike at
Black' s. In the meantime, the detachment of the Seventh
on the Lebanon pike was marching toward Murfreesboro',
being on the chord of the circle described by Forrest's
march. Arriving near Black's, the lieutenant was informed
that a large force already occupied the cross-roads and
that his way to Murfreesboro' was barred ; he, however,
closed up his little band, and moving alongside the road,
so as not to raise a dust, succeeded in passing the cross
road ; actually moving between Forrest' s advance guard
and main body. Scarcely had he crossed the river near
by, when Forrest's column appeared at the cross-road;
feeling now safe and a little saucy, he opened fire on them
and engaged in a lively skirmish for about an hour, and
then moved on to Murfreesboro', where he arrived about
10, p. m. Forrest, under cover of a demand for the sur
render of the town, moved on, and established himself at
McMinnville. On the 9th of August, General Nelson marched, with
his division, six pieces of artillery, and the Second and
Third battalions of the Seventh Pennsylvania, under
Lieutenant Colonel Sipes, with two companies, Fourth
Kentucky cavalry, under Captain Chilsom, to attack the
enemy at McMinnville. Forrest being absent, Colonel
Hood, of the Second Georgia, commanded the rebel forces,
who, on the approach of Nelson, retreated to near Sparta,
leaving an outpost of two hundred men at the former
place. Colonel Sipes, commanding all the cavalry,

84 Minty and the Cavalry.
reached the vicinity of McMinnville about 11, a. m., of
the 10th, being two hours in advance of the infantry.
Halting about three miles from the town, he sent for
ward two companies, K and M, under Lieutenant Vale, to
reconnoiter the place. On reaching a hill, one mile from
the town, the lieutenant learned that there were not more
than two or three hundred of the enemy in the place, and
sent a courier to Colonel Sipes with the information and
the suggestion that, with two companies additional, the
place could be taken. In a few moments, Captain Chil-
som, with two companies Fourth Kentucky cavalry, joined
him, and Captain Chilsom, taking command, formed in
column of fours, drew sabers, and ordered a charge. The
town was entered with a rush. The provost guard, of one
hundred and sixty -five dismounted men, who formed in
the center of the town and attempted to repel the attack,
were soon overpowered, ten killed, many wounded, and
the remainder captured.
After disposing of this force, Captain Chilsom re-formed
his command, and moved to the Sparta road. At the out
skirts of the town, he met two companies of the Eighth
Texas, charged and routed them, capturing seventeen
men and twenty-four horses. Captain Chilsom then di
rected Lieutenant Vale to continue the pursuit, with the
two companies of the Seventh, while he collected the pris
oners and held the town. Advancing rapidly out the
Sparta road, the boys of the Seventh struck the rebel rear
about two miles from McMinnville, and drove it, at a
gallop, on the main body, who were in full retreat. About
five miles out, the rebels met a battalion of the Eighth
Texas, advancing rapidly from Sparta. The meeting of
the two bodies, on a dusty, narrow road, the one moving
at a gallop and the other at a trot, produced a confused
jam in the crowded way. Men and horses were over-

A Personal Rencontre. 85
thrown and trampled, while oaths, shrieks, and yells
filled the dusty air. In the height of this confusion, the
two companies of the Seventh burst upon them with their
vengeful sabers, hewing their way into the midst of the
struggling crowd. The rebels extricated themselves as
best they could, leaving at this point twenty-seven horses
and thirty-four men in the hands of our boys.
After sending the prisoners and captured horses back to
McMinnville, the lieutenant, with twenty-five men, con
tinued the pursuit. About a mile and a half beyond, he
again struck their rear, and, in the conflict which en
sued, the lieutenant had a personal rencontre with a cap
tain of the Eighth Texas ; the rebel captain rushing
upon him with a heavy, double-edged cutlass or straight
sword. The lieutenant met the attack with his cavalry
saber, parried the blows, caught the weapon in the curve
and guard of his saber, and hurled it from the rebel's
grasp. In doing this, however, the point of the rebel' s
sword entered the basket guard of the lieutenant' s saber,
and, forcing open his grip, wounded him in the hand,
nearly severing the fourth finger.
The contest was resumed, the captain using a double-
barreled shot gun and the lieutenant his revolver. At
the lieutenant's third shot the captain fell from his horse,
jumped into a corn-field, and again fired two shots at the
lieutenant, wounding his horse in three places. A dead
rebel captain was the next day found in that corn-field
near the road. Whether the same one or not is not
known ; but the lieutenant brought in the captain' s horse
and equipments, and the cutlass. He followed the re
treating foe to their camp on the banks of the river, three
or four miles further on, and then returned to McMinn
ville about dark. The total loss was two horses killed
and three men and five horses wounded. The Fourth

86 Minty and the Cavalry.
Kentucky lost three men killed and six wounded. The
cavalry alone were engaged in this affair and captured
two hundred and sixteen men, a large number of horses,
and three hundred stand of arms, and killed one officer
and twenty men of the enemy.
On the next day, Colonel Sipes, again taking the ad
vance of General Nelson's column, moved on Sparta.
Slight skirmishing commenced about five miles from that
place, and continued until the advance reached the Calf-
killer river, where Forrest was found strongly posted on
the Sparta side, holding the bridge, and covering the ap
proaches and the^ only practicable fords. General Nel
son deployed, placed his guns in position, and a noisy
contest began about 5, p. m. , and lasted until night.
During the night, Forrest withdrew from our front and
disappeared in the mountains. The Seventh lost three
men captured. Next day the column moved back to
McMinnville, and on the 13th, Forrest having appeared at
Woodbury, threatening Murfreesboro', General Nelson
fell back to that place.
About this time, General Bragg changed his plan of
campaign from a forward movement on Nashville to an
advance into Kentucky, by the way of Cumberland Gap,
Lexington, and Richmond, Kentucky ; covering the move
ment by strong demonstrations of cavalry, under Forrest,
Wheeler, and Morgan ; and a strong column of infantry
and artillery, with which he moved in person to Sparta
on the 3rd of September. The two weeks from the 15th
of August to the 1st of September gave us but a bewil
dering succession of marches and counter-marches of the
various divisions of our army; and of rapid hostile
demonstrations, in almost every direction, by the enemy's
cavalry. Forrest attacked Woods' division at McMinn
ville, and was repulsed ; moved fifty miles, and next day

General Johnson Hunts Morgan. 87
attacked McCook at Altamont ; near which he was met
by the First battalion under Major Wynkoop, and driven
off with loss. Two days after, Wheeler attacked a por
tion of Negley's division near Manchester, where the
First battalion was engaged defeating the rebel cavalry
and driving Wheeler back to Altamont, now occupied by
the rebels in force ; while Morgan, with about two thou
sand cavalry, on the 18th of August, captured Galatin,
broke the Louisville and Nashville railroad in that vicin
ity, and established himself at Hartsville.
Meanwhile, Kerby Smith and Breckenridge, with one
corps and a full division, having crossed the Cumberland
mountains and river, were advancing rapidly through Ken
tucky on Richmond and Glasgow. The danger in Ken
tucky being imminent, General Buell dispatched General
Nelson's division to Glasgow, and gradually gathered his
army into position covering Nashville ; the left at Mc
Minnville, and the right on the Elk river, near Decherd's,
the whole facing eastward ; intending to advance and
give Bragg battle near Sparta.
To do this, it was necessary to clear his left of the men
acing force at Hartsville, and, at the same time, re open
his line of supplies by the Louisville and Nashville rail
road. He accordingly organized a provisional brigade of cav
alry, consisting of Second and Third battalions of Seventh
Pennsylvania, under Colonel Wynkoop, the Third Indi
ana cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel Kline, and the
Fourth Kentucky, under Lieutenant Colonel G. C. Smith,
the brigade being commanded by Brigadier General
. Richard Johnson ; for the purpose of driving Morgan
from his position.
The brigade moved from Nashville on the night of Au
gust 17th, to Lebanon, where it arrived on the morning of

88 Minty and the Cavalry.
the 18th. Information there led Johnson to believe that
Morgan was moving toward Alexandria ; he, therefore,
moved that day about fifteen miles in that direction ;
when, taking a cross-road to the left, came out on the
Liberty and Mitchelville road, where he encamped. The
19th was spent in scouting the country, constantly devel
oping small scouting parties of the enemy. From prison
ers captured, it was learned that Morgan had not moved
from Hartsville.
On the 20th, Johnson moved northward, crossed the
Cumberland river at a ford ten miles from Carthage, and
reached Hartsville about 6, p. ml, the advance of the
Third Indiana having skirmished constantly, after cross
ing the river. It was there learned that Morgan had,
during the afternoon, moved in the direction of Galatin.
At 4, a. ml, of the 21st, the brigade moved on Galatin,
Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry in the advance. About 8,
a. ml, the enemy's pickets were sharply driven in by
Captain May, and the main rebel force was developed,
formed in line at the junction of the Hartsville with the
Louisville and Nashville pikes. A line of battle was im
mediately formed by the Seventh, under Colonel Wyn
koop, and the rebels vigorously attacked. The column
not having been properly closed up, the Seventh, in this
position, had to bear the concentrated fire of the entire
rebel line, without support, for nearly two hours. The
Third Indiana cavalry arrived about 10 o'clock, and
formed on the right rear, while the Fourth Kentucky
formed on the left side of the pike, with its left slightly
advanced. The firing became brisk, and continued for about an
hour, the Union skirmishers driving the rebels whenever
they advanced, until we occupied the woods on both sides
of the Hartsville pike, almost to the junction. Colonel

Battle of Galatin. 89
Wynkoop advanced his regiment to the fence on the edge
of the woods, on the right side of the road, and Lieuten
ant Colonel Smith pushed the Fourth Kentucky on the
left slightly beyond the line of the Seventh, while the
Third Indiana was moved to the right and front into a
ravine, reaching almost to the Louisville and Nashville
pike. Wynkoop now directed Lieutenants Greeno and
Vale to charge with the saber directly in the junction of
the roads. The movement was commenced, when it was
arrested by a peremptory order, from General Johnson to
Colonel Wynkoop, to fall back to the fence, in rear of his
first position ; the Fourth Kentucky, in like manner,
being drawn back to the new line.
At the moment this retrograde movement was ordered
by the general, the whole rebel force in front of the
Seventh and Fourth Kentucky were falling back on and
into the town in disorder, while the force stationed at our
right was mounting and moving off with every exhibition
of panic, along the Louisville pike, under a galling fire
from the Third Indiana. It may be that this latter move
ment was, as the general supposed it to be, an effort to
gain our right rear, but, to the entire command, it ap
peared a flight. It is certain that our falling back stopped
the movement at that time, and a lull of nearly half an
hour ensued.
This order to fall back was received by the men with sur
prise and general indignation. The feeling was pretty for
cibly voiced by Bugler Will Shettle, of company K, who,
being near Lieutenant Greeno when the aid delivered it,
turned to the latter and blurted out : "Captain, this is a
h — 1 of a way to do ; follow Morgan two weeks all over
the country, only to run away from him!" At that
moment a rebel bullet came singing by, cut the latchet of
Shettle' s cap, which he had brought under his chin, half

90 Minty and the Cavalry.
off, and chipped a piece off the top of his right ear, had
the effect of making the spunky little bugler madder yet.
The boy was only about fifteen years old, and was a priv
ileged character, so he indulged in his growl without re
buke, both officers and men feeling about as he put it.
The rebels were now plainly seen re-forming their lines,
and resuming their positions, from which they advanced,
about noon, on our second line. Officers and men, now
with one voice, besought the general to give the order for
a saber charge along the whole line, but, instead, he di
rected the Fourth Kentucky to move to the right and form
a line of dismounted men ; held the Third Indiana in line,
mounted ; and, breaking up the Seventh Pennsylvania,
sent the companies, detached, in little lines to the front
and left, in different parts of the field. In one of these
detached movements, Captain Dartt, with his and com
pany K, moved directly on the center of the rebel left, on
the Louisville pike. The companies were pretty badly
raked, but would have broken the opposing ranks, when,
just before reaching effective striking distance, the sharp
blasts of the general's bugle sounded the recall! At
another phase of the fight, the general ordered the Seventh
Pennsylvania and Third Indiana to dismount, and lead
ing their horses, to advance and engage the enemy with
their revolvers ! The movement was attempted, but failed,
as its folly demanded it should.
This faltering fighting emboldened the rebels, who,
about half past one o'clock, moved two regiments rapidly
around our right, threatening to take us in the rear. Even
at this stage, a vigorous attack by General Johnson, with
his whole force, either on the position at the Louisville
pike, or directly in the front on Galatin, would undoubt
edly have given us the victory, and routed the enemy. This
was pointed out and urged upon him by Colonel Wyn-

Battle of Galatin. 91
koop. He, however, insisted that the flanking force would
strike his rear before he could rout the enemy in front,
although the former was over a mile away, while our lines
were within half a mile of the latter, and peremptorily or
dered a retreat. In falling back, our wounded, dead, and
most of our dismounted men were abandoned and captured.
He fell back two miles under a heavy direct and flank
ing fire, and, being sharply pursued, formed another line
on a range of hills, about half a mile from the toll-gate.
In this retreat, Lieutenant N. A. Wynkoop, the only son
of the colonel, adjutant of Second battalion, and at the
time, aid-de-camp to General Johnson, was killed in
stantly, being shot through the head ; and his body left in
the road. At this third position, the same tactics and
kind of fighting which had so successfully driven us from
the first and second were repeated, with like result, ex
cept that the contest lasted only about an hour, when,
being pressed in front and flanked on the right, Johnson
again ordered a retreat, and fell back until opposite the
Carthage ford of the Cumberland river.
The rebels moved up promptly and assailed thislast po
sition about 5.30, p. m. In a few moments, Duke' s brigade
was thrown around our left, and seized the hills, covering
the ford in our rear. General Johnson now sounded a
parley, and asked for terms of surrender. Before the flag
was sent, however, Colonel Wynkoop and Lieutenant Col
onel Kline, ascertaining from Johnson his intention, drew
their regiments together, and formed facing rearward,
opposite the left of Duke' s brigade, and, when the terms
of surrender were agreed upon, tersely, and in writing,
notified both General Johnson and Morgan that they
would not surrender, and were not to be included. John
son insisted on his right to, and that he had surrendered
the whole force, whereupon Wynkoop and Kline drew

92 Minty and the Cavalry. ,
sabers, ordered the bugles to sound the charge, and dashed
upon Duke's brigade, scattering the" rebels like chaff be
fore them, and literally cut their way out. They crossed
the river with but the loss of two additional men, marched
to Lebanon that night, and next day arrived in Nashville.
In this disastrous affair, the regiment lost one officer
and five men killed ; one officer and sixteen men wounded,
and one officer and seventeen men captured, the captured
being those wounded. For list see appendix.
Nicholas A. Wynkoop, first lieutenant and adjutant,
was killed.
Joseph G. Vale, first lieutenant company K, wounded
and captured.
General Morgan, in a few days, sent, under a flag of
truce, a formal demand on General Buell, that Colonel
Wynkoop and Colonel Kline, with their respective regi
ments, having been surrendered by General Johnson,
should be delivered up to him. In this demand, General
Johnson acquiesced, to the extent of declaring that he
had so surrendered his whole force, including these two
regiments. The demand was curtly refused, with the re
mark that the best evidence in the world that these regi
ments were not prisoners of war in his, Morgan' s, hands,
was that they were then, with all their arms, doing full
duty. ' ' You must catch your hare before you skin him. ' '
The author, however, has failed to find any special men
tion or official commendation of the gallantry of these
officers and men issued in recognition of their almost un
exampled heroism ! It may be that the formal discipline
of West Point and the traditionary regulations of the
rules of war required the exploit to be passed over, as it
was, in silence ; but the average patriot will be even to
day a little puzzled to account for it. Morgan reported,
in his list of captures, the colonels, officers, and men of

Comments. 93
these regiments, and the question of their exchange en
tered as a complication in the exchange of prisoners of
war by the rebel authorities.
Of the conduct and tactical ability shown by General
Richard Johnson, it is hard to speak. He was certainly
brave, and showed an entire absence of a sense of per
sonal danger; being calm to the verge of apathy. He
was under the hottest fire all the time. He may have
been a good infantry general, but certainly was utterly
incompetent as a commander of cavalry. There was pub
lished, in 1861, in Harper's Weekly, a cartoon, represent
ing a Union general in the battle of Big Bethel ; in which
the general is sitting on his horse in the midst of explod
ing shells and the falling ranks of his men ; calmly hold
ing an open book marked "Army Tactics," before him ;
and is made to say, "Let me see, what is next % Ah, yes—
the next thing is to retreat ! ' ' This cartoon of the Harpers
was vividly recalled to the mind of the author when see
ing Brigadier General Richard Johnson on the battle-field
of Galatin ; and he still thinks that, with the exception
of the open book in hand, it was a fair portrait of him.
The Union forces in this engagement were the Fourth
Kentucky, eight hundred and forty-six officers and men ;
Third Indiana, four hundred and seventy-six ; Seventh
Pennsylvania, three hundred and twenty-five, a total of
one thousand six hundred and forty-seven officers and
men. About three hundred of these were cooks, teamsters,
and men dismounted on the march, leaving the effectives
one thousand three hundred and forty-seven. Morgan
had present on the field, Duke's brigade, nine hundred
effectives ; his own old regiment, four hundred and eighty ;
and two regiments of recruits, of three hundred and twenty
each, making a total of two thousand and twenty. But
the recruits were generally without arms, and, as he fought

94 Minty and the Cavalry.
in the first stages of the battle dismounted, one fourth of
his effective force must be deducted as horse-holders ;
hence, he could not have had more than one thousand two
hundred effectives in the action. Of these, he lost sixty-
eight killed. And the author was informed by Major Dick
McCann, while a prisoner, that their severely wounded
was over one hundred.
The wounded were placed in the houses of the citizens
of Galatin, and well taken care of. The author, was taken
to the house of a prominent citizen, carefully nursed and
treated with as much consideration as could have been
shown had he been a near relative. This generous man
and his estimable lady housed, fed, and cared for two of
the Union and two of the rebel wounded for more than
two weeks ; then, when he was able to be moved, hauled
the writer nearly fifteen miles in his carriage to our
nearest outpost, in the direction of Nashville ; and would
not accept a dollar of compensation. While the author
has never seen or heard of this man since, the memory of
his kindness and that of his family forms one of the most
lasting and pleasant recollections of his life.
The same generous treatment was extended by scores of
other citizens of Galatin. Their action in opening their
houses to the sick and wounded strangers was entirely
voluntary, all the wounded being taken in on invitation.
Each citizen seemed to vie with the other in awarding to
Union and rebel alike the kindest of treatment.
The dead were carefully collected and decently buried,
except the body of Lieutenant Wynkoop, which was con
veyed, under a flag of truce, to Nashville, and subse
quently buried in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
The author was paroled by Major Dick McCann in
Morgan's and Bragg' s name, and reached Nashville on
the 5th of September.

Campaign in Kentucky. 95
The increasing pressure of the rebels in Kentucky, Gen
eral Nelson having been defeated at Lexington and Rich
mond, with the imperative necessity of opening up and
holding the Louisville and Nashville railroad, caused
General Buell to concentrate his army along the line of
the road from Bowling Green to Nashville, and, on the
capture of Munfordsville, Kentucky, to march in haste to
the relief of Louisville.
The First battalion of the Seventh, under Major Wyn
koop, was ordered to accompany the army ; moving on
its right flank to Louisville, when, taking the advance,
it moved in pursuit of Bragg ; who, having declined bat
tle, retreated from Bardstown, and was now on a grand
foraging excursion southward through the State.
During the movement of the army to Louisville, the
battalion had but little to do, except guard the flank, and
moved rapidly from point to point, exchanging occasional
shots with the enemy. At Bears' Wallow, however, on
the 20th of September, company D had a brisk skirmish,
driving the rebels from the field ; it lost two men killed.
Taking the advance of the army, the battalion followed
the line of the enemy's retreat until the evening of the
7th of October. In approaching Perryville, it developed
the rebels in considerable force. Advancing on the 8th,
it so©n became sharply engaged, and demonstrated that
Bragg was in position, determined to fight for the safe
passage of his immense trains over the Cumberland river
and mountains. In opening the battle, the battalion lost
two men killed, two wounded, and four captured.
The battle of Perryville was indecisive of results, for, al
though Bragg retreated and left our army in possession of
the field, yet his object in covering the retreat of his trains
was accomplished ; and the pursuit beyond Perryville was
as feeble as the advance to that point had been cautious.

96 Minty and the Cavalry.
General Buell soon moved his army to Bowling Green
and its vicinity, where he was relieved of the command,
and Major General William S. Rosecrans appointed to
succeed him. Rosecrans moved forward, repairing the
railroad as he advanced, and reached Nashville on the
10th of November. Here, on the 15th, the battalions
were re-united for the first time since April, and Colonel
Wynkoop being absent sick, the command devolved • on
Lieutenant Colonel Sipes.
When the army marched into Kentucky, Brigadier
General J. S. Negley, with two effective regiments of in
fantry and the Second and Third battalions of the Seventh
Pennsylvania cavalry, one regiment of Tennessee cav
alry, two batteries of artillery, and about four thousand
sick of all commands, was left to hold Nashville.
On the night of the 6th of October, General Palmer,
under orders of Negley, moved, with two thousand in
fantry, four pieces of artillery, and the two battalions of
the Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, on Lavergne, where
Brigadier General Anderson, with one thousand seven
hundred effective rebel infantry, three regiments of cav
alry, and four guns, was posted. Arriving near Lavergne,
Palmer, early on the morning of the 7th, formed line and
made the attack, directing Captain D. G. May, com-
maiiding the Seventh Pennsylvania, to move rapidly to
the right, sweep around to the rebel left, and gain their
rear. This movement May executed with rapidity and
such success that almost at the moment the first shots
were exchanged in front, he and his troopers entered
the camp of the astonished rebels, furiously assailed their
reserves, charged and captured their battery, and caused
the entire rebel force to retreat in the wildest confusion.
The Seventh captured Lieutenant Colonel Maury, of the
Third Alabama, and one hundred and seventy-five officers

Rebel Defeat at Lavergne. 97
and men, besides killing and wounding over one hundred
of the enemy.
In the campaigns of Forrest and his cavalry, the his
torian, speaking of this rout, says :
" The way thither Murfreesboro' was swarming with fugitives, very
few of whom had arms in their hands ; many were riding barebacked, and
very many were shoeless and without any other clothing than that in which
they had slept." "*
Gathering together the arms, camp equipage, clothing,
etc., General Palmer, having no means of transporting
anything except the captured guns and forage, burned
and destroyed the whole, and returned to Nashville, with
the loss, to the Seventh Pennsylvania, of three men killed
and ten wounded.
On the 6th of November, Forrest moved to attack Nash
ville, with three thousand five hundred cavalry, Free
man's battery, and Harrison's division of infantry, num
bering three thousand, the whole rebel force approximat
ing eight thousand men. Determined assaults were made
all day on the outworks, but were everywhere repulsed,
except on the Murfreesboro' pike, where, at one time,
Forrest succeeded in capturing a portion of the out-lying
rifle-pits, near the Asylum. He was, however, promptly
met by a charge from the Seventh Pennsylvania, led by
Captain Sheaffer, and, after a spirited conflict, driven out
side the works. In this affair, company C had two men
captured, and company E five wounded. The repulse of
the rebels was complete, they retiring from the conflict at
dark, leaving their dead and wounded on the field, and
retreated, during the night, to Murfreesboro' .
This affair closed the operations of the Seventh Penn
sylvania cavalry as an independent detachment, and
brings its history down to the period of its association
with the commands of the brigade.
7

CHAPTER VIII.
THE FOURTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY,
Organization — Arrival at Louisville, Kentucky — Pursuit of Bragg —
Battle of Stanford, Kentucky — Defeat of Morgan at Lebanon —
Capture of Captain Abeel — Battle of Franklin, Tennessee.
Michigan, thy sons were brave and true ,
Prompt in response to Freedom's holy cause,
Each of thy thousands swore to dare and do,
Though in the doing he should nobly fall.
| HIS, the most distinguished of all the noted regi
ments from the peninsula State, was organized
at Detroit, on the 29th of July, 1862 ; and was
composed of companies recruited in various parts of the
State. It was mustered into the service of the United
States on the 29th of August, with the maximum of
numbers, and left the State on the 26th of September,
one thousand two hundred and thirty-three strong, fully
armed, mounted, and equipped ; the destination being
Louisville, Kentucky.
Organization.
Field and Staff. — Colonel Robert H. G. Minty, of
Detroit, and late lieutenant colonel of Third Michigan
cavalry; Lieutenant Colonel Josiah B. Park, of Ovid;
Major William H. Dickinson, of Grand Rapids ; Major
Horace Gray, of Grasse Isle ; Major and Surgeon George
W. Fish, of Flint ; Assistant Surgeon John H. Bacon, of
Lansing; Adjutant Joseph W Huston, of Paw Paw;
Quartermaster Walter C. Arthur, of Detroit ; Commis
sary Edward H. Porter, of Kalamazoo.
Company A.— Captain Allen G. Wells, of Wellsville ;
(98)

Organization. 99
First Lieutenant Beckford P. Hutchinson, Utica ; Second
Lieutenant George F. Corbin, Granville.
Company B.— Captain Frank W. Mix, Allegan ; First
Lieutenant Chauncey F. Sheppard ; Second Lieutenant
Julius M. Carter, Ovid.
Company C. — Captain Thaddeus W. Melchor, Paw
Paw ; First Lieutenant Robert Burns, Lafayette ; Second
Lieutenant George W Lawton, Antwerp .
Company D. — Captain N. John McFarland, Plymouth ;
First Lieutenant Wesley A. Green, Detroit ; Second Lieu
tenant Thomas J. Sheers, Nankin.
Company E.— Captain Joseph B. Tolton, Manchester;
First Lieutenant Jonah W. Mann, Owosso : Second Lieu
tenant Edward L. Tucker, Macon.
Company F. — Captain Richard R. Robbins, Adrian ;
First Lieutenant Walter B. Anderson, Adrian ; Second
Lieutenant Tunis W. Henion, Adrian.
Company O. — Captain Barber N. Sheldon, Quincy;
First Lieutenant Daniel Duesler, Quincy ; Second Lieu
tenant Henry D. Fields, Bronson.
Company H. — Captain Alfred Abeel, Dearborn; First
Lieutenant Frank Burr, Grand Rapids ; Second Lieuten
ant Authur Wood, Grand Rapids.
Company I. — Captain Horace D. Grant, Jackson ; First
Lieutenant Henry A. Stetson, Jackson ; Second Lieuten
ant William W. Van Antwerp, Jackson.
Company K. — Captain W. H. Smith, of Lapeer ; First
Lieutenant L. Briggs Eldridge, of Lapeer ; Second Lieu
tenant Daniel West, Attica.
Company L. — Captain Benjamin D. Pritchard, Allegan;
First Lieutenant Isaac Lamoreaux, Manlius ; Second Lieu
tenant Thomas J. Parker, Allegan.
Company M. — Captain Emory M. Plimpton, Niles ;

100 Mihty and the Cavalry.
First Lieutenant Hiram F. Beals, Dowagiac ; Second Lieu
tenant Aaron Rowe, Niles.
Arriving at Louisville, Kentucky, too late to partici
pate actively in the Perryville campaign, it, nevertheless,
was immediately ordered to take the field ; and, on the
10th of October, led the advance on Stanford, Kentucky ;
where Morgan was posted with twenty-five hundred men
and two pieces of artillery.
On approaching the town, Colonel Minty, after driving
in the enemy's pickets by a vigorous advance, finding
the whole rebel force drawn up to receive him, immedi
ately deployed his regiment, throwing a battalion in line,
on each side of the pike, and holding the other in column
of fours, on the road ; and, by a vigorous advance, after
a short and brilliant engagement, routed the entire force
of the enemy ; driving him in confusion as far as Crab
Orchard ; killing a lieutenant colonel, and capturing a
major and eleven enlisted men.
Morgan, being thus for a time rendered harmless, Minty
marched the regiment via Springfield to Munfordsville ;
there joining the cavalry division of the Army of the
Cumberland. In this march from Louisville to Munfordsville, by
way of Stanford, Crabb Orchard, and Springfield, while
its casualties in battle were few, yet it suffered the usual
fate of raw cavalry in the breaking down of a large num
ber of its horses ; and having a very heavy sick list ; so
that, on the first of November, when it moved with the
army toward Nashville, it numbered but five hundred
and forty-three. Marching by way of Bowling Green,
South Union, Springfield, Kentucky, and Mitchelville,
Tennessee, it, on the 8th of November, reported to Major
General Crittenden, at Galatin, Tennessee.
On the morning of the 9th, the regiment crossed the

The Charge at Lebanon. 101
Cumberland river; and, soon after, met and drove in
Morgan's pickets ; pressing the enemy steadily, it reached
Lebanon, Tennessee, early in the day ; where Morgan,
with seven hundred and fifty men, and two pieces of ar
tillery, was posted. Without further delay than was ne
cessary to close up his column, Minty dashed on the
enemy, captured the town, scattering the rebels in every
direction ; capturing a large number of mules, and all his
commissary stores and extra clothing. Gathering the
captured property carefully together, he rejoined Gen
eral Crittenden, at Silver Springs, without loss. From
this time until the 19th, it was actively engaged in pick
eting and scouting the country in front of Crittenden's
position at Silver Springs.
During this time, the army lay in line of battle from
Mitchelville, Galatin, and Silver Springs, with open com
munications to Nashville ; anticipating an attack, or
ready to deliver one should Bragg attempt to interpose
his army between us and Nashville. Major General
Rosecrans, being now in command of the army, moved by
the right flank into Nashville on the 19th ; the Fourth
Michigan cavalry forming the advance of the Fourteenth
brigade from Round Hill to Stewart' s Ferry. The regi
ment here halted, and continued on scouting duty on the
south side of the Cumberland river until the 28th, when
it reported to Major General Stanley, chief of cavalry ;
and, by his orders, marched to Camp Rosecrans, near
Nashville. During the months of October and Novem
ber, it had lost three men wounded.
At 7 o'clock, on the morning of December 2, Colonel
Minty, with three hundred and two officers and men,
moved from Camp Rosecrans, on a reconnoissance in the
direction of Franklin. When about eight miles from
Nashville, he encountered the enemy's pickets ; driving

102 Minty and the Cavalry.
them back on both the Wilson creek and Franklin pike
to their reserves, posted at " Hollow Tree Gap," a strong
position covering both roads. By a rapid dash, he dis
lodged them therefrom, and pushed on to within a mile of
Franklin, where, finding that a large force was posted, he
returned to camp without any loss.
On the morning of the 4th, General D. S. Stanley,
chief of cavalry, took personal command of a cavalry ex
pedition against the enemy, moving first out the Nolins-
ville pike toward Triune. Minty, with the Fourth Mich
igan, struck the rebels on the Wilson Creek pike, about
twelve miles out, and drove them in the direction of, and
to within four or five miles of, Triune. The Seventh
Pennsylvania cavalry, having also developed the enemy
and driven them in on the Nolinsville pike, uncovered a
force of two divisions of infantry, supported by artillery,
under Generals Buckner and Hardee, at that place. Stan
ley' s contract, not embracing in its terms the defeat of the
whole rebel army that day, he withdrew three miles, and
halted at the crossing of the Franklin and Murfreesboro'
road ; the horses remaining saddled. Before daylight, he
moved on Franklin, arriving in front of that place about
7, a. m. He found the rebels, one thousand three hun
dred strong, posted along the Harpath river, and under
cover. Colonel Minty was directed to attack dismounted,
while the Seventh Pennsylvania were held, mounted, in
column, on the pike. Dashing across the river, at a shal
low ford, where the bridge had been destroyed, Minty
brought the repeating rifles of the Fourth Michigan to
play upon their ranks, and quickly succeded in dislodging
their force, capturing their entire skirmish line, driving
them from the town, and pursuing them three miles,
keeping all the time in advance of the mounted force.
Minty, with the Fourth Michigan, killed one captain and

Capture of Captain Abeel. 103
five men, and wounded six of the rebels, besides captur
ing two officers and seventeen men, and a stand of colors.
The command then occupied the town, destroyed a
large quantity of flour and other stores. The Fourth
Michigan, while much exposed to the rebel fire, suffered
no casualties, and returned to camp at Nashville that
night. In the account given in the Annals of the Cum
berland, of the capture of Franklin, is found the follow
ing notice of the regiment :
" Company I, Fourth Michigan cavalry, dismounting, took position near
the bridge and opened fire on the mill ; the remainder of the regiment,
dismounted, under cover of the rising ground on which the Seventh
Pennsylvania cavalry were formed, and advanced at a double quick, passed
the position of the Seventh Pennsylvania, waded across the river and
drove the enemy from the town ; Colonel Minty was the first man across
and took a rebel officer prisoner. The Fourth Michigan had passed
through the town and were following the enemy out the Columbia and
Carter Creek pikes, before the mounted men crossed the river. The
enemy left one captain and four men killed and ten severely wounded in
the town, while twenty prisoners were captured."
On the 15th, Captain Abeel, with a picket detail of forty
men, stationed on the Murfreesboro' pike, was approached
by a flag of truce ; and, while in negotiation with the officer
accompanying it, was captured with his entire command.
The circumstances of this capture were rigidly investi
gated, at the request of Colonel Minty, by a commission
appointed by General Stanley, 'and found to be a most wan
ton violation of a flag of truce. For, while the party
making the capture belonged to a different command than
that of the officer bearing the flag, ' ' the fact that they
sprang from ambush and surrounded the picket, immedi
ately on the officer declaring the conference ended, and
before the flag withdrew, is sufficient to warrant the con
clusion that there was collusion between the officer bear
ing the flag and the party making the capture. ' '
On the 20th, the regiment was engaged at Laurel Hill
without special results.

104 Minty and the Cavalry.
On the 21st, Captain Mix, with fifty men, moved on a
scout, on the Wilson creek pike ; for the general purpose
of securing information. About four miles out he fell in
with a foraging train under charge of a Colonel Stanley,
with two regiments of Kentucky infantry, a section of artil
lery, and thirty men belonging to the Fourth Kentucky
cavalry. The Colonel informed Captain Mix that the
enemy had attacked the cavalry, and directed him to join
them, assume command, and act according to his judgment.
He found the rebels strongly posted behind a stone fence ;
and, dismounting his men, attempted to dislodge them.
Failing in this, he withdrew, remounted, and charged. The
rebels, after firing two heavy volleys, beat a precipitate re
treat ; leaving seven killed and ten captured. In this affair,
Sergeant Mclntire, of company B, was wounded. Captain
Mix received a complimentary note from General Stanley,
who characterized the affair as a " gallant charge. ' '
Major General Stanley, chief of cavalry, now re-organ
ized the cavalry ; forming it into two divisions, of two
brigades each. The Fourth Michigan became a part of
the First brigade, Second division, with Colonel Minty
as brigade commander. The subsequent history of the
regiment forms an important part of the history of the
brigade and division, and appears on the following pages.
Up to the time when it was brigaded, it had marched,
mounted, four hundred and seventy miles ; had killed
and wounded two officers and thirty-six men of the
enemy ; captured three officers and thirty-eight men,
two stand of colors, some fifty horses and' mules, several
wagons, a large quantity of subsistence and forage, and
almost the entire clothing, camp and garrison equipage
of Morgan' s brigade. It lost up to this time four enlisted
men wounded, and one officer, Captain Abeel, and forty
men, with their horses and equipments, captured.

ROBERT H. G. MINTY,

Colonel 4th Michigan Cavalrv. Brevet Brig. General U. S. Vols.
Brevet Maj. General U. S. Vols.

CHAPTER IX.
Military Situation — Cavalry Organization — Advance on Murfrees
boro' — Battle of Lavergne — Battle of Stone's River — Battle at Jef
ferson Bridge — Fight Near Lavergne — Fight Near Overalls' Creek
— Battle Near Wilkinson Pike — Great Cavalry Battle on December
31 — General Stanley's Charge Against the Rebel Left— Minty De
feats Wheeler — Advance to Wilkinson Cross-road — Retreat of Bragg
— Pursuit of the Enemy — Fight on Manchester Pike — Battle at Beech
Grove — In Camp at Murfreesboro' — Officers and Men Honorably
Mentioned — Incidents.
I hear again the battle's roar,
I see the sabers brightly gleaming,
I feel the charger's throb once more, *
And note our country's banner streaming.
I see the long, blue line, push back the rebel pickets
Far stretched o'er hill and dale ; through break and thickets.
My old heart leaps,
As up the steeps
Rock-crowned and flinty ;
I see the dash,
And hear the crash,
Where leads the peerless Minty.
jHE close of the campaign of 1861-62 found the
Army of the Cumberland firmly holding Nash
ville and a large portion of Tennessee ; the
States of Kentucky and Missouri reclaimed ; the Missis
sippi river freed from obstructions to Vicksburg ; the
Cumberland and Tennessee rivers open to the navigation
of the National gunboats and transports, and the domi
nation of the rebel authority seriously impaired in Ala
bama, Georgia, and Mississippi ; while more than two
thirds of Arkansas was in the possession of the Govern
ment. (105)

106 Minty and the Cavalry.
The Democratic party in the South still, however, main
tained its determined attitude of unrelenting hostility to
the National cause, and hatred to the defenders of the
flag ; but the opposition parties, all through the South,
were falling away from the rebel cause. In the great
North- Western States, the copperhead element of the Dem
ocratic party was compelled, by the success of our arms,
to disguise their opposition to the war measures of the
Government, under the demand for a "more vigorous
prosecution of the war," while the loyal portion of the
Democratic party joined their Republican brethren in a
hearty support of the National authority, at home and in
the field.
A mighty change had, too, taken place in the army on
the subject of slavery. In the beginning of the campaign,
the all-pervading sentiment, among officers and men, was
to uphold the institution ; to refuse shelter and support
to any and all fugitive slaves, and to assist the master,
whether rebel or Union, to reclaim his property ; if it ran
away. Now, however, the sentiment was that the insti
tution of slavery was at the bottom of the trouble ; that
the negro slave was a man, with human rights, and that
the slave population, being always ready and eager to as
sist the Federal forces, were entitled to protection at our
hands. When, therefore, large numbers of slaves now
entered our lines, they were employed, protected, and sup
ported, and we soon found that we hurt the rebels more
by taking their slaves from their fields than we did by
killing their soldiers in battle. It thus occurred that
when the President's Proclamation of Emancipation was
promulgated it met with us of the Cumberland a hearty
support. Another marked change had taken place throughout
the army. During the preceding campaign, by strict or-

The Cavalry Re-organized. 107
ders, the Union forces were prohibited from taking the
private property of citizens, no matter if the owner was
in the rebel army or what the necessity for so doing was.
Safety-guards were placed over gardens, fields, corn-
houses, and mills, as well as over dwelling-houses ; and
even the fences were spared wherever it was possible to
procure wood. Now, by general orders, everything neces
sary for the subsistence of the army was directed to be
seized, by officers in command of foraging details ; and
the army made to subsist, as far as possible, off the coun
try. Safety-guards became almost unknown, and war
with us put on a sterner front.
The rebel authorities, press, and orators had, from the
first, falsified so persistently and outrageously that they
had exhausted the vocabulary of abuse long before this
change "in the conduct of the war" occurred; and, as
they soon found that killing foragers was a game two
could play at, they had to do, as they finally did in the
collapse of their stupendous scheme of atrocious rebel
lion ; — accept the situation, after sending out a whine
over the " barbarity of the Yankee invaders. "
In the re-organization of the army, the master hand of
the new commander was immediately seen ; particularly
in his recognition of the importance of the cavalry arm
of the service, and its proper organization for effective
work. Prior to this, we had been attached in squads and
battalions to various infantry brigades and divisions ; not
even a single regiment operating long enough as a unit
to become an effective power ; while, on sudden emergen
cies arising, these different detachments would be thrown
together, placed under the nearest unemployed infantry
colonel, or brigadier general, and sent on scouts, or to en
gage the enemy ; without having any opportunity to ac-

108 Minty and the Cavalry
quire that esprit de corps so necessary to successful
military movements.
General Rosecrans now placed the whole cavalry as one
corps, under the command of Major General D. S. Stan
ley ; who organized it in two divisions, the First being
commanded by Brigadier General McCook and the Second
by Brigadier General John B. Turchin.
In tnis organization, the First brigade, Second Cavalry
Division, Army of the Cumberland, was constituted of
the Fourth Michigan cavalry, Colonel R. H. G. Minty,
commanding ; Second Indiana cavalry, Colonel McCook,
commanding ; Third Kentucky cavalry, Colonel Eli Mur
ray, commanding ; and Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry,
Colonel George C. Wynkoop, commanding.
Colonel Wynkoop being absent sick, Colonel McCook;
of the Second Indiana, was assigned to the command of
the brigade, with Captain Woodly, of same regiment, as
acting Assistant Adjutant General. The orders constitu
ting the brigade went into effect about the 1st of Decem
ber, 1862 ; and on the 8th of December, 1862, under or
ders of that date, the brigade was officially given the
above designation, and Colonel R. H. G. Minty, of the
Fourth Michigan cavalry, in the absence of Colonel
McCook, first assumed the command.
On the 18th of December, 1862, Colonel McCook re
sumed command, and the brigade moved on the enemy,
occupying Franklin, on the Harpath river, eighteen
miles from Nashville. At Bentwood, the enemy' s out
post was encountered, and, after a sharp skirmish, driven
rapidly, by the Fourth Michigan cavalry, in on their
main body at Franklin. The attack on the rebels began
as soon as the remaining regiments could be brought up
and assigned positions ; the Third Kentucky being on the
left with instructions to circle around until reaching

Defeat of Wharton near Franklin. 109
the Triune pike, attack from the east ; the Seventh Penn
sylvania cavalry to advance on the center on the Nashville
pike, and the Fourth Michigan cavalry, moving to the
right, to reach the river and attack from the north-west ;
the Second Indiana cavalry being held in reserve. The
Fourth Michigan, armed with repeating rifles, advanced,
dismounted, seized the lower fords of the Harpath, then
sweeping on a left wheel up the river, drove the enemy
steadily before them, until the suburbs of Franklin were
reached and occupied.
A strong force of rebels now crossed the river in rear
and threatened the capture of the regiment, when the
Second Indiana advanced, dismounted, and after a stub
born fight, drove them back and held the fords. The
Third Kentucky moved, mounted, to the left, seized the
Triune road and pushed the rebels into the town and over
the river eastward of it. The direct attack was then
made by the Seventh Pennyslvania, mounted, and the
whole rebel force driven from the town and across the
river at all points.
The object of the expedition : to cover an extensive
foraging operation south and west of Bentwood, having
been fully accomplished, the command returned the next
day to Nashville ; highly complimented by Generals Rose
crans and Stanley.
The rebel force encountered was Wharton's and Mar
tin's brigades of Wheeler's cavalry, supported by at least
four pieces of artillery. Their loss is not accurately
known, but we buried fifteen and captured seventy-nine,
besides a considerable quantity of commissary stores and
clothing, five wagons, and destroyed a large quantity of
artillery and small arms ammunition. The casualties in
the brigade were :

110 Minty and the Cavalry.
Seventh Pennsylvania, — killed. 4 wounded. — - captured. Total, 4
Fourth Michigan,  5 " 9 " 2 " "16
Third Kentucky, .... 3 " 8 " 4 " "15
Second Indiana,  2 " 7 — " "9
Total,  10 28 6 44
On the 22d of December, 1862, Colonel McCook' s health
having broken down, he obtained leave of absence to go
to Indiana, and Colonel Minty was, permanently, assigned
to the command of the brigade.
The whole rebel army, having now been concentrated
under General Bragg, at Murfreesboro', General Rose
crans moved from Nashville, on the morning of December
26, to attack it, wherever it might be found.
Bragg' s army, at this time, consisted of the flower of
the splendid force General Halleck had, the preceding
spring, allowed to march away from him at Corinth,
now, by constant duty in camp, march, and on the field
of battle, brought into the highest discipline of matured
veterans, re-inforced by garrisons from all the interior
cities, and recruits gained by a remorseless conscription,
numbered over fifty thousand, infantry and artillery ; be
sides more than ten thousand effective cavalry. So strong,
indeed, did Bragg feel'in this latter arm, that he had, the
preceding November, detached Forrest's division, and
sent it to the Department of the Mississippi.
The army of General Rosecrans, on the other hand, after
leaving the necessary garrisons at Nashville and guards
on the lines of communication, numbered less than forty
thousand infantry and artillery,' and but six thousand
eight hundred and forty effective cavalry.
For years it had been considered almost an axiom that
cavalry could not be effectively employed, on account of
the natural obstacles presented by the topography of the
country ; hence, it is not strange that, during the first and

Advance of the Army. Ill
second years of the war, the National forces were sadly
deficient in this arm. Whatever topographical diffi
culties may have existed in the East, or along the water
courses of the Mississippi, none such were found in mid
dle Tennessee ; yet, at no time, was the National cavalry,
either in Tennessee or Georgia, equal in number to that
of the rebels ; and, generally, it was outnumbered over
two to one. This was a serious mistake, resulting in an
immense destruction of horses from overwork ; and, on
several occasions, jeopardized the very existence of the
army. The Government could, by the first of January,
1863, have had, in the State of Tennessee, an effective
force of fifty thousand cavalry ! With half that number,
and twenty thousand supporting infantry and artillery,
the entire rebel armies could have been driven from the
field, captured, and destroyed, in a single campaign.
Colonel Minty marched from Camp Rosecrans, near
Nashville, on the morning of December 26, with the Third
Kentucky cavalry, the Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, the
Fourth Michigan cavalry, and one company of the Second
Indiana cavalry, to the Murfreesboro' pike ; reporting to
Major General Palmer, commanding the advance division
of the army on that road.
It being known that the rebel army had advanced its out
posts, he placed the Third Kentucky on the left, and the
Seventh Pennsylvania on the right of the road ; holding
the Fourth Michigan and Second Indiana on the pike.
The command then moved forward in columns, each with
a strong advance guard.
Ten miles from Nashville, he met the rebel pickets, when
the advance, re-inforced from their respective columns, was
deployed as skirmishers, and steadily drove the rebels
back, until Lavergne was reached ; there a force of two
thousand five hundred cavalry, with four pieces of ar-

112 Minty and the Cavalry.
tillery, was encountered. A sharp skirmish ensued, with
considerable loss on each side ; when the colonel brought
up two pieces of battery D, First Ohio artillery. With two
companies of the Fourth Michigan, dismounted, to sup
port the battery, Minty directed Captain Newell to en
gage the rebel artillery, which he did with splendid effect ;
in an hour and a half disabling the rebel battery, when,
the whole line advancing, the enemy was driven from the
field, and the brigade bivouacked for the night on the
ground held by them south of Lavergne.
The next morning, strong reconnoissances were made
to the front by the Seventh Pennsylvania, under Major
John E. Wynkoop, and, on the Jefferson pike, by a bat
talion of the Fourth Michigan, under Captain Frank W.
Mix. The rebel cavalry and skirmishers were driven be
yond Stewart' s creek, to which point the main army ad
vanced later in the day and evening.
The operations of Captain Mix, with his battalion of the
Fourth Michigan, on the Jefferson pike, deserves more
than a passing notice. Captain Mix was ordered to re
port to General Hazen, commanding the advance on that
road. Soon after reporting, General Hazen directed him
to attack the enemy, and, if possible, gain possession of
the bridge crossing Stewart's creek, and about two miles
in advance of the general's position, in order to prevent
its destruction. The captain pushed forward, and finding
himself confronted by a full regiment of the rebel cavalry,
he charged them at once, and, in less than fifteen minutes
after receiving the order, he had ridden two miles, cut
through and defeated a full regiment, and had possession
of the bridge ! He was, in a short time, vigorously as
sailed by Buford's brigade, but held his position, beating
off the large rebel force, for almost two hours, when, on
the approach of General Hazen' s force, Buford retreated.

The Rebel Line Developed. 113
Captain Mix here had two men wounded and three taken
prisoners. On the 28th, a battalion of the Seventh Pennsylvania,
under Captain W. Jennings, relieved Captain Mix, on the
Jefferson pike ; and the brigade forced the passage of
Stewart's Creek, seized and held the hills south of it;
and covered the crossing of the army.
On the 29th, the army advanced ; the brigade covering
the left flank ; the Seventh Pennsylvania, under Major
Wynkoop on the left, the Third Kentucky, under Colo
nel Murray on the right, and the Fourth Michigan, under
Lieutenant Colonel Dickinson in reserve ; the Second In
diana being this day on courier duty. The rebel skir
mishers along the whole line resisted stubbornly but
were steadily pressed back ; until about 3, p. m. , their
main line of battle was developed in front of Murfrees
boro' . This line was found to extend continuously from
near the Lebanon pike, on the east side of Stone' s river,
to the Wilkinson pike, on the west side, being slightly
curved by an advanced position, in the center, on the
Nashville pike. General Rosecrans formed line of battle,
in rear of the skirmish line, held by the cavalry ; his left
resting on Stone's river, a few hundred yards from the
point where the railroad crosses the pike ; his center
lying across both pike and railroad ; and his right ex
tending slightly beyond the rebel left across the Wilkin
son pike ; confronting, and in a measure conforming to,
the rebel line, except that no part was yet thrown across
the river.
The line being established, the brigade was withdrawn
from the front and went into bivouac, immediately in its
rear, south of the Murfreesboro' pike. On the 30th, one
battalion of the Seventh Pennsylvania and one of the
Third Kentucky were placed, as a chain of videttes in rear

114 Minty and the Cavalry.
of the line of battle ; which, during the day, was slightly
advanced ; the duty being to prevent straggling. Minty,
taking the Fourth Michigan, and the remainder of the
Seventh Pennsylvania, moved toward Lavergne ; against
Wheeler, who had captured a wagon train, on the Jeffer
son pike, near that place.
He met the rebels in force, and engaged them vigorous
ly, and in a succession of dashing charges, drove them
until after dark; when, joining Wilder' s brigade, he
camped for the night.
On the morning of December 31st, Minty reported to
General Stanley, with the brigade, except the battalion
left on vidette duty, in rear of the line of battle, and one
hundred and twenty men of the Fourth Michigan, under
Lieutenant Colonel Dickinson, left to protect Lieutenant
Newall's section of artillery, at Stewart's creek ; and un
der his orders moved rapidly across the fields, towards
the right flank of the army.
The rebel cavalry were met soon after, and driven
rapidly over two miles ; when, after crossing Overall's
creek, a line of battle was formed, nearly parallel to and
about one mile from the Nashville pike ; with the Fourth
Michigan, under Captain Mix, dismounted, occupying a
piece of woods on the left and in advance. The .whole
force present was but nine hundred and fifty men !
Wheeler, with twenty-five hundred cavalry and many
infantry, with four pieces of artillery, now attacked with
great determination ; drove back the Fourth Michigan
to the line of its support — the First Tennessee — which
uncovered the left of the Seventh Pennsylvania, and ex
posed it to a flank attack. Minty, seeing the danger,
dashed forward to the line of the Fourth Michigan and
First Tennessee, (dismounted men,) and endeavored to
move these commands to the support of the Seventh.

In Battle of Stone's River, December 31. 115
When, in the midst of the movement, a line of rebel in
fantry swept out of the woods, delivered a terrific fire on
these two regiments, and, rushing forward on their left,
turned them back and around as on a wheel, to the left
rear ; breaking the Fifteenth Pennsylvania cavalry to
pieces and striking the left flank of the Seventh, now hard
pressed by the rebel cavalry in front, forced it to fall back.
The brigade was now being forced back, while fighting
stubbornly, step by step, toward the Nashville pike ;
while along the whole line, toward the left and center of
the army, the continuous roll and roar of the battle, con
stantly receding toward the pike, and the triumphant
shouts of the on-rushing rebels, proclaimed to all the de
feat, of, at least, the right wing of the Union army.
The condition of affairs at this time, about 11, a. m.,
was critical in the extreme ; for should, the left wing of
the rebel army succeed in gaining possession and holding
the pike, Rosecrans' whole army would be doubled up
and confined within the low ground extending from the
railroad to the river ; and its destruction or capture inevi
table. After the brigade had thus been driven, and fighting
for nearly two hours, or at about 11, a. m., General Stan
ley, noticing that the rebel infantry were bearing off
towards the left, as though forming part of the main at
tacking wing, and executing a great right wheel, ordered
Minty to hold the rebel cavalry in check, with parts of
the Fourth Michigan, Third Kentucky, and First Tennes
see ; then gathering about one hundred and fifty men of
the Fifteenth Pennsylvania cavalry, companies K and H,
of Fourth Michigan, and all of the Seventh Pennsylva
nia, at hand ; together with Major Jennings' organized
battalion; formed column, mounted, and charged with
drawn sabers directly upon the left flank of the rebel in-

116 Minty and the Cavalry.
fantry ; routing the enemy, taking one stand of colors,
and creating a wild panic and demoralization for more
than three fourths of a mile, into and along their left
wing. It was, as is now known, this charge of the First bri
gade and Fifteenth Pennsylvania cavalry, under General
Stanley, which first arrested the triumphant sweep of the
rebel army, after the defeat and rout of McCook' s corps,
released the pressure on Sheridan' s line, and afforded time
for General Rosecrans to re-form his lines, and thus hold
his position along the Nashville and Murfreesboro' pike.
At the time of Stanley's charge, Minty, leading in per
son the Fourth Michigan and First Tennessee, having
now mounted, charged with the saber the two thousand
five hundred cavalry in his front, drove the first line from
the field ; then, halting, re-formed his command, under a
terrific fire, and again charged their second line, posted
on the opposite side of a lane, with two fences between
him and them. The rebels waited only until they saw
our men passing through the fences, when they broke, '
scattering in every direction, and were driven from the
field in the wildest confusion.
In these engagements, the rebels lost, out of their
cavalry, eighty-nine killed and one hundred and five
wounded and captured. Of their infantry, the loss can
not be ascertained, as their dead was subsequently gath
ered and buried, and the wounded could not be taken
out when the charging column returned ; the ground hav
ing also been fought over both before and after the
charge, renders all estimate impossible. A sergeant of the
Seventh Pennsylvania, however, who, having been on the
line of videttes in rear of our line of battle, was captured
when McCook was defeated, stated to Colonel Minty, a
few days after, that their dead was many officers and

BATTLE FIELD <
* STONE'S RIVER.

The Army, December 31. 117
twenty men, that he knew of, from the sabers of the cav
alry. The best evidence of the completeness of Minty's vic
tory over the rebel cavalry, on this occasion, is found in
the fact that Wheeler retreated immediately beyond the
Shelbyville pike, or completely behind the infantry lines ;
and there remained during the whole of the three next
days' subsequent fighting ; while Minty held the ground
on the left flank of the rebel army during the 1st, 2d, and
3d of January, and on the 4th moved forward and left
ward, and occupied Wilkinson Cross-roads, two miles in
rear of the rebel position.
It is not within the limits of this work to present a de
tailed history of the part taken by other commands in the
various battles and campaigns, but a brief account of the
more prominent incidents, with the results obtained, is
necessary, to an intelligent understanding of the history
of any ; hence, the following sketch of the battle of Stone's
river is presented :
After forming his line of battle on the 29th, as before
stated, it was the intention of General Rosecrans to throw
his left wing, in strong force and massive lines, in echelon
across Stone's river, turn the rebel right, drive it back
upon their center, seize Murfreesboro' , cut the line of re
treat by rail, and then, advancing his center and right
wing, drive Bragg south toward Shelbyville, or south-west
toward Columbia.
While the left wing was thus to make and continue the
chief attack, the right wing was to- hold its position and
repel any assault. The country in front of the left and
center was generally open ; on the extreme left, eastward
of the river, somewhat hilly ; in front of the center, al
most level ; while on the right it was a dense cedar thicket,

118 Minty and the Cavalry.
broken by ravines and sharp rocky ledges from three to
ten feet high.
By some oversight, the rebel army having, during the
night, strongly massed and extended its left, was permitted
to approach to within striking distance without being dis
covered ; and on the morning of the 31st of December, at
daylight, struck the extreme right wing under McCodk.
The brigade on the extreme right which received the first
shock, was under the command of Brigadier General
Johnson. The on-rush of the rebels met with but little op
position, breaking down brigade after brigade, and carry
ing position after position, until the whole right wing was
driven back to a line but a few hundred yards from, and
parallel with, the Nashville pike ; the two brigades on the
extreme right being badly disorganized, and most of their
men and material, with several batteries captured. After
the first rush, about 7, a. m., their advance was, while
steady and continuous, slower and more cautious ; the
other brigades of McCook' s command, and Wood and
Sheridan of the center, having formed, and by most de
termined heroic fighting, contested every foot of ground,
but being pressed on flank and front were driven back to
ward the pike as before stated, until by 11, a. m., the
right formed a sharp angle with the center.
Between 11 and 12, m., General Rosecrans, having
strongly re-inforced the right center, and massed his ar
tillery around a slight elevation at the point where the
pike crosses the railroad — near where the Battle Monu
ment now stands — opened a terrific fire of canister, at
short range, on the dense masses of the rebels pressing
over on the right toward the pike ; and, after two hours
of the hardest fighting ever seen on the continent, re
pulsed the assault, drove back the enemy, and held his
center and left intact. Before, however, this had been

Rosecrans Returns to Continue the Battle. 119
done, and while the triumphant rebels, with exultant
shouts, were pressing forward to seize the pike, the charge
of the cavalry by General Stanley was delivered, and
Wheeler defeated by Minty. The rebels, thus finding
their left uncovered, and the rear of their advancing line
attacked, halted when almost on the pike, and pressing
over toward the center, met a repulse from the fire of the
artillery. Rosecrans immediately gathered the shattered com
mands of McCook' s corps into the new position parallel
with the pike, threw up slight breastworks, and, before
night had not only reestablished his broken lines, re
pulsed the assaults on his center, and rallied his defeated
corps, but late in the evening had crossed the river with
his left and attacked the enemy's right !
Thus closed the first day of the battle of Stone' s river ;
one of the most extraordinary in the history of wonderful
battles : At 7, a. m. , attacked, with the right wing in air
and unprepared to resist ; at 10, a. m., driven in disastrous
rout from almost one half of the line ; more than one third
of his army destroyed; twenty pieces of artillery captured,
and the enemy pressing in victorious triumph to seize his
only line of retreat ; his center assaulted on three sides,
and his left enfiladed by the fire of heavy batteries on the
opposite side of the river— the capture of his army seemed
inevitable ! Yet by 3, P. m., we see the conditions entirely
changed ; the enemy repulsed from the center, shattered,
almost annihilated, retreating, disheartened, from the
effort to seize the roads in our rear, and the army partak
ing of the determined spirit of its commander, preparing
to assume the offensive, and at dark the left wing thrown
successfully across the river, attacking and defeating the
rebel right.
Few, indeed, are the generals in the world who would

120 Minty and the Cavalry.
not even that night have retreated from the field, and
thought himself fortunate in saving his army from de
struction. It was the good fortune of the Army of the
Cumberland, at that time, to be commanded by a general
who was not of the retreating kind. He called his subor
dinates about him, received their reports, listened to their
suggestions for the safety of the army, frankly ac
knowledged the extent of the losses of the day, and, is
suing a short address to the army, in which he calmly
stated his determination of continuing the battle on that
ground, and his opinion that the rebel army was as severely
punished as his own, and that Bragg had completely failed
in the grand object of his attack, made his disposition to
execute the original plan of the battle.
It rained heavily on the 1st and 2d of January, 1863,
and both armies had to lay comparatively quiet, though
continuous skirmishing, swelling at times into the roar of
battle, was maintained along the whole line. Demonstra
tions from various points convinced Rosecrans that Bragg
dare not again attempt to turn his flank, and that, as soon
as the weather permitted, the movement across the river
could be pushed to a successful issue.
Accordingly, on the 3d of January, the left was strongly
re-inf orced, and, advancing, seized the hills north-west of
Murfreesboro' . Bragg hastily threw Breckenridge over
on his right, and assaulted our left with great fury. The
battle raged from 2, p. m., until dark, extending along
the whole line. Breckenridge was again and again re
pulsed, and by night driven back, so that his line, covering
Murfreesboro' , formed almost a right angle with the gen
eral rebel line of battle !
The weather again, on the 4th, prevented active opera
tions. The river, raising rapidly, caused considerable
anxiety, lest, by sweeping away the bridges, communica-

Pursuit of the Rebel Army. 121
tion with the left, in its advanced position, might be
broken ; hence Rosecrans ordered the cavalry to Wilkin
son' s Cross-roads, threatening the Shelbyville pike and the
rebel rear from their left. Fortunately the storm did not
continue, and on the morning of the 5th the Army of the
Cumberland entered Murfreesboro' in triumph, driving
out the rebel rear guard, and capturing all their wounded
and a large amount of war material. Bragg left all his
dead, his disabled wagons, some fifteen pieces of artillery,
thousands of small arms, and retreated, during the night
of the 4th, in the direction of Duck river, with the loss of
more than one third of his army in killed, wounded, and
captured. Thus, by pluck and determined endurance of
the officers and soldiers, and the patient perseverance of
General Rosecrans, was, what appeared at first a disas
trous defeat, turned into a glorious victory to the National
armies. Minty, on the morning of January 5, marched through
Murfreesboro' , following the retreating rebel rear guard
on the Manchester pike. About two miles out he struck
the enemy, at a small creek, who opened with artillery.
He deployed, with the Third Kentucky well to the right,
the Seventh Pennsylvania to the left, and the Fourth
Michigan and First and Second Tennessee in the center ;
the two latter regiments in column on the road. The
country was much broken with dense cedar thickets,
through which it was almost impossible to move, but he
pressed vigorously forward, driving the rebels from one
hill and thicket to another, until near Beach Grove,
when, being strongly re-inforced, the enemy made a deter
mined stand, attacking the Seventh Pennsylvania and
First Tennessee with vigor.
Here the fight lasted nearly two hours ; when the ad
vance, having cleared the thicket and reached a more

122 Minty and the Cavalry.
open country a saber charge was delivered by the Fourth
United States cavalry and the Seventh Pennsylvania;
the enemy driven completely from the field, one piece of
artillery captured, and Bragg' s whole rearguard driven
into the hills covering the Duck river. The brigade re
turned to within a mile and a half of Murfreesboro', and
went into camp on the Manchester pike, establishing a
line of pickets six miles out.
The brigade, not including the Fourth United States,
which had not yet been formally attached, lost in the
advance from December 26 to January 5, inclusive,
twenty killed, thirty-seven wounded, and seventy cap
tured ; fifty of the captured were from the Seventh Penn
sylvania, and were of the Third battalion, which was de
ployed on duty in rear of the line of battle, and when the
right wing was broken on the 31st, were taken prisoners
while at their posts of duty.
Minty officially reports that he captured and turned in
one hundred and ninety prisoners, and one piece of artil
lery. Among those who distinguished themselves in the vari
ous engagements during this period, are officially noted :
"Colonel Eli Murray, with a handful of men, performed
services that would do honor to a full regiment. ' ' (Min
ty' s official report.)
"Captain Mix, Fourth Michigan, with about fifty men,
not only drove over two hundred of the enemy more than
two miles, but held his position against an entire regi
ment. " {Ibid.)
"Lieutenant Eldridge, Fourth Michigan, with eighteen
men, dismounted, attacked the enemy, routed them and
captured a wagon full of ammunition. " (Ibid.)
" Major W. H. Jennings, Seventh Pennsylvania, led

Honorably Mentioned. 123
his men, with great gallantry, in the charge on December
31st. " (Ibid.)
Captain Garrett and Lieutenant R. M. McCormick,
Seventh Pennsylvania, distinguished themselves in the
charge on the left of the enemy's infantry." (General
Stanley's report.)
"First Sergeant Jacob Bedleyon, of Company K,
Fourth Michigan, rode by my side during both charges
in the engagement on Wednesday, December 31, and dis
played, great gallantry and coolness. " (Minty's report.)
"Bugler Ben. De Fenlwick, Second Indiana, and Quar
termaster Sergeant Edward T. Owen, Fourth Michigan ;
when we were driven back, in the early part of the day,
* * brought my horse to the front, thus ren
dering me great service. ' ' (Minty' s report. )
" Captain Frank W. Mix, Fourth Michigan, had his
horse shot under him during the first charge ; he pressed
forward on foot, caught a stray horse and led his com
pany in the second charge. "
" Many others undoubtedly did as well, but the above
came under my immediate notice. " (Minty's report.)

CHAPTER X.
Rebel Advance on Donaldson — Movements to Intercept — Fight at
Rover and Unionville — General Jeff. C. Davis' Advance Toward
Donaldson.
Though wintry skies lower o'er us,
And sharp sweeps the sleety blast,
We drive the foe before us,
Our blows fall thick and fast.
LL through the war, the rebel army in the West,
on suffering a defeat or failing to accomplish
a chosen project, got up a side show, to amuse
their people and delude them into the belief that the
rebel cause was in the ascendency. Accordingly, Bragg
now recalled Forrest, and on the 10th of January, dis
patched him and Wheeler, with over four thousand of
the best rebel cavalry in the department and eight pieces
of artillery, on an expedition to obstruct the navigation of
the Cumberland river and recapture Fort Donaldson.
Now, Forrest, while by long odds the greatest cavalry
general the rebels produced, never would work in a
double team ; unless, indeed, it was hitched up tandem,
with himself in the lead ; and on this occasion, Wheeler
being in chief command, the team balked from the begin
ning. On the 13th of January, the rebels occupied the
banks of the river at Harpath shoals, and during the day
captured three small transports ; but were driven off in
the evening by our gunboats. They then moved against
Fort Donaldson and Dover, at that time held by about
six hundred men under Colonel A. C. Harding, of the
Eighty-third Illinois. Wheeler and Forrest summoned
(124)

Expedition to Intercept Wheeler. 125
the little garrison to surrender, and made several deter
mined assaults ; but it soon occurred that when Forrest
attacked, Wheeler and Wharton were not ready ; and
when they assaulted, Forrest had been repulsed ; and so
the balkey team worked from about 2, p. m., until nearly
dark; when, every assault having been disastrously re
pulsed, the rebels retreated rapidly, in a demoralized
condition, having lost, in Forrest' s command, two hundred
and forty officers and men killed, wounded, and captured,
and in Wharton's, sixty killed and wounded, or a total
of over three hundred. Colonel Frank P. McNairy, a
prominent citizen of Nashville and one of the most pro
mising of the rebel officers, was killed in the assault. This
defense of his position by Colonel Harding is mentioned
as a just tribute to a most gallant officer, and as explana
tory of the expedition in which Minty was next engaged.
Information of the movement of Wheeler and Forrest
having been received, Rosecrans directed a column, con
sisting of a division of infantry, with the First and Third
brigades of cavalry, and Newall's section of battery D,
First Ohio artillery, with Minty in command of the cav
airy ; and General Jeff. C. Davis, of the whole force ; to
move against them. Davis was directed to move first
against Franklin, capture that place, cross the Harpath
river, and then march south-west, and occupy the high
ground between the Harpath and Duck rivers. But, as
the rebels occupied Rover and Unionville north of the
Duck river and nearly on the line of march from Mur
freesboro' to Franklin, it was necessary to drive them
from these positions before the expedition could move by
with safety.
General Davis, therefore, directed Minty to move rapid
ly to Versailles, and from thence send expeditions to at
tack Middleton, Unionville, and Rover.

126 Minty and the Cavalry.
Minty's force when formed in column on the morning
of January 31, consisted of :
First Brigade.— Colonel R. H. G. Minty commanding,
with Lieutenant R. Burns, of Fourth Michigan, Acting
Assistant Adjutant General. Officers and men .
Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry,  175
Fourth Michigan cavalry,  270
Third Kentucky cavalry,  143
One section, battery D, First Ohio artil
lery,  42
Third Brigade.— Colonel Cook commanding.
Fourth United States cavalry,  400
Second East Tennessee cavalry,  200
Third East Tennessee cavalry,  40
Total,  1,370
On reaching Salem, near Versailles, Minty detached the
Second and Third East Tennessee, under Colonel Cook,
with orders to proceed to Middleton, and, if possible,
from thence to Unionville, and there rejoin the command.
Halting at Versailles to give time for Colonel Cook to
reach Unionville, he moved on Rover, where an outpost
of about six hundred rebel cavalry was reported.
The rebel pickets were met about a mile and a half from
the place, and were immediately driven in on a run by
Major Wolfley, Third Kentucky, commanding the advance
guard. About half a mile from Rover, the entire rebel
force was developed, drawn up in line of battle. The
road we were on lay for about six hundred yards almost
parallel with the rebel line ; then, at a distance of about
two hundred and fifty yards from it, turned sharply to
the left. The fence at the bend of the road was discovered
to be somewhat broken. The rebel line was formed on a

Gallant Charge at Rover, Tennessee. 127
slight hill along a piece of woods, with a couple of newly
ploughed fields directly between us and them. Minty de
termined, therefore, that the position could be carried by
moving on the road to the bend, then breaking through
the fence, turn the head of the column slightly to the
right, form column of the companies, and attack the
right center of the enemy in echelon ; believing this
movement could be made more rapidly and with less loss
than a direct charge across the fields and heavy ground in
front ; although it exposed the column to a flanking fire
for nearly six hundred yards. He accordingly explained
his plan to Captain Jennings, commanding the Seventh
Pennsylvania, ordered it to close up ranks in column of
fours and charge.
The movement was executed with great rapidity and
dash, the last four or five hundred yards being at a charge,
with drawn sabers. The rebel line was struck and the
whole force utterly routed, stricken down, captured or
scattered, in less than five minutes after the advance was
sounded. Six officers and forty-nine enlisted men were
captured ; one officer and forty-three men killed and
wounded on the field, every one of whom fell beneath the
sabers of the Seventh , and a large number of stragglers
were gathered up in a rapid scouring of the country.
Among the prisoners, was a captain of the Eighth Con
federates, who had received from Major Jennings a saber
cut, straight across the face, cutting through the nose
and down to- the cheek bones on both sides. As the pris
oners were brought in, they passed Colonel Minty's order
lies, amongst whom was a Seventh Pennsylvania man, an
Irishman, named Phil. Rafferty, who, looking at the un
fortunate Confederate with an expression of concern, said :
" Arrah, what did you run against to hurt yourself that
way V

128 Minty and the Cavalry
Phil. Rafferty became a noted character in the brigade
after that. During the Atlanta campaign, he fell into the
hands of the enemy, and was sent to AndersonviUe. On
one occasion he was with a party of prisoners who were
taken outside the stockade, to perform some fatigue duty.
Besides the guard, there were a number of bloodhounds
along. Rafferty had picked up a stick, and as one of the
hounds passed him, he struck it on the head and killed it.
A moment later General Winder passed, and, seeing the
dog lying dead, asked, with an oath : ' ' Who killed that
dog V No one answered, and he ordered the entire squad
to be placed under special guard, and given nothing to
eat until the culprit should be identified. This was too
much for Rafferty, so, stepping out of the ranks, he said :
"I don't want my comrades to suffer on my account. I
killed the brute." Winder demanded : " Why did you
kill it?" Rafferty, in his comical manner, replied: "I
was hungry, and wanted to eat it. ' ' This made Winder
furious. After a volley of oaths and a string of abuse, he
said : "By God, you shall eat it !" Rafferty was placed,
under guard, at the foot of a tree, in which the carcass of
the dog was hung, and he was kept there, without other
food, until he had eaten the last scrap of the dog. He
was not allowed any fire, and had to eat it raw.
About 3, p. m., an order was received from General
Davis, directing Minty to move on Eaglesville, seven miles
distant, where he (Davis) expected to meet the rebels in
force, under Wheeler and Forrest. Minty, however,
knew, from positive information received, that there was
no rebel force at Eaglesville, and having directed Colonel
Cook to join him at Unionville, but two miles distant,
closed up the column and advanced on that place. The rebel
force there, being demoralized by the defeat at Rover, did
not wait to be attacked, but retreated beyond the Duck

Advance toward Charlotte and Centerville. 129
river. Minty remained in Unionville about an hour, when
a courier from Colonel Cook brought intelligence that he
had been repulsed at Middleton, and had fallen back
towards Versailles. Minty ordered him to move to Eagles
ville, and himself marched to that place, where he joined
General Davis about dark.
In the first attack of Colonel Cook on Middleton, he cap
tured Lieutenant Colonel Clint. Douglass and forty-one
men, making the total captures by Minty, that day, seven
officers and over one hundred men.
On the next day, February 1, Minty marched to Pey-
tonville, on the Harpath river, when, finding the bridges
destroyed, and that the only practicable ford was within
three miles of Franklin, where a large force of rebels was
posted, • and, thinking it important to unite with Davis,
marched through Harpath, crossed the river near there,
and camped at 11, p. m., about a mile beyond the junction
of the Eaglesville road. Moving at daylight on the 2d
through Triune, he reached Franklin early in the day,
where, reporting to General Davis, he went into camp on
the road leading from the Carter' s Creek road to the Hills-
boro' pike, six miles from Franklin.
On the 5th, marching all day on the Natchez Trace
road, he encamped, after dark, three miles west of the
j unction of the road leading through Boston . On the 6th,
the column moved first to Kinderhook, and thence toward
Charlotte, camping, after dark, south of the Nashville
and Charlotte pike. He captured, during the day, Colo
nel Carroll and Major Rambout, of General Forrest's
staff, two lieutenants, and twenty-two men of Forrest's
escort, and gave that officer a six-mile race toward Center
ville. It being now evident that Wheeler and Forrest had
scattered their men all over the country, and that the cap-
9

130 Minty and the Cavalry.
ture of any required the search of every house and out
house, and that the two chiefs had crossed at Center
ville and escaped to Columbia, the further pursuit was
abandoned, and, under orders from General Davis, the
command marched to Franklin, arriving there on the 10th.
On the 12th, as rear guard to General Davis, it marched to
Triune, and camped near that place. During the night,
Captain Blackborn, First Tennessee, was sent to surprise
a rebel camp a short distance off. He reached the camp,
but the night being very dark, the rebels escaped by hid
ing in the bushes. Only one was taken. On the 13th, Gen
eral Davis marched on to Murfreesboro' , and Minty, with
five hundred men, paid another visit to the rebel camp at
Rover. They, however, did not wait his coming, but with
drew in haste before he could reach them. He then
marched to Murfreesboro', arriving after dark. In this
expedition the brigade marched three hundred miles,
Minty captured, during the scout, in addition to those
already mentioned, two colonels, one major, four cap
tains, seven lieutenants, and one hundred and twenty-
seven enlisted men. The total casualties were one man
severely and one dangerously wounded.
This scout of thirteen days was the most severe it is
possible to conceive. The weather was a constant succes
sion of rain, snow, and sleet, alternated with the most in
tense cold ; the roads were knee-deep with mud and slush,
varied at times with a crust of two or three inches of ice
and frozen ground on top ; not hard enough to carry a
horse, but enough to make marching difficult and danger
ous. The cavalry moved without tents or baggage, and
the suffering was very great ; many of the men had their
hands and feet frost-bitten, and all felt the effects for
weeks and months after. There are few of the survivors,
either of the National or rebel forces, who would again

Gallant Conduct of Lieutenant Rexford. 131
voluntarily pass through the experience of that terrible
fortnight. During this month of February, a picket of a lieuten
ant and forty-one men of the Fourth Michigan, on the
Manchester pike was attacked, and without making much
of a fight, the lieutenant was falling back. Corporal
Ketchum, of Company A, called out "Boys, by G 
the Colonel won't like this ; come on, boys, don't let us
disgrace ourselves," and wheeling round, galloped back to
the position. He was followed by four men, who kept up
such a fire from their revolving rifles that the enemy was
repulsed with the loss of six killed and many wounded
The brave Ketchum was, on return to camp, promoted
sergeant. On another occasion, Lieutenant James P. Rexford
and forty men of the Fourth Michigan were driven in
after a sharp fight. Rexford reported his situation, and
the First Middle Tennessee, Lieutenant Colonel Galbraith,
commanding, was sent to his assistance, and the rebels
were driven back beyond Rexford' s original position.
They, however, again advanced in strong force, and the
whole command was driven in some distance. Colonel
Galbraith was in favor of falling back on the infantry
pickets, the command being almost surrounded, and
called the officers together for consultation ; all favored a
retreat except Rexford, who advised a saber charge.
Galbraith asked if he would lead it, if he (Galbraith)
would support it with his regiment. " Of course. I will, ''
said Rexford, and galloping over to his men, formed
them in column, and, leading them, dashed right into the
enemy, broke them, and drove them in perfect confusion
over five miles, into the lines of their infantry support.
Rexford captured sixty -seven, all of whom were wound
ed by saber cuts, and from them it was learned that the

132 Minty and the Cavalry.
force thus defeated and driven was Bushrod Johnson's
brigade of mounted infantry. Rexford was at the time
but a supernumarary second lieutenant, but was immedi
ately given full rank, and soon after promoted to first
lieutenant. He was honorably discharged the service as
captain and brevet major, September 25, 1865.
From the 13th of February to March 4, the brigade lay
in camp near Murfreesboro' , with only the usual routine
of camp and picket duty ; the regiments, being regarded
as veterans, were not required to drill, and the general
commanding the army, as well as General Stanley, not
being of the kind delighting in reviews, or devoted to
military pomp and pageantry, allowed the soldiers to rest
and recuperate while in camp. The change from the con
stant irksome drills and reviews of the preceding year
to the rest and recuperation of camp life now permitted
was highly appreciated by the soldiers, and endeared their
commander to them, as one who cared for their comfort
rather than for display.
Foraging parties, under strong guards, were, however,
sent out daily in every direction, and gradually all the
supplies of forage and food the country offered, for more
than twenty miles around, were gathered into our lines.
Thus the country was held by the National cavalry, and
the long line of railroad communication with Louisville
was guarded and protected.
Some changes had, meanwhile, occurred in the brigade
organization. Captain Woodley, of Second Indiana, hav
ing been seriously injured in the battle of Stone' s river,
was relieved, and Lieutenant R, Burns, of the Fourth
Michigan, apppointed Acting Assistant Adjutant General
of the brigade. The Fourth Dnited States cavalry, which,
heretofore, had been an independent command was now,
with all its companies, under the command of Captain

Rebels Defeated at Unionville. 133
Mclntyre, assigned to the brigade, while the Second In
diana was transferred to the Third brigade of Second di
vision. During this period of comparative rest, the boys of the
Seventh circulated a joke at the expense of the Third East
Tennessee, who, now likewise attached to the brigade, were
camped near by. It was reported that the officer of the
day, in marchmg his detail to brigade guard mount, gave
his commands in this way :
" Now, all you critter-back fellows of the Third Tensee
regiment, fall in heah — lively now — foh toa strings ; and
march ouet endwise — like youh sauh th' Penselvanah fel
lows do yesterday — d—m youa, git.'"
But the Tennesseans retaliated on the Seventh a short
time after, when they asked to be relieved from duty in
the brigade, because, as they alleged, they could not keep
any new halters in the regiment, and stated that but the
day before the communication, they had turned in all
their old halters, &c, and drawn a completely new outfit,
when lo ! that morning all their new halters were gone,
old ones in their stead, and all the horses in the Seventh
had new halters on. They said they were afraid the
Seventh would steal their whole camp if they were not
relieved. After being in a few fights together, however,
and after the Tennesseans got veteranized, as the boys
called it, they got along very well, and became excellent
soldiers. The rebel army now occupied a line south and east of
the Duck river; reaching from Manchester and Tulla-
homa on the right to Columbia on the left ; with ad
vanced positions at the gaps through the range of hills
bordering on the river. Rosecrans' army lay in force at
Murfreesboro' , with strong detachments at Franklin and
Triune. Rover and Unionville, being but ten miles from

134 Minty and the Cavalry.
the Duck river and positions favorable for observing the
roads between Triune and Franklin, were occupied by the
rebels. Under orders from General Rosecrans, Minty marched
at daylight on March 4th, with eight hundred and sixty-
three officers and men, and Lieutenant Newall's section
of First Ohio artillery, to drive the enemy from these po
sitions north of the river. Arriving near Rover about 8,
a. m., the rebel pickets were driven in, when he detached
the Fourth Michigan, with orders to gain the pike be
tween them and Unionville ; but they, perceiving the
object of the movement, commenced a retreat. Minty
directed the Seventh Pennsylvania to close ranks and de
liver a saber charge in column of fours.
The rebels rushed, in wild disorder, down the pike
toward Unionville, with the sabers qf the Seventh cut
ting up their rear the whole distance. At Unionville, a
camp of three regiments of cavalry and one of infantry
recruits or conscripts was found, and in which the enemy
attempted to make a stand ; but, being closely pressed
by the Seventh, and thrown into confusion by the fugi
tives from Rover, they broke and fled in a panic before
fairly struck by more than the leading platoons.
Without stopping to gather up the infantry or the
camp and garrison equipage, the pursuit was continued,
with constant captures from the rear of the fleeing foe ;
until within five miles of Shelbyville, the rebel cavalry
found shelter behind a division of Polk's corps. So de
termined and persistent was the pursuit that the rebel
infantry picket within half a mile of Polk's camp was
run over and five of them captured. Captains Garrett
and McCormick, with Lieutenant Vale, and four- or five
men of the Seventh, actually rode into the line of one of
Polk's divisions and received a heavy volley from a full

The " Saber Regiment" 135
brigade. Every man and horse in this squad was struck
by the enemy's bullets, but none of the men injured.
We captured at Unionville alone fifty-one unwounded
prisoners, seventeen wagons, forty-two mules, thirty-one
tents, and a couple of wagon-loads of bacon, meal, &c. ;
besides thirty-one prisoners, all wounded with the saber,
at Rover, and in the pursuit from that place to the camp ;
and twenty-seven likewise wounded in the pursuit be
yond Unionville ; the killed of the enemy was known to
reach thirty-eight. The Seventh used the saber only,
did not fire a shot, and had one man wounded, which was
the only casualty in the brigade.
Captain C. C. Davis commanded and led the Seventh
Pennsylvania in this charge, greatly distinguishing himself
for his personal bravery and signal ability, and was highly
complimented by Colonel Minty, in his official report, " for
his personal gallantry and distinguished services, ' ' and
was, besides, specially commended in special orders by
the general commanding. Captains Garrett and McCor
mick had their horses shot under them, and their clothes
pierced by bullets in more than a dozen places, and were
honorably mentioned in general orders. Lieutenants
Fisk, Greeno, and Vale were also honorably mentioned.
All these were officers of the Seventh Pennsylvania which,
by reason of having the advance, had the good fortune of
preventing any of the other regiments being engaged.
The enemy's camp at Unionville not being occupied by
the forces in the rear of the Seventh Pennsylvania as
promptly as it should have been, most of the dismounted
men and infantry conscripts escaped by hiding in the
bushes, else the number of prisoners would have been
much larger.
General Rosecrans, in recognition of the dash and gal
lantry of the Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, in general

136 Minty and the Cavalry.
orders directed that it should be known henceforth, in
the department, as " the saber regiment of the Army of
the Cumberland.''''
Colonel Minty gathered his captures together, re-formed
his command, and marched to Eaglesville, where he re
ported to Brigadier General Sheridan late that night.
On the 5th, heavy firing was heard all day south of
Franklin, while scouts, in the direction of Triune and
Shelbyville, brought in the information of indications of
an advance of the rebel army from behind the Duck river.
Minty was, therefore, directed to open up and maintain
communications between Sheridan, at Eaglesville, and
Steadman, at Chapel Hill. This he did successfully, and,
on the 6th, moved his command, now consisting of the
First, Second, and Third brigades, Second cavalry division,
to Triune.
On the morning of the 7th, he moved toward Shelby
ville, for the purpose of developing the enemy's move
ments, but, when about four miles beyond Eaglesville,
was ordered, by General Sheridan, to march to Franklin
without delay-
Meanwhile, on the 5th, a disaster had befallen the Na
tional forces south of Franklin. On the morning of that
day an expedition, under the command of Colonel Coburn,
consisting of his brigade, the Eighty-fifth Indiana, Nine
teenth Michigan, Twenty second Wisconsin, One Hundred
and Twenty-fourth Ohio, all infantry, with a battalion of
the Ninth Pennsylvania cavalry, and four pieces of artil
lery, moved southward from Franklin to attack the rebels,
under Forrest, at Spring Hill. The day before, Forrest had
been re-inforced by the arrival of General Van Dorn, with
his own and Price's cavalry, and mounted infantry, and
twenty pieces of artillery.- The rebel force thus gathered

\ \

Advance against Forrest and Van Dorn at Spring Hill. 137
at Spring Hill, including Forrest's command, numbered
over twelve thousand effectives.
With this force, Van Dorn attacked Coburn, while on
the march, with his infantry in advance of his cavalry
and artillery, and surrounding him, at Thompson's Sta
tion, cut his command — infantry — to pieces before it could
be deployed, and captured all except the One Hundred
and Twenty-fourth Ohio, the artillery and cavalry. The
troops under Coburn fought bravely, although under the
disadvantage of being surrounded and unable to deploy,
and inflicted a loss on the rebels, in killed and wounded,
almost equal to the number surrendered ; but the effect of
the disaster on both armies was highly prejudicial to the
National cause.
Information of this disaster, and of the large increase
of the rebel cavalry in the department, reached General
Sheridan on the night of the 6th, and caused the hurried
movement of Minty toward Franklin, on the 7th, where
he arrived on the 8th of March.
At daylight, on the 9th, Minty moved on the Carter's
Creek road toward Thompson' s Station, with instructions
to make a circuit through the country, and form a junc
tion at that place, with a heavy column of infantry and
artillery, under General G. C. Smith, moving directly
down the Franklin and Columbia pike.
The Fourth United States cavalry, under Captain Mc-
\Intyre, had the advance, and struck the rebel pickets on
the Carter's Creek road, about six miles from Franklin.
The Fourth drove them sharply, until within a mile and
a half of Thompson's Station, when a strong rebel line
was developed, stretching entirely across the valley north
west of the station.
the progress of the adyance -having, for over fourteen
miles, been rapid, the column was somewhat scattered,

138 Minty and the Cavalry.
and a halt was necessary to close up and give the horses a
breathing spell. The valley down which Minty was mov
ing was, for about three miles, commanded by a range of
hills on the south, with numerous defiles, through which
a force could easily be thrown on our right and rear,
from the strong position of the rebels at Spring Hill.
Minty, therefore, deployed the Fourth, in company
columns of fours, with orders to seize the hills, and, clear
ing the defiles in succession, advance on the right flank,
parallel to the march of the main line down the valley,
directing Mclntyre to keep his men in general facing
southward while moving eastward.
In about twenty minutes, the advance was sounded, and
the command moved to the attack. The rebels retreated
rapidly, before coming to close quarters, to the station ;
when, being re-inforced by Starnes' brigade, the Twenty-
eighth Mississippi infantry and Second Mississippi cav
airy ; with the Third division of Van Dorn's command ;
the line formed covering the Columbia pike and the ap
proaches to Spring Hill.
Minty now strengthened the Fourth cavalry by send
ing the Seventh Pennsylvania, and bringing his whole
force, except the artillery, into line, advanced southward.
The Fourth cavalry and Seventh Pennsylvania advanced
rapidly on the right ; turning the rebel left, while the
Fourth Michigan, dismounted, seized the hills immedi
ately south of the station. Pressing on with vigor, the
rebel position was stormed, and the whole rebel force
abandoned the field and retreated on a run toward Col
umbia. They, however, rallied behind Rutherford creek,
ten miles distant, in a strong position, and destroyed the
bridge in their front.
Hearing nothing from General Smith's column at the
station, and knowing that Forrest and Van Dorn largely

Defeat of the Rebels. 139
outnumbered him ; and it being now late in the day,
Minty deemed it his first duty to unite the commands ;
and hence did not attack the position at the creek, but,
occupying Spring Hill, he sent out couriers, who found
General Smith's forces drawn up in line of battle, about
four miles north of the station, or fourteen miles away
from the enemy, anticipating an attack !
In this fight Minty killed thirty-seven, wounded one
hundred and fifty-eight, and captured one hundred and
five of the enemy. He lost three killed, five wounded in
the Fourth cavalry, and two wounded in the Seventh
Pennsylvania. The other regiments do not report any
casualties. While the fight was in progress, and just as Spring
Hill was captured, a Dr. Price, of that place, taking ad
vantage of the melee, shot and killed the rebel General
Van Dorn, in revenge for a private wrong, suffered at his
hands ; and escaped into our lines. *
Exactly why Minty did not press the pursuit of the
retreating rebels more vigorously from Spring Hill to
Rutherford' s creek is not satisfactorily stated in his offi
cial reports. He ran, it is true, the risk of encountering
a superior force, and being ambuscaded in doing so ; but
such risks must be taken by soldiers, if the full fruits of
a victory are to be gathered ; and, as a rule, it is safe to
assume that an enemy does not retreat in disorder for the
purpose of gaining a more advantageous position. A vic
torious commander should always press his foe, at least
until he finds why he is running away.
General Smith's column having arrived at Spring Hill,
*The author makes this statement on the evidence of the declarations
made at the time ; the testimony of many citizens given to Colonel Minty
that night, while aware that orders issued in Van Dorn's name for weeks
after.

140 Minty and the Cavalry.
Minty moved, on the morning of the 10th, towards Colum
bia. The bridges over Rutherford' s creek were found de
stroyed, and the creek, swollen by the heavy rains, into
an impassable torrent ; and, there being no pontoons
with the command, the whole force was halted on the
north bank, and the day spent in skirmishing, and efforts
to find a practicable ford. The infantry lost several men
killed and wounded, and the Fourth Michigan two men
drowned. Minty moved three miles up the creek and
camped at Moore's ford.
On the morning of the 11th, Forrest advanced to the
creek, opposite Moore' s ford, and opened a sharp fire on
the Fourth Michigan. Minty brought up Lieutenant
NewalF s section of artillery, and soon drove him back to
the hills, south of the creek. The Fourth Michigan
dashed forward, and, the water having receded, crossed
the creek, and formed on the south side. Under cover of
the artillery, and the advance thus gained, the whole force
was successfully massed on the low grounds south of the
creek. The rebels now advanced, dismounted, and, with battle
flags flying, showing sixteen brigades, formed line on the
crest of the hills, about three fourths of a mile distant.
Minty massed the First brigade, except the Fouth Michi
gan, which was detached on an expedition on the extreme
right flank, in column of squadrons ; formed the Third
brigade in line on the right, and the Second brigade in
line on the left, with a heavy line of skirmishers covering
the whole front.
Minty ordered the whole force to draw sabers, and
moved forward up the hills in an open country, at a walk,
in order to get within charging distance before increasing
the gait. He anticipated a desperate conflict, and did
not wish to blow his horses before striking the en-

Unexpected Retreat of the Rebels. ' 141
emy's lines. Before, however, half the distance had been
covered, the rebels suddenly disappeared from the crest
of the hills, and were next seen, mounted, and running
as though "Old Nick" himself was after them, more than
two miles away to our left front, evidently hastening
towards White's bridge, some ten miles distant. »
A more dumfounded set of men never were seen than
were our generals at this unexpected flight. Minty urged
an immediate and unrelenting pursuit across the country,
to strike them in the flank, or intercept their march, point
ing out that some unexpected catastrophe had occurred in
side their lines, and that their destruction was easy. Gen
eral Smith, however, claimed that he was ordered to demon
strate against Columbia, and that if left without the cav
alry, he ran the risk of being surrounded, and meeting the
fate of Coburn on a larger scale. He, therefore, refused
Minty's request, and ordered him, instead, to send out
strong scouting parties to the left to observe the enemy
and hold the country.
Advancing to the river opposite Columbia the next day,
the enigma was solved. A sudden rise in Duck river had
broken and swept away the rebel pontoon bridges, and
left the force north of the river, with but a limited supply
of ammunition, cut off from all means of escape except by
White' s bridge, twenty-five miles up the river. Informa
tion of this mishap reached Forrest at the moment Minty
was moving to the attack, and reduced him to the des
perate hazard of an immediate and rapid withdrawal from
our front, and a run of ten miles, but a few miles distant
from our left flank.
The promptness with which Forrest left, taking the
chances of being struck on the flank of his moving
column, as well as the danger of being cut off from the
bridge, is one of the strongest proofs of his ability as a

142 Minty and the Cavalry.
general, and his fitness to command. Had his adversary
grasped the situation with equal promptness, as was
urged by Minty, the capture or destruction of his force
was inevitable.
It is seldom that the soldier or subordinate officer in a
great army has the opportunity of seeing, on a battle
field, the inspiring pageantry of large bodies of men
moving to the conflict ; hence the survivors of the cavalry
force brought together on this occasion will recall the
scene that morning, on the banks of Rutherford creek,
as one of rare and almost unexampled grandeur.
Five thousand cavalry, mounted on exceptionally good
horses, dressed in the gorgeous uniforms of that day ;
their bright sabers, arms, and trappings flashing in the
sunlight ; sweeping up the slope of gently rising hills,
over an open country ; while, on the crest, with their bat
tle flags flying, stood in serried ranks a line in gray over
a mile and a half in length ; the white smoke from the
scattering skirmish fire alone obstructing the view,
formed a picture rarely seen, and far more easily im
agined than described.
A detachment, consisting of the Third Ohio, under
Colonel Long, moved with General Smith's column on
Columbia ; while the remainder of Minty' s force, after
scouting to the left about six miles, was drawn back to
Moore's ford, where it camped after dark. Colonel
Long, after some skirmishing at Columbia, finding the
bridges destroyed, fell back with General Smith's forces
to the north side of Rutherford creek.
On the 12th, the command returned to Franklin, on the
13th reached Triune, and at 3, p. m., of the 14th, reached
the camp at Murfreesboro'.
Colonel Minty, in his official report, compliments " Lieu
tenants Roys and Rendlebrook, of the Fourth United

Casualties. 143
States cavalry, and their brave men, for great gallantry,
displayed at Thompson's station, on the 8th. "
The casualties during the expedition were" : Seventh
Pennsylvania cavalry, two men wounded ; Fourth United
States cavalry, four killed and three wounded ; Fourth
Michigan cavalry, two drowned and three wounded.
The entire loss to the enemy was fifty killed, two hun
dred and seventyrsix wounded, and nearly five hundred
captured.

LI 1 1 II COS

 ' H II II

a "

¦ ¦ " »¦ " »¦ n 11 n m tt=ji

CHAPTER XL
MARCH 15 TO JUNE 21.
Expedition to Milton — Fight on Shelbyville Pike — Sharpened Sabers —
Fourth United States at Franklin — Scout to Liberty — Battle of Lime
Hill — Capture of McMinnville — Fight at Middleton — Expedition
against Morgan at Alexandria.
"The plumed officer gallops swift
Along the swaying line,
That shakes as beaten by hailstones,
Shakes the loaded Autumn vine,
And the earth beneath is reddened;
But not with the stain of wine.''
N the 15th of March, Captain Robert Burns,
Fourth Michigan cavalry, and Acting Assitant
Adjutant General, First brigade, having been
ordered to Michigan for medical treatment, Lieutenant
Joseph, G. Vale, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, was de
tailed as Acting Assistant Adjutant General in his ab
sence. On the 20th, a report was received that Colonel Hall,
with a brigade of infantry, stationed at Milton, was at
tacked by a large force of rebel cavalry, under Brigadier
General John Morgan ; General Stanley ordered Colonel
Minty to proceed at once to the relief of the surrounded
force. Promptly mustering his (First) brigade, he moved
at 2, a. m., and pushing forward rapidly, arrived at Mil
ton at 6, p. m., to find that Colonel Hall had gallantly
repulsed the enemy, and driven him from the field. The
greater part of the night was spent in scouting the
country in every direction, but Morgan had retreated be
yond reach. (144)

Scouting near Milton. 145
Next day, 21st, he sent scouting parties, to wit : Col
onel Long, with Fourth Ohio, to Cainsville ; Lieutenant
Colonel Sipes, with Seventh Pennsylvania, to Statesville ;
Lieutenant Colonel Murray, (Douglass Alex. , ) with Third
Ohio, to and beyond Auburn, and Captain Totten, with
Fourth Michigan, to the junction of the Liberty and Las-
casas pikes. From these scouts, it was learned that Mor
gan had fallen back to Snow Hill, leaving Breckenridge' s
battalion at near Liberty ; and that Morgan's force, at
that time, consisted of Duke's regiment, three hundred
and fifty men ; Johnson' s regiment, two hundred and
fifty men ; Gano' s regiment, three hundred and fifty men ;
Breckenridge' s battalion, two hundred and fifty ; two regi
ments, Fourth Alabama, Lieutenant Colonel Malone, and
 Tennessee, Major Davis, of three hundred and fifty
each, or a total of two thousand two hundred and fifty
effectives; with two brass field pieces and two small moun
tain howitzers.
The brigade returned to camp at 8, p. m., of the 21st,
without casualties, having picked up five of the enemy.
On the 25th, it was discovered that the rebels had
seized and were holding in force a hill on the Shelbyville
pike, about two miles outside our picket post. Minty
promptly dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Sipes, with the
Seventh Pennsylvania, to drive them off, which he did
without loss, after a brief skirmish, about the "Seven-
mile" house, on the Shelbyville pike.
On the 9th of April, Forrest made an attack upon
Franklin. General Stanley, with the Fourth United
States cavalry, being on a scout in that vicinity, crossed
the Harpath north-east of the town and engaged the
enemy, under Colonel Starnes, whose force on that part
of the field consisted of his own brigade and Freeman's
battery of four pieces. The Fourth cavalry dashed upon
10

146 Minty and the. Cavalry.
the center of Starnes' line, broke it, driving it demoral
ized from the field ; then charged upon the battery. A
short but desperate encounter took place over the guns.
Freeman, knowing that Forrest's whole force was at hand,
encouraged his men to fight to the last, and, when com
pletely overpowered, endeavored to retreat with two of
his guns. Lieutenant Rendlebrook, with two companies,
dashed after, and soon overtaking him, demanded his
own, and the surrender of the guns. Freeman refused,
urged his horses on, firing his revolver almost in the face
of the lieutenant. At his third shot, Sergeant Major
Strickland, with a single shot from his revolver, laid him
dead on the road. The guns were then brought back to
where the other portion of the battery was in the posses
sion of the Fourth.
Forrest promptly rallied his command, and attacked the
Fourth with Armstrong' s brigade. The Fourth, being en
tirely unsupported, retreated, when nearly surrounded,
to the north side of the river, abandoning, after disabling
the captured guns. The rebel loss in this engagement
was fifty-seven killed, and over one hundred and fifty
wounded and captured. Most of the wounded prisoners
were re-captured when the regiment retreated, but the
Fourth brought out forty-eight unwounded. The Fourth
lost five men killed and eighteen wounded.
As was the custom of the rebels, after meeting a miss-
hap, they, in this instance, invented a cock and bull story
to the effect that Captain Freeman was murdered by an
officer of the Fourth, after he had surrendered and while
a prisoner in their hands, on their retreat ; the object
being to give a color of excuse for atrocities committed by
themselves, and to create a bitter, blood-thirsty feeling
on the part of their soldiers against efficient cavalry regi
ments in general and the Fourth regulars in particular.

Sergeant Major Strickland. 147
Sergeant Major Strickland killed Captain Freeman in a
fair fight, and Captain Freeman's bravery required no
false statement, such as made, to perpetuate his memory.
The report was, however, assiduously circulated, and
generally believed in Forrest's command, and on two not
able occasions afterwards Forrest's men refused to take
any of the Fourth United States cavalry prisoners. They
in some way learned that it was the sergeant major of the
regiment who killed Freeman, and threatened to hang him
if they ever caught him.
During the Atlanta campaign, Strickland's term of ser
vice expired, and he was discharged. He was a perfect
penman, and was at once engaged as a clerk in the Quar
termaster' s Department, soon after which he was taken
prisoner, and sent to AndersonviUe, Georgia. He claimed
to be the sergeant major of the Fourth Michigan cavalry,
in order to prevent being identified. He escaped from
Andersonville seven times, three times he was pulled down
by bloodhounds, and, if living, carries the marks of the
hounds' teeth on his shoulders and arms to this day. The
seventh time he arrived at Atlanta, where he expected to
find Union forces, but Sherman having gone on his ' ' march
to the sea," the rebels were in possession. He procured a
Confederate uniform and supplied himself with a fur
lough and passes, and, in a few days, started for Chatta
nooga. When within sight of that place, he was picked
up by a rebel cavalry scout and taken before the major
commanding, to whom he presented his furlough and
passes. The major looked at them and laughed, saying :
" I know the signatures of these officers. These are well
done, but they are forgeries ! ' ' Strickland broke down at
this, and, sitting down on "a stone, cried like a child. He
then said : " Major, I am the sergeant major of the Fourth
Michigan cavalry. I have been a prisoner at Anderson-

148 Minty and the Cavalry.
ville. This is the' seventh time I have escaped. I
have been run down three times by bloodhounds, and
three times before this captured in other ways, and
now, within sight of a Union garrison, I am captured the
seventh time. I tell you it is enough to unman any one. ' '
The major looked at him a moment, and said : "I have
been fighting for the Confederacy for nearly four years,
have met your regiment often. Your men are good sol
diers, and treat your prisoners well, and I won't send you
back to that  place again ; besides, the war is nearly
over, and you cannot do us much harm any way ; ' ' and,
writing a pass, handed it to him, and told him to go on
his way ! Strickland reached our lines in safety, but re
grets that, having lost the pass, the name of the major
thus befriending him cannot be furnished.
About this time it was learned that a tremendous furor
existed among the rebels in regard to the use, by the
Seventh Pennsylvania and the Fourth United States, of
ground or sharpened sabers ; in fact, it was the subject of
official correspondence between the commanders of the
two hostile armies. The rebels insisted that the use of
sharpened sabers was barbarous, and contrary to the rules
of modern warfare, and threatened instant death to all
officers and men captured possessing them.
The officers and men of the regiments, however, were
but little disturbed by these sanguinary threats, and, hav
ing their sabers already ground sharp, protested against
giving them up, alleging that they did not expect to be
captured. The matter was finally determined by a gen
eral order authorizing their use, and notifying the rebel
commanders that any execution of prisoners by them
would be met by retaliation in kind.
The origin of the fuss was that some of the boys of the
Seventh one day got hold of a grindstone, and as they

Expedition against Liberty, Tennessee. 149
had the reputation of taking everything they could carry,
brought it into camp ; when, after sharpening all the
knives, etc., a few concluded that their sabers would be
improved by reducing the thick, round edge to a razor
like degree of sharpness. The officers, discovering this,
to prevent the sabers from being ruined, took the matter
in charge, and had them ground uniformly from the
point about two thirds of the distance toward the hilt.
Colonel Minty issued an order directing all the sabers to
be so ground, and hence the hubbub about the ' ' sharp
ened sabers."
On the morning of April the 2d, Minty moved on Lib
erty with :
Officers. Men.
Lieutenant Newall's section of artillery, 1 38
Seventh Pennsylvania, Lieutenant Col
onel Sipes commanding,  18 238
Fourth Michigan, Lieutenant Colonel
Park commanding,  11 210
First Middle Tennessee, Lieutenant Col
onel Galbraith commanding, .... 9 130
Fourth Ohio, Colonel Smith commanding, 24 398
Brigade Staff, and Guard,  5 23
Total,  J>8 1,037
Moving out the Liberty pike, he met the rebel pickets
near Auburn, and drove them to Prosperity Church, when
they showed considerable force. The Fourth Michigan,
dismounted, were pushed to the front, while a part of the
Second brigade crossed Smith's creek on the left, and met
a threatened flank movement. Captain Hathaway, Fourth
Michigan, in command of company D, after the whole of
the Tenth Ohio regiment had been driven back, advanced
his men as dismounted skirmishers, crossed the creek, and
by a direct attack, dislodged the rebel force and held the

150 Minty and the Cavalry.
position, losing one man captured. The rebels fell back
to the hill at the church, and again opened fire, when the
artillery opened on them with shell and drove them off.
In their retreat, they abandoned considerable camp and
garrison equipage, which, however, was, in general, dam
aged by fire.
Halting for the night at Prosperity Church, the advance
was resumed at daylight next morning, and a small force
driven before us from thence to Liberty. Here, a strong
line was developed, covering the hill back of the town ;
and active skirmishing ensued for a couple of hours; when
the Second brigade, having gained a position, turning their
left flank, they retreated rapidly to Snow Hill. Minty
followed closely, and, when nearing Snow Hill, deployed
the Fourth Michigan on the right of the road, First Mid
dle Tennessee supporting; with the Seventh Pennsylvania,
the artillery, and the Tenth Ohio, in column on the road
in the order named, advanced to the attack.
Driving in the enemy's outposts, he developed their
line, which was found strongly posted in a semi- circle,
about half way up the hill ; reaching from the pike on the
east, following the course of Dry Run nearly to the pike
south ; with a strong outlying force on a hill, in ambush
about one fourth of a mile north-east of their main posi
tion. Their artillery was placed in earthworks arranged
around the north-east, north, and north-west face of the
hill. The Fourth Michigan and First Tennessee advanced,
dismounted, through the fields, crossed Dry Run, and
occupied the base of the hill, while the Seventh Penn
sylvania, led by Colonel Sipes, in following rapidly a
force of mounted men, on the road were seen in immi
nent danger of being drawn into a position where a bend
in the road, at the crossing of the run, exposed them to a

Battle of Snow Hill. 151
raking flank fire from the force posted in ambush. Min
ty, noticing this, dispatched Lieutenant Vale to halt Sipes
and have him deploy on the left of the pike. The ad
vance of the Seventh was, however, so rapid, the rebel
ambush not being seen by him, that before it was possible
to reach the colonel, the rebel force, of about fifteen hun
dred rifles, rose up and delivered their fire full on the
flank and not more than one hundred and fifty yards
from the column. Lieutenant Colonel Sipes had his
horse shot dead, and his clothes pierced in four places by
their bullets, two men were killed and four wounded,
and more than one half the men had bullet holes through
their clothing.
After firing their volley, the rebels retreated on a run
to their main body on Snow Hill. The Seventh immedi
ately deployed and followed in rapid pursuit until
checked by the fire from the batteries on the hillside.
Minty now deployed the Tenth Ohio and advanced
them up the hill on both sides of the pike ; placed the
artillery in position, shelling the rebel batteries on the
hill ; and with the remaining regiments moved up Dry
Run, turning the rebel left, in order to cut off their re
treat. Morgan, however, retreated before the road could
be reached, and it being now quite dark, escaped with
comparative slight loss. Minty camped that night at
Liberty, and resuming the pursuit next day drove Mor
gan to Sparta, there, re-assembling his command, moved
to Alexandria, from whence he sent the Fourth Michigan
and Seventh Pennsylvania across the country to Beard's
Mill by way of Statesville ; while, with the First Middle
Tennessee, Tenth Ohio, and the artillery, he moved to
Lebanon, and thence to Beard's Mill, and, rejoining the
other regiments, camped for the night, and on the next

152 Minty and the Cavalry.
day, the 16th, marched to Murfreesboro', where he ar
rived about 8, p. m.
In this expedition, the brigade lost two men killed and
three wounded in the Seventh Pennsylvania, and one
in the Fourth Michigan. The rebel loss, besides the un
known wounded, was seventeen killed and forty-eight
captured at Snow Hill ; seven captured by the Seventh
Pennsylvania near Statesville, and ten captured by the
Tenth Ohio at Lebanon ; or a total of eighty-two. The
rebel force engaged. was that which had attacked Colonel
Hall, at Milton, on the 20th of March, and numbered two
thousand two hundred and fifty men, with six pieces of
artillery. The incident of the expedition was the remark
able escape of the Seventh Pennsylvania from serious loss,
when ambushed at the beginning of the fight.
On April 19, the brigade led the advance of the Fifth
division, Fourteenth army corps, commanded by Major
General Reynolds, in an expedition against McMinnville ;
reaching and camping at Ready ville that night.' Next
morning, Minty was assigned to the command of the ex
peditionary force of the Second cavalry division, consist
ing of parts of the First, Second, and Third brigades, and
taking the advance of the whole force, camped that night
at Woodbury, after thoroughly scouting the country in
every direction.
At 2 o'clock, on the morning of the 21st, Minty sent
Colonel Long, with the Second brigade, four hundred and
eighteen men, to move by way of Jackson, and seize the
Manchester and McMinnville railroad at or near Morri
son's, as soon after half past ten o'clock as possible. This
work was well and faithfully done ; the road, with the sta
tion destroyed ; a locomotive and train of cars captured ;
a large quantity of bacon and other commissary stores
taken ; one hundred and fifty men, of the First and

Advance on McMinnville. 153
Second Middle Tennessee, who had been taken prisoners
at Carthage, on the 18th, re-captured, and one hundred
and twenty-five of the enemy taken prisoners and brought
in ; all without loss.
At 3, a. m., Minty, with the First and Third brigades,
marched for McMinnville. When about two miles from
that place, he sent the Fourth Michigan and First Mid
dle Tennessee, under Lieutenant Colonel Park, to occupy
the Smithville road, and attack from that direction ; and,
with the remainder of the cavalry, moved on McMinn
ville. The advance guard, consisting of two companies
of the Seventh Pennsylvania, under Lieutenant Heber S.
Thompson, met the rebel pickets about a mile and a half
from the place, and immediately drove them into the
town. Captain Jennings, commanding the Seventh Penn
sylvania, was then ordered to form in with the advance,
and the whole, under his command, to charge the enemy,
numbering about six hundred cavalry and one hundred
and fifteen infantry, as a provost guard, who occupied the
town. The Second Kentucky and Forty-first Alabama, in
fantry, had left a short time before in charge of a wagon
train. The charge of the Seventh Pennsylvania was success
ful, the rebel cavalry fled and scattered all through the
country, the provost guard was captured, and the
Seventh, without a halt, pushed forward in rapid pursuit
of the wagon train and infantry, on the Sparta road. At
the river, about eight miles out, the train was overtaken,
and before it could be crossed, three wagons and seventy-
five of the guard captured. In the charge on and through
the town, a short distance out oh the Sparta road, Cor
poral Edward Shutt, company F, Seventh Pennsylvania,
killed Lieutenant Colonel Martin, of Johnson's Kentucky
cavalry, with a single stroke of the saber, in a desperate

154 Minty and the Cavalry.
hand-to-hand encounter. Major Dick McCann was des
perately wounded and unhorsed by Sergeant John Wil
liams, by a saber stroke across the face, and by him cap
tured. Colonel Park, with the Fourth Michigan and First Mid
dle Tennessee, moved down the railroad about two miles
to a bridge. The Fourth Michigan, under Major Mix,
burnt the bridge, captured a great quantity of camp and
garrison equipage, and destroyed a large amount of quar
termaster' s stores and bacon ; then, after moving to
Morrison, and finding that Colonel Long had accom
plished the work there, returned to the bridge and biv
ouacked for the night, having captured two captains and
twenty men.
Minty camped during the night on the outskirts west
of McMinnville, after sending details which thoroughly
destroyed the railroad for many miles, burned the rail
road buildings, destroyed a large factory used in making
cloth for the rebel army, together with all the quarter
master's and commissary stores in the place.
On the 22d, he moved to and occupied Snow Hill,
where he camped about dark ; strong pickets of the
enemy being found at the mouth of Dry run. Marching,
on the morning of the 23d, it was found that the rebels
had been withdrawn during the night in the direction of
Liberty, where they boasted they would receive us, but
on arriving at that place he found the meeting adjourned,
according to the reports of citizens, to the junction of the
Auburn and Alexander pikes ; but, when the junction
was reached, word was received that they boasted of their
intention and ability to give battle at Alexandria, and,
on taking possession of Alexandria, late that night, the
garrison was found to consist of four men, who were
taken prisoners. The force chased that day was five of

Forces Engaged. 155
the crack brigades of the rebel cavalry, commanded re
spectively by Wheeler, commanding the whole force ;
Wharton, of Forrest's division, Morrison, Clem, and
Duke. From Alexandria, when they found we were
moving on them, they retreated rapidly toward Lan
caster, and took shelter behind the fortified infantry
lines near Manchester. Minty camped three miles west
of Alexandria until the morning of the 25th, when he
marched to Murfreesboro', camping at Cainsville, and
reached Murfreesboro' at 3, p. m., the 26th, having
marched three hundred and twenty-eight miles.
By this expedition, the effort to establish the right
wing of Bragg' s army at McMinnville was frustrated,
Jus depots and supplies destroyed, and over five hundred
prisoners captured, Minty having brought in with him
one hundred and thirty, besides those captured by the
Seventh Pennsylvania, in McMinnville, and by Colonel
Long, at Morrison' s, which had been turned over to Gen
eral Reynolds ; the right flank of Bragg' s army was
turned and his best cavalry driven out of the country to
shelter behind his entrenchments.
The division also captured one hundred and forty-five
horses, twelve mules, and three wagons, and killed two
lieutenant colonels and one hundred and thirty officers
and men. Its total loss was five men killed and three
wounded. The force under Minty* s command in this expedition
was: Fourth United States cavalry, Captain E. Ottis, com
manding.First Brigade — Lieutenant Colonel Park, Fourth Michi
gan, commanding.
Fourth Michigan cavalry, Major Frank W. Mix, com
manding ; Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, Captain W. H.

156 Minty and the Cavalry.
Jennings, commanding ; First Middle Tennessee, Lieu
tenant Colonel Galbraith, commanding; First section,
First Ohio artillery, Lieutenant Newall, commanding.
Second Brigade— Colonel Eli Long, Fourth Ohio, com-
manding.
Third Ohio cavalry, Lieutenant Colonel Douglass Mur
ray, commanding ; Fourth Ohio cavalry, Lieutenant Colo
nel Robie, commanding.
Third Brigade — Colonel Bay, Second Tennessee, com
manding.
Second East Tennessee, Lieutenant Colonel Cook, com
manding ; Third East Tennessee ; Fourth Middle Ten-
nessee. The force under Colonel Long, which captured Morri
son, consisted of his own brigade and one company, First
Middle Tennessee, and numbered four hundred and
eighteen officers and men.
The following officers and men were honorably men
tioned in official reports, and complimented in general or
ders for distinguished services and gallant conduct in the
expedition :
" Colonel R. H. Minty, commanding cavalry; Major
Frank W. Mix, commanding Fourth Michigan cavalry ;
Captain W. H. Jennings, commanding Seventh Pennsyl
vania cavalry ; Lieutenant Colonel Douglass Alex. Mur
ray, commanding Third Ohio, for the signal ability dis
played in handling their respective commands, and for
gallantry in the presence of the enemy. "
" Lieutenant Heber S. Thompson, Seventh Pennsylva
nia cavalry, for gallant conduct in the charge and, servi
ces in command of the advance guard. "
" Sergeant John Williams, company F, Seventh Penn-

Capture and Escape of McCann. 157
sylvania, for wounding and capturing Major Dick Mc
Cann, in a hand-to-hand conflict. ' '
"Corporal Edward Shutt, company F, Seventh Penn
sylvania, for great gallantry in killing Lieutenant Colo
nel Martin, in single-handed saber contest. " Corporal
Shutt was also recommended to the notice of Congress,
and received a medal for " special gallantry. " He was
likewise subsequently promoted to a lieutenancy in the
regiment, and was honorably discharged in August, 1865.
The capture and subsequent escape of Major Dick Mc
Cann gave rise to some conflicting statements. The fol
lowing are the facts :
' ' When Lieutenant Thompson, with the advance guard,
was ordered to charge, Lieutenant Vale, temporarily Act
ing Assistant Adjutant General, obtained permission to
accompany him. After entering the town, a short halt
occurred, when, the Seventh Pennsylvania coming up, the
lieutenant, by direction of Captain Jennings, took com
mand of company M, and led it in close pursuit of a body
of rebels, out a side street leading to the Sparta road ;
two men, of company F, were slightly in advance. When
about a square and a half down the street, a rebel officer
was seen to run out of a house, mount, and dash away.
The boys of the Seventh were rapidly gaining on him,
when another officer appeared from a side street, and,
halting, threw up his hands, exclaiming, "Don't strike
me, I surrender— I am General Morgan." One of the men
answered, "The h— 1 ye are, I'll Morgan ye," and struck
him a terrific blow across the face, laying open the flesh
diagonally from the left side of the forehead to the right
side of the chin ; at the same instant, the other F com
pany man struck him from the other side, inflicting a
similar wound from the right of the forehead to the left
of the chin ; the first one then raised his saber for a front

158 Minty and the Cavalry.
cut on the head, which would have killed him ; but as the
saber descended, Lieutenant Vale caught it on his saber
and turned it aside, remarking, "This man has surren
dered — 1 will not see him butchered — follow in pursuit of
those not yet captured." Putting the officer in charge of
a member of company M, he followed rapidly in the pur
suit. In the evening he was informed that a wounded officer,
a prisoner, wished to see him, and was much surprised to
recognize Major Dick McCann, who, a year before, at
Galatin, had, while temporarily in command of Morgan's
camp, the lieutenant being then wounded, and a prisoner,
paroled him. McCann expressed himself as under obli
gations to the lieutenant for saving his life at the time of
Jiis capture, and the lieutenant had the brigade surgeon
sent for and the major's wounds — two frightful gashes
across the face — dressed, and relating the favor extended
to him at Galatin, secured from Colonel Minty a promise
that McCann should be paroled at the earliest possible
day. McCann was not, however, informed of this at once,
and that night effected his escape.
Telling the guard, a member of the Fourth United
States cavalry, that his wounds were very painful, he got
permission to lie under a wagon just outside the guard's
beat, and when the next guard came on, managed to
crawl off into the bushes and escape. The fact that Lieu
tenant Vale knew and had spoken to him caused some of
the officers to suspect that the lieutenant was in some
way privy to his disappearance, but an investigation es
tablished these facts, and fully exonerated him.
The man who struck McCann first was Sergeant James
Williams, to whom was awarded the honor of his cap
ture. It was General John Morgan himself who the
lieutenant and his men were rapidly overhauling, and

Brigade Re-organized. -159
whose capture was imminent, when McCann voluntarily
sacrificed himself to save his chief. McCann was killed
in 1864, near Nashville, while recruiting, his camp being
surprised and most of the recruits captured.
On the 24th of April, Captain R. Burns, Acting As
sistant Adjutant General of the brigade, having reported
from sick furlough, and resumed his position, Lieutenant
Vale was relieved, and rejoined his regiment, the bri
gade, field and staff, now being : Colonel R. H. G. Minty,
Fourth Michigan, commanding ; Captain R. Burns,
Fourth Michigan, Acting Assistant Adjutant General ;
Lieutenant E. T. Owen, Fourth Michigan, Inspector ;
Captain J. W. Mann, Fourth Michigan, Provost Marshal ;
Lieutenant Bernard Reilly, Seventh Pennsylvania, Topo
graphical Engineer ; Surgeon G. W. Fish, Fourth Michi
gan. The brigade was still the First brigade, Second cavalry
division, and, as now constituted, consisted of : Fourth
United States cavalry, Captain Ottis, commanding ;
Seventh Pennsylvania, Lieutenant Colonel William B.
Sipes, commanding ; Fourth Michigan, Lieutenant Col
onel Park, commanding ; Third Indiana, Lieutenant Col
onel Kline, commanding ; Third Kentucky, Colonel Eli
Murray, commanding ; First Middle Tennessee, Lieuten
ant Colonel Galbraith commanding ; battery D, First Ohio
artillery, Lieutenant Newall, commanding. It mustered
two thousand seven hundred effectives, mounted and
equipped for duty.
On the evening of May 21st, under orders from Division
Headquarters, Minty moved, with his brigade, to which
the Fourth United States had now been permanently at
tached, out the Salem pike, and, taking the advance of
the division, with the Fourth United States, under Cap
tain Mclntyre, in the extreme advance, marched rapidly

160 Minty and the Cavalry.
towards Middleton. After a steady, all-night march, he ap
proached Middleton about daylight, and, learning from a
guide the road to the enemy's camp, pushed on through
the woods, over a by-way which led, as was supposed, to
it. In the darkness and uncertainty of strange and un
known roads, the general commanding had badly scat
tered the different regiments, so that, on striking the
rebel pickets, Minty found but a few of the Fourth United
States, companies D and I, under Lieutenant Ottis, with
him. Sending word to General Turchin, commanding,
that he had found the camp, the Fourth Michigan soon
came up, and were sent, under Lieutenant Colonel Park,
to the right of the Fourth United States. Colonel Park
and Lieutenant Ottis advancing, skirmishing began at
once, and the rebels were driven out of their camp, and
several hundred yards beyond it. The enemy now formed
a line of battle on the opposite side of a large field, on
the edge of a piece of woods. Colonel Park dismounted
the Fourth Michigan, the Fourth United States not having
advanced beyond the camp, and opened a brisk fire,
which, for a time, was sharply replied to, but, on a deter
mined advance of the regiment, the rebels broke, aban
doning their artillery, and scattered into the woods in
every direction.
This camp at Middleton, being in the midst and within
easy supporting distance of a full corps of Bragg' s army,
was not intended to be occupied by us for any length of
time ; hence, the general, finding the enemy rallying, de
stroyed the captured garrison, equipage, tents, baggage,
etc., disabled the guns, blew up the caissons and ammuni
tion wagons, collected the prisoners, and commenced his
return march, under a heavy skirmishing fire from almost
every direction.
Minty, with his brigade, formed the rear guard, and

Battle of Middleton. 161
the general directed him to form an ambush, repel the
pursuit of the enemy and follow the command. The am
bush, composed of the Fourth Michigan, was successfully
formed, the enemy, severely punished, and the pursuit
effectually stopped. When the brigade returned to Mur
freesboro', arriving in camp about dark. It captured
four hundred horses, one piece of artillery brought in,
three disabled, five commissioned officers, and one nun
dred and five men, a wagon-load of ammunition brought
in, and one stand of colors ; it destroyed, besides the ar
tillery, one hundred and fifty tents, four caissons, five
wagons, and nearly fifteen hundred stand of arms.
The stand of colors, that of the First Alabama, was
captured by Sergeant Major Clark and Privates Wilcox
and Parker, of the Fourth Michigan, and was afterwards
presented by Colonel Minty " to the people of Michigan,"
in accordance with a resolution adopted by the regiment.
Lieutenant Edward Tucker, of the Fourth Michigan,
and Lieutenant Ottis, of the Fourth United States, were
wounded. Private Racine, of company A, Fourth Mich
igan, was severely wounded in the breast, being shot
through the right lung by a rebel, who rushed on him,
calling out to him to surrender, instead of which, the
brave little fellow, about sixteen years old, raised his car
bine and shot the rebel dead. When Dr. Fish was dress
ing his wound, he gasped out, " Just think, doctor, the
fellow had the impudence to ask me to surrender !"
The casualties were : Fourth United States, one officer
and one man wounded, and four captured ; in Fourth
Michigan, one officer and two men wounded. Total, two
officers and seven men.
Special honorable mention was made in the official re
ports of brigade and division commanders of the follow
ing : 11

162 Minty and the Cavalry.
"Lieutenant O'Connell, Fourth United States cavalry,
for the very gallant manner in which his squadron drove
the enemy from both their camps. ' '
" Sergeant Owens, Corporal J. Bartlett, Privates C.
Smith and J. Rogers, of company K, Corporal J. Miltch,
of company E, Fourth United States cavalry, and Private
J. N. Royce, company G, Third Indiana cavalry, who
distinguished themselves by capturing and bringing in the
piece of artillery. "
' ' Sergeant Major Clark and Privates Wilcox and Baker,
of Fourth Michigan, for capturing the standard of the
First Alabama cavalry, and who captured, at the same
time, a wagon and three prisoners. "
The number of killed and wounded of the enemy was
one hundred and eighteen, although Colonel Minty does
not report them, as he was not in chief command.
This victory, though brilliant, was not so decisive in its
results as it should have been, or could easily have been
made, had all the forces moved forward to the work after
the enemy had been driven out of their camps. Several
thousand prisoners could have been secured by prompt
action. On the 3d of June, Forrest and Wheeler, moving in
from the rebel left flank, advanced with Breckenridge' s
division, and made a demonstration on the pickets and
outposts in front of Murfreesboro', from Triune to the
Manchester pike. On the latter road, a determined at
tack was made on the outpost commanded by Lieutenant
Getty, of the Seventh Pennsylvania. After skirmishing
until near noon, the attack was repulsed, with consider
able loss to the enemy, Lieutenant Getty holding his posi
tion. A like attack was made on the outpost picket on the
Wartrace road, near the residence of Colonel Norman ;

Rebel Demonstrations. 163
Lieutenant Vale, of Seventh Pennsylvania, being there in
command. At this place, the whole reserve picket was
engaged, the rebels making determined efforts to cijoss
Stone's river. About 8, a. m., they opened with artillery,
and Colonel Minty sent the Fourth Michigan, under Lieu
tenant Colonel Park, to support the pickets, while the
Seventh Pennsylvania and Third Indiana were sent out on
the Manchester road, with directions to repel any attack
there, and, if possible, to move round from that road to
the right, and strike the attacking force on the Wartrace
road in the flank.
The rebels, after several repulses, succeeded in crossing
Stone's river, with considerable force on the Wartrace
road, and Colonel Park being pressed, the artillery, under
Lieutenant Newall, was sent out. Colonel Minty arrived
soon after, with the Fourth United States, when the artil
lery opened fire, and the skirmishers of the Seventh Penn
sylvania and Third Indiana appearing on the flank, the
Fourth Michigan was pushed forward, and drove the
enemy across the river to Colonel Norman' s buildings ;
from which position they were dispersed by well-directed
shells dropped among them ; two of their guns being dis
abled. The brigade now assumed the offensive, crossed the
river and drove the enemy across the country to the Shel
byville pike, down which they rapidly retreated. Minty
now directed that the buildings at Norman's place, as
well as the mill at the bridge be burned, which was
done ; and the brigade returned to camp late at night.
Information received proved the attack to have been
made by a brigade of cavalry, and one of infantry, sup
ported by seven pieces of artillery. The rebels lost four
killed and twenty wounded, and had two of their guns
disabled. The only casualty, in the brigade, was Private

164 Minty and the Cavalry.
Cloonan, Fourth Michigan, wounded by a shell, and one
man of the Seventh Pennsylvania killed on the Man
chester pike.
On the 10th of June, a report having been received that
strong columns of the enemy were moving from the di
rection of Middleton toward Triune, Minty was ordered
to move at 3, a. m. , and ascertain the truth. At the hour
named, he marched out the Salem road, arriving at the
Salem bridge at 4, a. m. , from whence he sent the Third
Indiana, under Colonel Kline, with the Fourth Michigan,
to scout in the direction of Middleton ; and moved him
self, with the Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth United
States, toward Versailles. Colonel Sipes commanding the
Seventh Pennsylvania, met the rebel pickets half a mile
from the latter place and drove them, about two hundred
in number, three miles beyond the town. Minty now
finding that there was no force at Eaglesville, nor any
movement of the enemy in force, returned to camp, ar
riving at 1, p. m.
Lieutenant Colonel Kline drove in the rebel pickets at
Middleton, and learning that there was no columns or
other force of the enemy in motion, rejoined the com
mand at Salem, and with it returned to camp. Colonel
Frank Jackson, conscript officer at Versailles, was cap
tured and brought in.
On the 15th, Minty moved with the Fourth Michigan,
Fourth United States, Seventh Pennsylvania, and Fifth
Iowa cavalry — the latter regiment having been attached
to the brigade about the 1st of June — out the Lebanon
road to Stone's river, where he halted, at Black's cross
road, until 10, p. m. ; intending to reach Lebanon about
daylight, and surprise Duke's brigade reported there.
On arriving at Lebanon, however, he learned that Duke
had fallen back about dark on the 15th, toward Alexan-

Expedition to Lebanon and Alexandria. 165
dria. The command was promptly moved out the Alex
andria pike to Spring Creek, five miles distant, where a
halt was ordered to water and feed the horses. During
the halt Duke attacked, with about three hundred men,
drove in the pickets and for a little while kept up quite
an animated skirmish ; withdrawing, however, on Minty' s
resuming the march.
Colonel Sipes, with the Seventh Pennsylvania, moved
in column across the fields on the right, and Major Mix,
with the Fourth Michigan on the left, while the Fourth
United States, in the advance, and Fifth Iowa in reserve,
moved in column on the road ; with a battalion of Third
Indiana, as rear guard. The rebels fell back, fighting
stubbornly until near Shoop's Spring, when Lieutenant
O'Connel, Fourth United States, commanding the ad
vance, charged, and drove them rapidly from their posi
tion, to the junction of the road, leading from the Spring
to Beard's Mill, which, being a good position, was select
ed by Minty as a camping ground ; but the entire ab
sence of forage compelled a further advance. The march
was resumed and fight continued to Walters' mill, when,
having marched fifty-six miles, a halt in line of battle
was ordered.
Strong detachments were sent out two miles toward
Alexandria, under Lieutenant Colonel Sipes, consisting
of the Seventh Pennsylvania and two companies of the
Fifth Iowa, and another to the right, under Colonel Kline ;
while a heavy line of skirmishers encircled the bivouac.
It soon became known to Minty that Morgan, with four
thousand men and twelve pieces of artillery, was at Alex
andria, but four miles distant, and an almost constant
skirmish was maintained in front and on both flanks.
Colonel Sipes returned about 7, p. m., with information
that Morgan was advancing in force, and immediately

166 Minty and the Cavalry.
afterward he opened with artillery. The Fourth Michi
gan, under Major Mix, was deployed to the front, and,
after an hour's skirmishing, the rebels withdrew their
artillery, but maintained their skirmishers in position
while heavy columns were moved around on each flank.
Minty held his position until 9, p. m., when, having fed,
watered, and rested the horses, he withdrew, by way of
the cross-road from Shoop's Spring, to Beard's Mill,
where he arrived at 2, a. m., and camped for the balance
of the night.
While the brigade was resting at Walters' Mill, the
owner of the mill, a strong Union man, showed great con
cern and uneasiness. Colonel Minty, remarking his man
ner, walked slowly past him, when he said, eagerly, but
without looking at the colonel : " My God, colonel, what
are you doing?" The colonel replied: "Feeding the
horses." Walters added : "Don't you know that Mor
gan, with four thousand men and eighteen pieces of ar
tillery, is less than four miles from you ? ' ' About this
time an officer came in with a note from Major Mix, who
stated : ' 'A Union man just informed me that he overheard
Colonel Basil Duke send the following message to General
Morgan : ' Rush a strong column up each side of the val
ley, so as to get in rear of enemy. I know the exact force
of the Yankees, and we can take in every man of them.' "
At 6.30; a. m., of the 20th, the march was resumed for
Murfreesboro', where Minty arrived at about 5, p. m.
The rear guard from Beard's Mill to Murfreesboro' was
commanded by Captain C. C. Davis, who skirmished with
the rebel advance at Beard's Mill, and for about a mile
after leaving that place. The march was one hundred
and five miles. The casualties were one man of the
Seventh Pennsylvania and one of the Fifth Iowa killed.
It was not intended, on leaving camp on the 18th, to go

Comments. 167
beyond Lebanon, and the brigade being without artillery,
and the horses badly fagged by the long march of fifty-
six miles, Minty, knowing he was outnumbered three to
one, was certainly justified by every consideration of a
prudent regard for the safety of his command, and the
lives of his men, in declining to fight at such disadvan
tage, yet still the author believes now, twenty years after
the event, as he did on the field, that a vigorous attack at
8, p. m., after the three hours' rest, would have resulted in
the defeat of Morgan at that time and place, and saved the
humiliation and destruction of property, inflicted by the
raid into Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, upon which he was
then on the point of starting. Morgan did not want to
fight, and none of his command, except Duke's brigade,
were worth a cent, most of them, being only desirous of
getting safely into Kentucky, beyond the reach of our or
ganized cavalry, would not have been likely to have offered
a very desperate resistance ; while Minty' s men, knowing,
as every one of them did, that they were pitted against
large odds, would have been nerved to almost superhu
man efforts. The decisive consideration, however, with
the colonel was that General Rosecrans, being on the eve
of an advance against Bragg, had cautioned all his cavalry
officers not to risk the serious crippling of their forces in
any minor encounter, and Minty's prudence was highly
satisfactory to both General Rosecrans and General
Stanley.

CHAPTER XII.
JUNE 23 TO JULY 30.
Advance of the Army on Tullahoma — Battle of Shelbyville — G-reat
Charge of Captain C. C. Davis — Battle near Scull Creek Bridge —
Incidents — Fight on Manchester Koad — Capture of Tullahoma —
Gallant Conduct of the Second Brigade at Elk River — Some Les
ser Foes.
" Along the track of years, what mem'ries lie 1
To start when comrades grasp. Your hearts enlarge
Again, from dreams of home you wake at morn,
To hear the bugle tones' shrill sound. 'Forward,' ' Charge !'
And through the startled streets of Shelbyville,
Resounding hoofs and clash of arms keep time ;
Who recks of danger, in the mad'ning rush ?
To meet the foe is glory — so to die sublime ! "
— Miss Zatae Longsdorff, Carlisle, Pa.
jATE in the evening of June 23, 1863, sealed
orders were issued by General Rosecrans to
the different army corps, to hold themselves
in readiness to move the next morning, with two days'
cooked rations in haversacks, and five days' uncooked,
with twenty days' rations of hard bread, coffee, sugar and
salt, in wagons ; all tents and extra baggage to be
packed and left in store ; the transportation to be re
duced to one wagon to a regiment ; all extra wagons to
be placed in charge of a corps wagon-master, loaded with
ammunition and subsistence, and the troops to move in
lightest possible marching order.
These orders, clearly foreshadowing a forward move
ment, proclaimed to the whole army that the long period
of comparative inactivity was at an end, and that, while
(168)

CHARLES C. DAVIS,

Major Seventh Pe

NNSYLVAMA CAVALRY.

Topography of the Country. 169
Grant was knocking at the gates of Vicksburg, and the
army of the Potomac groping its way, in doubt and un
certainty, in pursuit of the rebel army invading Mary
land and Pennsylvania, the army of the Cumberland
was to echo, from the mountains of Tennessee, its protest
against the rebellion, and join in the grand thunder-laden
battle strain, circling from the banks of the Mississippi,
at Port Hudson, to the banks of the Susquehanna, at
Columbia, Pa.
A brief description of the topography of the country
between Murfreesboro' and the Duck river, with the po
sition of the rebel army, is necessary to a proper appre
ciation of the campaign. Radiating from Murfreesboro' , as
the spokes from the hub of a wheel, are nine good turn
pike roads, the most important of which, in this movement,
are : That leading directly south to Shelbyville and
Duck river, the distance being twenty -two miles ; that
leading eastward to Beach Grove, eighteen miles distant,
from whence "dirt roads" lead east to Manchester and
south-east to Tullahoma ; and that leading north-eastward
to McMinnville, distant about forty -five miles.
On these roads and vicinity, the grand divisions of the
army lay encamped, with the ' ' eyes of the army, ' ' the cav
alry, under Major General D. S. Stanley, covering the
front, south, and east, serving as grand guard and vidette.
Standing on a low hill a few miles south of Murfrees
boro', and looking south and east, you behold an im
mense undulating meadow stretching south eight, and
south-east and east, ten to twelve miles ; ribboned with
numerous silvery streams. Beyond this meadow, and
bounding the southern and eastern horizon, rises a range
of rocky, wooded hills, with steep and precipitous sides
on the north and west, and a gradual slope on the south
and east.

170 Minty and the Cavalry.
In this range of hills are three principal gaps, through
which only an army approaching from the north or west
can debouch, viz : Hoover' s, on the east, in front of Tulla
homa and Manchester ; Wood's, also called Liberty Gap,
on the south-east, slightly to the south of Beach Grove,
and in front of Fosterville ; and Guy' s, on the south, in
front of Shelbyville. Beyond these hills a wooded, broken
country, whose chief productions seemed to be "Black
Jack " and quicksand, extends to the banks of the Duck
river, ten miles distant.
The Duck river describes an irregular arc, flowing from
Manchester by Tullahoma, Fosterville, Shelbyville, and
Columbia, at an average distance of thirty miles from
Murfreesboro' , and is distinguished for its deep bed and
rocky sides ; in fact, it runs nearly the whole distance
through a rocky gorge from twenty to fifty feet deep, and
from two hundred to three hundred yards wide. Beyond '
Duck river an open, upland, rolling, farming country,
abounding in immense cotton plantations, extends to the
foot of the Cumberland mountains, and through this
flows the Elk river, after the Cumberland, the most con
siderable stream in Middle Tennessee.
The rebel army, under Bragg, had two immense forti
fied camps : one for their right, at Tullahoma, and the
other for their left, at Shelbyville, with outlying divi
sions occupying intrenched positions at Manchester and
Columbia. Tullahoma and Shelbyville were connected
by an almost continuous curtain of breast- works, thirty-
five miles in length, along the banks of the Duck river.
This was their reserve position, their real line of battle
being the range of wooded hills first alluded to ; the gaps
through which were held by them, and strongly fortified.
Three plans present themselves by which the rebel
army may be attacked, with reasonable chances of sue-

Plan of the Campaign. Ill
cess. First, for Rosecrans to throw his army, by rapid
movements to the left, on the McMinnville pike ; then
pivoting on Woodbury, wheel to the right, occupying
Manchester, and attacking Tullahoma from the north and
east. This plan was open to the serious objection of un
covering the approaches to Nashville and the rear ; by way
of Columbia and Franklin ; a good road through an open
country, extending from the former place, by which Nash
ville could have been seized before the army of Rosecrans
could reach it, when once beyond Woodbury.
A second, to concentrate the army between Triune and
Franklin, and pivoting on or near Unionville, cross the
Duck river by the two bridges near that place, turn Shelby
ville on the right, and attack it from the west ; this was
open to the danger of a counter movement by Bragg on
Murfreesboro', and the difficulty of moving an army
through the country south of Duck river.
The third, to advance, in heavy columns of attack,
southward on the Shelbyville pike, demonstrating heavily
against Guy's Gap, occupy Middleton and Unionville on
the right, thus forcing Bragg to concentrate on his left,
until he had so weakened the force defending Hoover' s and
Wood' s (or Liberty) Gaps, that by a rapid extension of the
left, they could be carried. This plan, though open to the
objection of causing Rosecrans to maneuver his whole
army in the valley or meadow, in plain view of the rebels,
was adopted ; and, but for the unexpected and unprece
dented rainfall, would have proved a most magnificent
success. It may, perhaps, interest some whose idea of a soldier's
life is that it was a constant round of wearisome marches
and sanguinary battle-fields, to view the scenes of his can
vas home and life in what was called a permanent camp ;
in any case, it will revive pleasant recollections and asso-

172 Minty and the Cavalry.
ciations, to have again presented to the mental vision of
the '-' old "' veteran a picture of his camp at Murfreesboro5
on the evening of June 23, 1863.
Standing on a knoll, midway between the Shelbyville
and Manchester pikes, the observer sees, all around him,
as far as the eye can carry on every road, a sea of canvas,
almost hidden, however, in the mass of cedars and ever
greens which the busy industry of the "boys" have
brought to camp, and wrought into a thousand pictu
resque booths and summer-house pavilions.
In the center of each division extends a grand avenue,
one hundred feet in width, flanked on either side with
stalwart cedars ; while, at each end, a gigantic arch is
sprung, from which, woven in evergreens and forest
creepers, hangs the name of the division commander, and
the number and designation of the division. At regular
intervals, down this avenue, and at right angles with it,
are similar ones for each brigade, with the name of the
brigade commander and its number pendant from an
arch at its entrance ; and, from this brigade avenue, at
right angles therewith, the regimental street is laid, on
which, in regular order, the company quarters are
pitched. All the regimental and company streets are roofed with
evergreens ; this forming a clean, delightful booth in
every street. No dirt or offal is to be seen in street or
tent, but each man' s ' ' traps and kit ' ' are kept packed,
and ready for instant use.
So stood the camp of the Army of the Cumberland on
the morning of June 24, but, at 6 o' clock, the scene was
changed, as by the wand of a magician. At that hour,
the clear, sharp tones of .the bugle, from ^head-quarters,
cut the air, sounding the call of " strike your tents,"
- and, ere the echo had died away, every tent was down,

Breaking Camp. 173
and quickly packed and loaded on the waiting teams ; to
be seen no more by any of that army for many weary
months, and, by thousands, to be never again entered.
At 6.30, or in just thirty minutes from the bugle-call
noted, the whole army stood, stripped to light marching
order, marshaled in three magnificent columns, facing
southward, near the Shelbyville pike. The advance was
sounded, and sixty-eight thousand men moved over the
hills, and descended into the meadow-like valley in front
of Guy's Gap.
At the moment the army marched, Minty moved out the
Manchester pike at the head of his brigade, numbering,
by actual count, two thousand five hundred and twenty-
two officers and men ; but on arriving at Cripple creek,
about 11, a. m., he received an order from General Stan
ley, directing him to return to Murfreesboro1, and move
from thence on the Salem pike and support General Mit-
chel, commanding the First cavalry division, who was re
ported to be heavily engaged near Middleton. Promptly
countermarching, he passed through Murfreesboro, ' about
2, p. m. , and reached General Mitchel, about 5, p. m. , near
Middleton, having passed from the extreme left to the ex
treme right of the army. It rained heavily from 2, p. m.
until night, and the fighting ceased about 4, p. m., by the
rebels withdrawing from Mitchel' s front.
On the 25th, Minty moved his brigade, in midst of
furious thunder showers, through the fields across the
country to the Shelbyville pike, skirmishing all day on
the right flank, and camped at Christianna. Late in the
evening, the Fourth United States cavalry picket on the
Shelbyville pike was attacked and driven in ; but after a
sharp fight, the rebels were repulsed by the Fifth Iowa
and Fourth Michigan, who pursued them into Guy's Gap.
During this day, the army had taken distance consider-

174 Minty and the Cavalry.
ably to the left ; the right of the infantry now resting in
front of Guy' s Gap, a short distance east of the Shelby
ville pike.
On the 26th, the brigade demonstrated heavily on the
right of McCook' s corps in front of Guy's Gap, pushing
the line well up to the foot of the range of hills. It
rained in continuous, heavy showers all day ; the whole
valley was cut and trampled into a lake of mud, through
which the army slowly gained distance, along the base of
the hills toward the left ; seriously threatening the while
both Guy' s and Wood' s Gaps. To meet these demonstra
tions, the rebels concentrated at these points, thus weak
ening their defenses at Hoover's Gap, which Colonel Wil
der perceiving, dashed forward late that night with his
brigade of mounted infantry, routed the enemy, and seized
the entrance, and being promptly supported by Wood's
division, by the morning of the 27th, Hoover's Gap, from
end to end, was carried, and the way opened for turning
the rebel right.
Before Rosecrans dare, however, move his army through
it, the rebel force holding Guy's Gap and Shelbyville must
be defeated and driven off ; else his rear and depot of sup
plies at Murfreesboro' would be at the mercy of any hos
tile force advancing from the former place. To General
Stanley and the cavalry, was assigned the duty of crush
ing the rebel left at these places ; and thus securing the
right and rear of the army.
Accordingly, on the morning of June 27th, Stanley
marshaled the First division, under General Mitchel,
and Minty's brigade of the Second division, in all over
five thousand cavalry, in columns of attack in front of
Guy's Gap, on the Shelbyville pike.
Here was presented a scene of grand military pageantry,
as rare as it was inspiring. The sun, for a few hours af-

Storming Guy's Gap. 175
ter rising, shone out clear and bright, reflecting in full
splendor the bright sabers and arms, and kissing the
flags, banners, and streamers, as a harbinger of victory.
A line of dismounted skirmishers nearly two miles in
length covered the front ; two thousand mounted men
in columns of attack moved up the slope, on each side of
the road, while on the pike, in serried ranks, pressed for
ward nearly three thousand more, forming a compact col
umn over three miles in length.
On approaching the crest of the Gap, an unaccountable
delay occurred in the advance of the leading commands
of the First division ; so that, after two hours' steady
fighting, but half a mile was gained. Minty, whose po
sition was in the rear, was raging like a chained lion at
the little progress made ; when an officer from General
Stanley' s staff, Lieutenant Hutchins, of the Third United
States cavalry, arrived at the head of his column, and
saluting, said : " Colonel Minty, General Stanley re
quests you to move to the front ; the brigade in the ad
vance is so d  d slow, he cannot do anything with it. "
Minty, therefore, moved his brigade to the extreme front,
and, forming in column of fours on the pike, at the edge
of the skirmish line, obtained permission from General
Stanley to attempt a direct assault.
Moving up under a heavy fire of artillery and musketry
to within three hundred yards of the crest, he hastily
threw the Fourth United States into line on the right, the
ground being practicable, formed the First Middle Ten
nessee in column of fours, and ordered a saber charge.
The rebels declined to meet the onset and fled in wild con
fusion, artillery, mounted and dismounted men, all mixed
up together ; down the road, toward Shelbyville, and
Guy's Gap was won. The dismounted men sought to
escape by hiding in the bushes, but were mostly picked

176 Minty and the Cavalry.
up by the regiments in the rear. Lieutenant Colonel
Galbraith, with the First Middle Tennessee, followed the
mounted force on a run for three miles, closely supported
by the Fourth United States, when he was brought to a
stand by the enemy opening with artillery from an in-
trenchment. Minty closed up with the Seventh Pennsyl
vania, Fourth Michigan, and Third Indiana; and the
Seventh Pennsylvania, taking the advance, charged the
work, without deploying, carried it, and routed the ene
my. The pursuit was now pressed vigorously ; the whole
brigade thundering down the pike at a sweeping gallop ;
until a point about three miles from Shelbyville was
reached, where the enemy, being now strongly re-in-
forced, took shelter behind a long line of formidable in-
trenchments, consisting of earthworks, redans, and cur
tains ; protected by an abatis, one hundred and fifty
yards wide, of fallen timber, with sharpened branches ;
and opened with eight pieces of artillery.
Minty now found himself, confronting the main line
of the intrenchments and defenses of Shelbyville, and
believing, from the evidences of the previous flight, and
the statements of prisoners captured, that the attack was
unexpected, and the enemy unprepared for a vigorous re
sistance, and that the force consisted chiefly of cavalry,
determined on an immediate assault. Sending Captain
C. C. Davis, with a battalion of the Seventh Pennsylva
nia, forward, dismounted, he deployed the Fourth Mich
igan, under Major Frank Mix, about three fourths of a
mile to the right, and, in like manner, the Third Indiana,
under Lieutenant Colonel Kline, to the left, directing
them each to charge the intrenchments, brought up the
remainder of the Seventh Pennsylvania, under Lieuten
ant Colonel Sipes, in column, supported by the Fourth

At the Intrenchments. Ill
United States, under Captain Mclntyre, and notified Gen
eral Stanley of the situation and his intention.
Heavy firing now was heard on the right, showing that
the Fourth Michigan was advancing, and Minty, throw
ing the Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth United States
into line on each side of the road, ordered a saber charge ;
Captain Davis, at the same time, pushing forward his
dismounted men as skirmishers. Forcing their horses
through the tangled abatis as rapidly as possible, the in
trenchments were reached ; when, believing it practica
ble to ride over them in certain places, Lieutenant Col
onel Sipes sounded the charge, and, with the two battalions
of his regiment, dashed forward over the ditch and in
trenchments, into the midst of the astonished enemy.
Such as could, mounted their horses and retreated rapidly,
as did the artillery, into Shelbyville. Many were, how
ever, captured in the trenches. Major Mix, with the
Fourth Michigan, moved simultaneously on the extreme
right, and surmounted the works in like superb style
This was the first time in the history of the war, when
strong lines of intrenchments, protected by an elaborate
abatis, ditch and parapet, were stormed and taken by cav
alry in a mounted saber charge.
Lieutenant Heber S. Thompson led a charging column
of the Seventh Pennsylvania at the same time on the
road, where, re-laying the planks of a bridge over the
ditch, he entered the intrenchments a moment in advance
of the charging line. About three hundred prisoners were
taken in the trenches.
The rebels, being again re-inforced, formed on the out
skirts of the town, in a field, behind a palisade fence on
the left of the pike, but, being closely pressed by the
Seventh Pennsylvania and the Fourth United States,
were driven from their position with severe loss in killed
12

178 Minty and the Cavalry.
and wounded, and one entire regiment, being unable to
get out of the field, were cornered and captured, to a man.
Minty now learned that he was fighting the whole of the
rebel cavalry in the Department, except that Forrest's
division had not yet formed a junction with the main
column, but was near at hand, and rapidly approaching,
from the direction of Columbia ; that Major General
Wheeler, Bragg' s chief of cavalry, was personally in
command, with Generals Martin, Wharton, and Forrest,
as division commanders.
Wheeler now opened with eight pieces of artillery from
the square of Shelbyville. Minty, seeing the importance
of defeating Wheeler before Forrest could join him, de
termined to press the attack. Lieutenant Vale, of his
staff, now brought up four pieces of artillery under Cap
tain Ayershire, of General Mitchell's division. (The lieu
tenant had been sent back for the artillery when the en
emy first opened on us from the intrenchments, but our
advance had been so rapid that he only reported at this
point.) Minty directed the captain to place one piece on
each side of the road, at less than a quarter of a mile
from the rebel battery, and fire one shell from each piece ;
and ordered the Seventh Pennsylvania to charge, in col
umn of fours, the instant after, under cover of smoke,
directly up the street, upon the enemy' s battery, in the
square of the town. He also directed the Fourth Mich
igan to charge on a street to the right, and the Fourth
United States on the first street to the left. General
Mitchell, however, coming up just as the Fourth United
States were about moving, relieved it, as its horses were
fagged, and ordered the Ninth Pennsylvania cavalry, of
his division, to charge in its stead. This substitution
took a little time, and as the Ninth had no guide, they
did not succeed in seizing the Scull Camp bridge, as the

Davit Charges the Town. 179
movement contemplated, but rendered most effective ser
vice, as will be seen.
The charging column of the Seventh Pennsylvania was
led by Captain C. C. Davis, with a battalion of two hun
dred and seventy-four officers and men.
Davis and the men of the Seventh dashed forward with
an impetuosity never before surpassed on any field, and,
though the enemy fired their guns with all the rapidity
and precision possible, hurling cannister in double-
shotted charges at and through the dense ranks of the on-
rushing cavalry, and rained from their long line of sup
porting cavalry a shower of balls, and pistol and carbine
slugs ; and, although the gunners stuck to their pieces
to the last, the mighty rush of the Seventh could not be
stayed, but, yelling like demons, and spurring their
horses to the wildest speed, in less than half a minute
from the time of starting, they reached the square, and,
leaping their horses over the guns, sabered the gunners
alongside the pieces, dashed into and cut to pieces the
supports, captured three of the guns in their position,
and routed and drove the whole force of rebel cavalry,
five thousand in number, from the town.
In the mele&, five of the rebel pieces were limbered up,
if, indeed, they had been placed in battery, and with the
fleeing hosts were rushed, at a run, toward the Scull Camp
bridge. The Seventh, now joined by men of other regi
ments, who had caught the contagion of the fight, rushed
after in a wild craze of enthusiasm. At the depot, Cap
tain Davis overhauled, and, with his own hand, captured
one of the fleeing guns by compelling the surrender of the
captain in charge at the point of the saber, Lieutenant
H. S. Thompson, of Seventh Pennsylvania, Captain R.
Burns, Acting Assistant Adjutant General of the brigade,

180 Minty and the Cavalry.
and Lieutenant Vale, Brigade Inspector, being near at
hand, and closely supporting him.
Wheeler had now rallied his men as best he could on
the very bank of Duck river to cover their crossing on the
Scull Camp bridge ; and, as the charging column swept
around the bend of the street at the depot, opened a ter
rific raking fire on it. With scarce a diminution of speed,
however, the column swept on, rode into the rebel line,
sabering them right and left, while the Third Indiana,
which, after passing the entrenchments, had kept well to
the left, now came on the ground with the Ninth Penn
sylvania cavalry ; sweeping like a tornado down the rebel
line ; the enemy broke, and rushed in a wild panic of dis
ordered rout toward the bridge. One of their artillery
caissons was overturned on the bridge, and escape in that
direction being cut off, they plunged in dense masses into
the river.
As before stated, the river runs through a deep, narrow
channel ; and, being now swollen almost to its full banks —
about twenty feet deep — it was a rushing torrent. A mul
titude, the number never was nor ever will be known, were
drowned ; and the finest cavalry of the rebellion there
found a grave in the mud and slime of Duck river.
They never recovered from this defeat and its attendant
horrors ; and, more than a year after, so vivid were the
recollections of it, that when, on the plains of Georgia,
Minty's brigade charged Martin's division, they fled in
panic, and never drew reins until they had put full twen
ty miles between themselves and our terrific sabers. And,
again, in April, 1865, when the brigade stormed the en
trenchments of Selma, Alabama, seventeen hundred men
of Wharton's command laid down their arms and sur
rendered rather than risk a repetition of the scene.
The regiments immediately following the Seventh Penn-

Commands Engaged. 181
sylvania, and participating in the charge and subsequent
battles at the railroad depot and the bridge, were a part
of the Fourth United States, under command of Lieuten
ant McCafferty, the First Middle Tennessee, under Lieu
tenant Colonel Galbraith, and the Fourth Michigan, un
der Major Mix. The Third Indiana, Ninth Pennsylvania,
and another regiment of Mitchell's division, and the
Fourth United States, under Captain Mclntyre, came in
on the left, and most gallantly participated in the battle
on the banks of the river, near the bridge. The other
commands of 'Mitchell' s division supported the advance ;
promptly occupying the town and claiming credit for a
large number of prisoners, which they picked up after
they had surrendered to, and been disarmed by Minty;
and, on the approach of Forrest, from the direction of
Columbia, during the progress of the fight, promptly
formed in line in the western suburbs of the town, re
pelled his attack, and drove him across the river at a
bridge four miles lower down.
In the ' ' Campaigns of General Forrest, ' ' the historian
says, page 291 : "So fast, indeed, were the Confederates
falling back toward Shelbyville, that Forrest found it im
possible to effect the junction indicated ; he, therefore, put
his column at a gallop for the next eight miles, (on a road
parallel with the turnpike, ) hoping to overtake Wheeler in
rear of the intrenchments at Shelbyville. But even in this
expectation he was disappointed, for such was the pressure
of the Federal cavalry, that Wheeler had been driven south
of Duck river, before Forrest could reach Shelbyville.
Forrest made a circuit rightward of that place, through
the mud and heavy rain, and crossing the river four miles
west, encamped five miles beyond on the Lafayette pike."
In this sanguinary conflict, the rebels lost two hundred
and fifty-six killed, five hundred and forty-nine desper-

182 Minty and the Cavalry.
ately wounded, most of the killed and wounded falling be
neath the stroke of the saber, and a multitude, reported at
from five hundred to one thousand, drowned. Minty' s bri
gade was officially credited with the capture of four pieces
of artillery, and seven hundred and fifty-eight prisoners,
besides which he turned over to the provost marshal of
General Mitchell's division, thirty commissioned officers
and five hundred and ninety -nine men, for which he receiv
ed no credit, General Mitchell having gobbled them up in
his official report, as he did all the stores and rebel property
found in the town, after Minty had driven the rebels off.
The First Confederate (regular) cavalry were, to a man,
killed, wounded, or captured. The Eighth Confederate
(regular) cavalry lost its adjutant and most of its field and
line officers, and five sixths of its men captured. One of
the rebel Tennessee regiments was captured bodily in the
field just outside the town, as before noted.
The brigade lost, from the beginning of the fight at the
storming of Guy' s Gap in the morning, to the close of it
on the banks of Duck river, eighteen miles distant, in the
evening, as follows : Officers. Men.
Seventh Pennsylvania, two officers, four
men killed ; one officer, ten men
wounded,  3 13
Fourth United States, one officer, one man
wounded,  1 1
Fourth Michigan, one officer, seven men
wounded ; two men missing, .... 1 9
First Middle Tennessee, one officer, one
man wounded ; one man missing, . 1 2
Third Middle Tennessee, one man killed ;
one officer, two men wounded, ... 1 3
Total,  7 28

Honorably Mentioned. 183
A total of two officers, four men killed ; five officers,
twenty-one men wounded, three missing ; or an aggregate
of thirty-five officers and men killed, wounded, and miss
ing. The officers killed were :
First Lieutenant Amos B. Rhoads. company B, Seventh
Pennsylvania, killed in the fight over the gun at the de
pot ; Second Lieutenant Francis W. Reed, company L,
Seventh Pennsylvania, killed in the fight in the battle at
the square.
(For full list of killed and wounded, see appendix. )
Lieutenant Charles T. Hudson, Adjutant Fourth Mich
igan, wounded ; Lieutenant Young, Third Indiana, wound
ed by two saber cut-s ; and Sergeant Thomas Shaiel, Third
Indiana, wounded in the face by saber.
The following officers and men were honorably men
tioned in the official reports and general orders for special
gallantry displayed on this occasion :
"Lieutenant Heber S. Thompson, Seventh Pennsylva
nia cavalry, led the first charge of his regiment on the
road at the breast- works, in his usual gallant style. "
" Captain C. C. Davis, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry,
led the grand charge on the rebel battery ; he rode into
the very teeth of the guns, in the most fearless manner.
and captured the entire battery. "
'• Lieutenant McCafferty, Fourth United States cavalry,
took part in the charge, and acted most gallantly. "
" First Sergeant McMaster, company I, Fourth United
States cavalry, was conspicuous for his gallant conduct in
the charge on the battery, and is honorably mentioned
by Captain Davis. "
" Captain R. Burns, Acting Assistant Adjutant Gen
eral of the brigade, who is always at his post of duty,

184 Minty and the Cavalry.
had his horse shot under him, whilst among the foremost
in the charge on the battery. ' '
"Captain Burns, in recognition of his services, received
from Lieutenant Colonel Sipes, commanding Seventh
Pennsylvania, the medal of ' Pennsylvania Heroes, ' and
was adopted into the regiment. "
"Lieutenant Vale, Seventh Pennsylvania, and Brigade
Inspector, brought up the artillery, and obtaining per
mission to join his regiment in the charge, assisted in the
capture of the piece of artillery at the depot. "
"Lieutenant Collagan, Third Indiana cavalry, exhib
ited great gallantry in the charge of the battalion of his
regiment made near Scull Camp Bridge. "
" Lieutenant Young, Third Indiana cavalry, was con
spicuous for his gallant conduct in same charge. He re
ceived two saber wounds. ' '
" Sergeant Thomas Shaiel, Third Indiana cavalry, in
same charge, after being wounded in the face with a
saber, continued to hew his way through the rebel ranks. "
"First Lieutenant Hudson, Acting Adjutant Fourth
Michigan cavalry, acted with great gallantry throughout
the entire action. He was severely wounded by a mus
ket ball through the shoulder. ' '
" Captains Pritchard, Hathaway, Robbins, and Grant ;
Corporal Hoff master, Company L, (most gallant conduct,)
and Privates Mason and Brown, of company I, all of the
Fourth Michigan cavalry, are specially and honorably
mentioned. "
" In the Fourth United States cavalry, First Lieutenants
Ingleston and O'Connel ; Second Lieutenants Rendle-
brook, ("old Joe") McCafferty, and Davis; First Ser
geants McMaster, Collohan, and James Egan* ; Sergeants
*Sergeant James Egan was promoted in the regiment, on account of his
gallant conduct, on this and other occasions, raising to the rank of captain

Incidents. 185
Bates and Ricker ; Corporals Iredhope and Rankin, and
Private Somers, are specially commended. "
" In the Seventh Pennsylvania, Captain C. C. Davis ;
Lieutenants White, Thompson, Streahlin, and Vale;
Sergeants Peck, Keenan, Somers, Wilson, Quaid, Sny
der, Shutt, and Ennis ; Corporals Devens, Lane, Williams,
and Mason; and Privates Andrews, Johns, Watkins,
Williams, Benson, Longwell, Heller, and Wilcox, are
honorably mentioned. "
"All the regimental commanders, viz: Lieutenant
Colonel Galbraith, First Middle Tennessee ; Captain Mc-
Intyre, Fourth United States ; Major F. E. Mix, Fourth
Michigan ; Colonel Kline, Third Indiana ; and Lieuten
ant Colonel W. B. Sipes, Seventh Pennsylvania, are de
serving of special mention for their promptness, and the
manner in which they handled their respective com
mands. "
Among the incidents of the battle, there is one which
seems almost incredible, but was witnessed by the author
and hundreds of others, many of whom are yet, Febru
ary, 1886, living to verify its truth.
Shelbyville, and the county of which it was the county
seat, was strongly Union in politics ; and, while the loyal
sentiment was much suppressed, a very decided portion
of the people remained steadfast in their devotion to the
cause of the Nation and the flag of their fathers.
In Colonel Galbraith' s regiment, were a number of re
cruits, probably a company from the town.
In the midst of the fierce charge upon the battery, and
the hot, desperate fight from the square to the railroad
depot, the loyal people recognized their men and the
standard of the First Middle Tennessee, and in a wild
during the war ; was severely wounded a number of times and retired as
brevet major United States army. He died in Washington, D. C.

186 Minty and the Cavalry.
burst of patriotic enthusiasm, dozens of ladies rushed
from their houses, and, standing on the steps, porches,
door stoops, and many out on the curb of the pavement
in the street, waved the stars and stripes, cheering and
yelling to their friends, calling to them to " Go on ! Go
on ! You've got the rebels ! They are running ! They can't
cross the river ! God bless our boys in blue ! ' ' and like
exclamations. And this while, cannister hurtling from
double-shotted guns, and rifle and revolver balls, and min-
nie slugs were hissing through the air, and all the wild
pandemonium of battle was raging around them ; thought
less, alike, of loss of life or limb, but actuated apparently
alone by an enthusiastic outburst of loyal devotion to
their flag and country.
Barbara Fritchie, for waving the flag of our country in
the face of the quiet, orderly entry of Lee's army into
Frederick, Maryland, has been immortalized by the poetic
lyre of Whittier ; but none have sung of the far greater
heroism displayed by the noble maids and matrons of
Shelbyville ; and to the perpetuation of the memory of
their unparalled devotion, on this 27th of June, 1863,
these paragraphs are devoted.
While these operations were in progress on the right,
the army was moving steadily through the terrific rain
showers as rapidly as the muddy roads, abounding in
quick-sand hollows miles in extent, and the heavy con
dition of the country would permit to the left ; and,
passing through Hoover's Gap, was taking position
around Manchester, and gradually closing in on Tulla
homa from the north and east.
The rebel army, however, still holding that place in
force, and occupying Wood' s Gap, rendered it necessary
to protect the right flank and rear from a sudden move
ment through that place. Therefore, on the 28th, Minty's

Tullahoma Captured. 187
brigade was moved to about three miles south-east of
Guy' s Gap, and demonstrating against the left rear of the
force holding Wood' s, or Belbuckle Gap, caused its eva
cuation that night.
At 1, a. m., on the 29th, the brigade, excepting the
Fifth Iowa, which was at this point detached from it,
marched to Shelbyville and from thence to Fairfield.
On this day Bragg retreated from Tullahoma by the
wagon roads ; the railroad having been, late in the even
ing of the 28th, seized and destroyed at Decherd by
Colonel Wilder' s brigade of mounted infantry.
On the 30th, Minty moved under orders to Manchester,
on the extreme left of the army ; and on the first of July,
Forrest having made a demonstration on the Manchester
and Tullahoma road, on General Crittenden' s corps, at
tacking it while on the march ; Minty was ordered to the
front, when, attacking Forrest near Walker' s mills, after
a sharp skirmish, drove him south of the Elk river. In
this affair Colonel Starnes, of the Eighth Texas cavalry,
commanding a brigade, and one of the most efficient of
Forrest's subalterns, was killed.
On July 2, marching at 2, a. m., Minty reached the Elk
river about 10 o'clock in the morning and rejoining our
division, from which he had been separated since June
24th, was ordered to the front, to force the passage of the
river. The Second brigade had been fighting Forrest for
over two hours before Minty came up without being able
to cross. As Minty's brigade moved to the front, some
one of the Ohio boys called out : " What are they going to
the front for ? " "Are the First brigade the only men
who know how to fight \ ' ' And as the brigade approached
the river, the Fourth Ohio dashed gallantly across the
ford ahead of it, charged Forrest's lines with fury, drove
him off, and secured the crossing. Minty, pushing rapidly

188 Minty and the Cavalry.
forward, continued the pursuit to and beyond Decherd.
On the 30th of July, the pursuit was continued as rapid
ly as the continuous rain would allow, to the mountain
pass at Cowan.
The rebel army, having now been driven out of Middle
Tennessee, and taking shelter behind the Tennessee river,
at Chattanooga, the campaign closed and the division
marched to Salem, going into camp at that place on the
5th, having marched over eight hundred miles.
In the campaign just closed, and during its progress,
the entire Army of the Cumberland had to contend with
an almost ever-pressing series of attacks from a host of
foes strictly indigenous to the Southern country.
As already intimated, it rained every day and night from
June 24 to July 16 ; not in continuous drizzle or down
pour, but in successive, constantly recurring tremendous
showers, at from ten minutes to three hours intervals.
Thus, for twenty-three days; the men were compelled to
' ' slop around ' ' in wet clothing, to wade and fight,
through the mud by day, and " sink to sleep in the mud "
by night ; without the opportunity or possibility of chang
ing their under-clothing. Officers and men alike were com
pelled at every halt to wash their shirts and drawers in
the nearest stream or pond, and without waiting for them
to dry, even at a camp fire, put them on again, after simply
wringing the water out.
The march led through dense forrests, filled with fallen,
decaying logs and trunks of trees, and over large tracts of
country covered with briers, creepers, and tangled under
growth. The successive retreats of the rebel army gave
repeated opportunities for occupying their camp ; which
being, in general, the only cleared and eligible bivouack
ing ground, was, at first, seized with alacrity.
After a day or two, and a couple of nights out, it was

Lesser Foes. 189
discovered that the voracious, the terrible ally to the rebel
army, the pediculus vestimenti had found its way in
side our lines, and was waging, after its fashion, a general
guerrilla warfare against our army. Just how it escaped
the vigilance of the pickets ; and, particularly, how it sur
vived amid the constant "skirmishing," is not known;
but, as in keeping with the other atrocities of the rebels,
it is most probable that, on leaving their old camps, they
had turned loose a number of these terrible allies — they
had in these, if in nothing else, a plentiful, ever-increasing
supply — and planting them in ambush, succeeded in thus
invading our lines, and attacking, in detail, the whole
army from the general in command to the lowest mule-
driver. The Pediculus made its deadly assaults with equal per
sistency and determination, while the soldier was on the
march, in the full tide of battle, around the camp-fire or
in bivouac in the deep sleep of exhaustion. It never al
lowed itself to be repulsed, never retreated from its posi
tion ; except, indeed, to occupy a stronger one, never
ceased its attacks and annoying movements, nor stopped
its ferocious warfare, except when literally crushed. It
was rightly named, by the unanimous voice of the whole
army, the "Gray-back; " and in order that the future sol
dier of the Republic may ever be on his guard
against its fearful assaults, and recognize it at
a glance, its portrait is here inserted.
It did not always kill at first assault, but by
persistent attacks generally " got there; " and
all through the campaign, if a man or an offi
cer was mysteriously missing, it was currently
reported, and generally the fact, that the "Gray-backs "
had got him.
Another horde of blood-thirsty adjuncts of rebeldom

190 Minty and the Cavalry.
were likewise the assailants of the army during this ad
vance ; not, however, with the slow, persistent, infantry
like movements of the Pediculus, but in rapid, tremendous
springs, and cavalry-like saber lunges and dashes ; they
were the "wicked fleas, " which "no man "of any sense,
pursues. They were left in myriad numbers, in all the
houses, out-houses, sheds, stables, and tenements, in all
the country abandoned by the rebels ; and so irrepres
sible were their assaults, when their chosen habitations
were invaded, that whole companies, and even regiments,
were driven from buildings as quickly, and with far
greater disorder, than they would have been by the ex
plosion of shells crashing through their ranks from a
park of rebel artillery.
In this guise, the enemy, though small when viewed as
an individual, was astonishing in activity, and in each
separate stable and sheep -pen thronged in such countless
millions as made them more feared than ' ' an army with
banners. ' ' It was reported, and generally believed in the
army, that some time before our advance, some Noah had
appeared among them, and prophesying the near ap
proach of the deluge of water which fell that month, had
induced all the fleas in Middle Tennessee to get in out of
the wet and occupy every square inch of sheltered earth
in all the Duck river country. This would account for
their presence and numbers ; but since this theory ex
culpates the rebels from active participation in their prop
agation, and being marshalled in such hosts at that par
ticular time and place, the author is lothe to accept it, and
allows the mystery to remain unsolved.
Now, while the Pediculus was waging his warfare in
the inmost recesses of the army, and the fleas driving it
from all the buildings, in the deep gloom of the forest
was prepared an ambush of most portentous dimensions

Lesser Foes. 191
and grave sequences. It was the ambush of the wood-tick,
lying in wait for the soldier, the mettlesome cavalry
horse, or the patient, long-suffering, meek, and reliable
army mule. This enemy is never seen, his presence never
suspected, until a yell of anguish proclaims that he has
fastened his fangs in a death grip upon his victim, and is
entombing himself in that victim's quivering flesh. The
wood-tick ' ' sticketh closer than a brother, ' ' and, while not
planted in such frightful myriads as had been his kindred
allies, and easily detected, when once he had made his
presence felt ; yet had an ugly habit of allowing his body
to be separated from his head, if the victim sought to
rub or pull him off ; and with that head as a very ani
mated entity, continue his burrowing progress until the
man or animal succumbed to his attack. The wounds he
inflicted were grievous, and his destruction of morals in
the army great. Having not eyes, he saw, and having
not ears, he heard ; and without fear of consequences,
moved in desperate assault upon the army, perishing in
the last ditch of his own digging. This is his formidable
portrait. A still more dreaded ambush was
laid in the briers and thick under
growth of the more open country into
which the unsuscepting " Yank, " if
avoiding, in wise though saddened
experience, the deserted camp, the
deceitful shelter and the umbrageous forest, sought safety
in the tangled brush or grassy hillside ; for there in serried
millions lurked the invisible jigger ; the least, but not the
less of all the aids to the rebellion. The jigger was an
original secessionist, bitter, determined, and unrelenting
in his attacks upon the Union — army. He must certainly
have belonged to the secret service branch of the Con-

192 Minty and the Cavalry.
federacy ; lying in wait in unsuspected places; and with
fiendish malignity sought rather to torture than to kill his
enemy. His favorite mode of warfare was to get upon his
enemy when unable to resist, and burrowing under the
epidermis, raise the skin in great flakes from the flesh,
thus flaying his victim alive. He delighted more in skin
ning a Yankee than ever did the lordly slaveholder in
' ' wolloping a nigger. ' ' Oh, you jigger ! You jigger !
You were the least, but still the worst of all the bad pro
ductions of rebeldom. Your hated memory is enough and
so your portrait is omitted.

CHAPTER XIII.
JULY 6, 1863, TO AUGUST 17, 1863.
The Army Concentrated along the Tennessee River — Topography of the
Country — Minty Scouting on the Right — Moves to the Left — McMinn
ville Occupied — Incident — Fight with Dibrell at Sparta.
|RAGG, driven from Middle Tennessee, took posi
tion at Chattanooga, which he strongly forti
fied ; extending his right to Loudon, where he
joined hands with the febel army occupying Knoxville,
thus presenting a continuous line, with the river in his
front from one place to the other. His left was protected
by the giant ranges of the Lookout and Raccoon or Sand
Mountains, as well as the Tennessee river ; his front,
guarded not only by the river, but by the two lofty and
precipitous ranges — the Cumberland Mountains and Wal-
dren' s Ridge, and his right, at Knoxville, difficult of ac
cess on account of the long distance to be traversed over
a wild, rugged country, and the heavy fortifications at
Cumberland Gap and the other mountain passes.
Rosecrans drew his army together near the Tennessee
river ; his left at the foot of the Cumberland Mountains
near Altamont ; his center occupying Bridgeport and
Stevenson, Alabama, and his right extending along the
railroad toward Huntsville, with a strong detachment oc
cupying that place. ?
The capture of Vicksburg and consequent opening of
the Mississippi river, with the retreat of Bragg, had thus
reclaimed the whole State of Tennessee, except its extreme
eastern portion, and opened the greater part of Alabama
13 (193)

194 Minty and the Cavalry.
and Mississippi to the National forces ; and, while the lines
of actual military occupation had not been much advanced
from what they were a year before, when the stupid policy
of dividing and scattering the army opened the way for
the invasion of Kentucky; yet, on the whole, the National
cause had gained much in the interval. Not only was the
so-called Confederacy bisected, the Mississippi river al
lowed to run "unvexed" to the sea, the active military
operations brought east of that river, and the large rebel
armies of Vicksburg and Port Hudson captured ; but
the disintegration of the army under Bragg, in conse
quence of the demoralization of his successive retreats,
had been such that he crossed |he Tennessee river with
less than half the number of men, poorer by one third in
arms and war munitions, than when, in the preceding
September, he commenced his northward march.
The only gain, indeed, to his army had been in the cav
alry arm of the service, and, even in this, after receiving
an augmentation of over fifteen thousand from the trans
and Southern Mississippi country, under Price and Van
Dorn, and the complete equipment of a division recruited
by Forrest in West and Middle Tennessee, as well as over
two thousand recruits obtained by Morgan in Kentucky,
his losses had been so great that he was able to muster, at
Chattanooga, less than five thousand effectives.
Rosecrans now established his head-quarters at Win
chester, Tennessee, and devoted himself actively to the
work of re-opening the railroad and accumulating sup
plies at the front, in sufficient quantities to enable him to
make a further advance.
It being impossible to transport over the mountains,
through which this advance must be made, a sufficiency
of forage to feed his cavalry and artillery horses, he wise
ly determined to wait until the corn was hard enough to

A Breathing Spell. 195
allow him to subsist his animals on the country through
which he passed.
This explanation is given in answer to the oft repeated
question : ' ' Why did not Rosecrans follow Bragg im
mediately into Chattanooga and Georgia V ' For it must
be remembered that the movement against Chattanooga,
on whatever line Rosecrans might determine to advance,
must be through a mountainous, sparsely settled, and
poorly cultivated country, that the stock of old corn, the
only cereal produced, was practically exhausted, that the
distance to be traversed and difficulties in the topogra
phy of the country to be overcome would require at least
a month of time ; and that all the trains in the army
could not transport more than forage for themselves, and
to last the cavalry and artillery horses five days. To ad
vance, therefore, before the new corn was hard enough to
use, would be but to have starved his horses, lost his ar
tillery, and placed his army in the mountain defiles of
Tennessee or Georgia, at the mercy of his foe.
While this breathing spell was being taken, Minty's
brigade was employed first in scouting and clearing the
country between Columbia, Tennessee, and Huntsville,
Alabama, on the right of the army, of small bodies of
rebels, which still in some localities maintained an irregu
lar warfare ; after which it was moved to the extreme left,
preparatory to the advance.
During the operations on the right, the division and bri
gade head-quarters were at Salem, Tennessee, where, on
the 22dof July, Colonel George C. Wynkoop, having re
joined his regiment, the Seventh Pennsylvania, and being
the senior colonel, took command of the brigade. He
was, however, July 26th, honorably discharged the ser
vice, to date from June 20th, on surgeon's certificate of

196 Minty and the Cavalry.
disability ; and on the next day, July 27th, Colonel Minty
resumed the command.
On the 29th of July, General Turchin was assigned to
the command of a division of infantry, and General Cook
took command of the Second cavalry division. The Fifth
Iowa and First and Second Middle Tennessee were now
detached, and the brigade consisted of :
Fourth United States (regular) cavalry, Captain Mcln-
tyre commanding.
Seventh ¦ Pennsylvania cavalry, Colonel W. B. Sipes
commanding. Fourth Michigan cavalry, Major Gray commanding.
Third Indiana cavalry, Lieutenant Colonel Kline com
manding. One section of Chicago Board of Trade battery, Lieu
tenant Griffin commanding.
General Turchin, as a cavalry officer, was not a success.
He was personally brave, and had a good deal of dash in
his mental make-up, but was physically out of place on
horseback, the circumference of his body being equal to
his height. His failure as a commander of cavalry was
due, more than anything else, to the fact that he marched
with too long a tail, his staff, orderlies and escort number
ing nearly four hundred men ; and as he always wanted
to be personally at the front, just behind the advance
guard, his infernal tail stood in the way of the fighting
material of his division, so that, as occurred at Middleton
and other places, he invariably lost the fruits of any rapid
movement in the advance. As a division commander of
infantry, however, he proved a first-class officer, and speci
ally distinguished himself at Chickamauga, where he was
dangerously wounded.
Mrs. Turchin, the wife of the general, was with him at the
front during the advance on Chattanooga and subsequent

Incident at McMinnville. 197
battles. When the general was wounded and taken from
the field, this heroic woman rode out to the line of battle,
amid the storm of the fight, and, passing along the divis
ion, said, "Boys, the general cannot come back to you
to-day, but I think he will get well again. I want you to
remember, to-day, that he has been shot." The "boys"
answered with cheers, and Turchin' s division was not
broken in that battle ! This incident gave rise to the re
port widely circulated in the army that Mrs. Turchin took
command' of his division after he was shot at Chickamauga.
On the first of August, Minty's brigade was detached
from the immediate orders of the division, and assigned
to duty on the left of the army, acting under the imme
diate command of Major General Crittenden, command
ing the left wing. In accordance with the orders of Gen
eral Crittenden, he moved to, and occupied McMinnville,
arriving at that place on August 3.
An amusing occurrence took place at brigade head-quar
ters the day we occupied this place. In our passage
through the rebel States, we always found the rebel
women, as soon as they learned that we treated them with
respect, more ready to fight for "the cause" with their
tongues than were the men with their weapons. They
were constantly claiming immunity, on account of their
sex, but as persistently acting as spies and bearers of in
formation to their rebel friends. It became necessary,
therefore, to treat both men and women alike in our ex
peditions, and not permit either to pass through our lines,
without taking all proper precautions against their giv
ing information. This rule led to the incident referred to.
Soon after the guards and pickets had been established,
the outpost on the Smithfield road brought to Colonel
Minty's head -quarters two young ladies, in a (for that
country) very good buggy, drawn by a first-rate appear-

198 Minty and the Cavalry
ing horse. The older of the two, a Miss Glassock, was
about twenty years of age, the other probably seventeen.
Miss G. was a very ready talker, and inquiring for the
' ' general, ' ' stated, with great show of indignation, that
she and her friend had come into town on business, but
the ' ' ignorant guard would not allow them to pass out, ' '
and whether (we,) "You' ens all make war on women
and children. ' ' The colonel referred them to Lieutenant
Vale, Brigade Inspector, Lieutenant Reilly, the Provost
Marshal, being temporally absent, and directed him to
hear their statements, and if it appeared they were acci
dentally caught within our lines, to give them a pass, on
their taking an oath not to convey any information to, or
directly or indirectly, communicate with the enemy.
The lieutenant, explaining to them that the ' ' general ' '
was resting, and could not be seen, heard their state
ments, and finding no special reason for their detention,
prepared the pass, and taking the papers, with a Bible,
pen, and ink, stepped out to the buggy in which the
ladies were seated. "Now, ladies, " said he, "it is neces
sary for you to give your obligation that you will not
give information to, or in any way assist the rebels,
before I can pass you through our lines. You will please
read over these papers carefully, sign them, and I will
swear you, and give you the pass. ' ' Miss G. read the
oath, and tossing it to the ground, said bluntly, "We
won't sign, or swear to anything of the kind. " The
lieutenant as promptly and bluntly replied: "Then
we won't give you a pass, " picked up the papers and
walked back to his tent, leaving the ladies under ' guard,
sitting in the buggy.
In an hour or so, they sent for the lieutenant, and de
sired to know what the consequences of their refusal to
take the oath would be ; no one in the meantime appear-

What the Rebel Lady would do with the Oath. 199
ing to notice their presence, or even existence. He in
formed them that they could go where they pleased in
side the lines of occupation, which included the town,
and suggested that if they had any relatives or friends
in town, they would better go and remain with them dur
ing our stay in the place. Miss G. said they would do
nothing of the kind. ' ' If you Yanks want to make prison
ers of two girls, you can do so ; we ar'nt go'n ter live off
our friends, ' ' &c. ' ' All right, ' ' said the lieutenant, ' ' you
can remain where you are, or go just as you please. "
At noon, he sent to the ladies a dinner from the colo
nel's mess, which was returned, "with the compliments
of Miss Glassock, stating, she and her young lady friend
do not eat Yankee soldiers' rations, and never liked sheet-
iron bread nohow ! ' ' This message was in writing ; the
' ' sheet-iron bread ' ' referred to some ' ' hard-tack. ' '
During the afternoon, they sent for the lieutenant five
or six times, Miss G. wishing to argue the whole ques
tion, from the rights of non-combatants to the right of
the South to separate independence. She was quite intel
ligent and very fond of talking, and while apparently
very indignant at the detention, stubbornly refused to
take the oath or go anywhere inside our lines, saying
they would go home, about six miles outside the guards,
on the Smithfield road, or no place.
And so the afternoon wore away. The colonel and
other officers of the staff enjoyed the embarrassment of
the lieutenant hugely ; suggested, even, that the only
way they could see out of the difficulty was to get the
chaplain, and have Miss G. marry him, as she evidently
intended to join the brigade, &c, &c, and while positive
ly forbidding the granting of the pass without their tak
ing the oath, would not give any orders as to the disposi
tion of the fair prisoners.

200 Minty and the Cavalry.
About 4, p. m., the lieutenant informed them that their
conduct required a more stringent oath than the one first
proposed, and that they would have to take the oath of
allegiance to the United States Government, binding on
them for all time, before they could be passed outside the
lines, and on their refusal to do so, they would be sent to
the head-quarters of the provost marshal of the army at
Murfreesboro' . In about an hour after, Miss G. sent for
the lieutenant again, and asked if they would be sent off
for certain. Being assured that the guard was then get
ting ready to escort them to Murfreesboro' ; and the
younger lady, who seemed to be a very modest, retiring
person, begging Miss G. to take the oath and drive home ;
the redoubtable rebel consented to do so.
The papers were prepared, presented by the lieutenant,
signed by each in duplicate, one copy of the oath being
kept by the lady and the other filed of record, duly
sworn to, a proper pass made out, and the guard instruct
ed to pass them through the lines. The ladies started,
but stopping, called the lieutenant out again, when Miss
G. addressed him thus : " See heah, Mr. Officer, do you
know what I' 11 do with this heah paper when I get home ?
I'll take this paper and  light my pipe with it. "
With this parting shot they drove off.
On the 4th of August, Colonel Minty moved at about 4,
p. m. , with one thousand and ninety-six officers and men,
to attack Colonel Dibrell's brigade at Clark's Mills, north
west of Sparta. Knowing that the rebel pickets were at
Rock Island Ferry, and wishing to surprise the camp, he,
on arriving at Mud creek, about 9, p. m., detached Lieu
tenant Colonel Kline, with the Third Indiana, with orders
to cross the river at Dillon's ford, move up to the cross
road at J. C. Chambers', and from thence take the picket

Expeditions against Dibrell. 201
at Rock Island and the lower ford in the rear, promising
to meet him there at midnight.
Information received represented that both Dillon's
and the lower ford were practicable, when, in point of
fact, they proved to be almost impassable. The rebel
pickets, after firing one shot, ran away, however, when a
few men could have held it (Dillon's ford) against any
number ; and Colonel Kline crossed without loss. He,
however, made but fourteen prisoners, the balance of the
pickets scattering, escaped in the darkness to and alarmed
the camp, thus frustrating the planned surprise. The bri
gade, therefore, returned to camp, arriving at McMinnville
at 11, p. m., without loss.
On the 8th, information being received that Dibrell was
camped with his brigade about two miles south of Sparta
— Dibrell kept moving his camp from one locality to an
other every day or so — Minty again moved, with seven
hundred and seventy-four officers and men, to attack him.
Marching at 3, p. m., he arrived at Spencer, about 11, p.
m., and halted to feed the horses and give the men time
to make coffee. Moving forward, he struck the rebel
pickets at daybreak, about four miles south of Sparta,
and followed them at a gallop into the town. It was
here learned that they had moved camp the evening
before, and were then about four miles north of the town,
and on the east side of the Calf Killer creek. The pick
ets had given notice of our approach, and Dibrell retreat
ed across the creek and took a strong position on a hill,
covering a narrow bridge.
Captain Mclntyre, with the Fourth United States, was
directed to cross the river at an ugly, rocky ford, a few
hundred yards below the bridge, supported* by Colonel
Sipes, with the Seventh Pennsylvania, and sharply at
tack the rebel left ; while, with the Fourth Michigan and

202 Minty and the Cavalry.
Third Indiana, Minty moved to the direct attack at the
bridge. After a short, but sharp, contest at the bridge,
on the Fourth United States attacking their left, although
largely outnumbering the Union force, Dibrell abandoned
his strong position and scattered his men in every direc
tion throTigh the country. The Third Indiana, Fourth
United States, and Seventh Pennsylvania, were sent out
to scour the country ; which they did for five miles ; but
their horses being fagged, with the seven miles gallop
and preceding nights long march, could not overtake the
freshly mounted, fast fleeing foe. The rebels lost one
lieutenant and thirteen men killed, and one lieutenant
and nine men captured. Minty's loss, confined entirely
to the Fourth Michigan, in the attack on the bridge, was
one officer, and four men wounded. Captain Grant, Fourth
Fourth Michigan was severely wounded, and Major Gray,
commanding the regiment, had his horse shot under him.
In "Campaigns of Forrest, " page 294, we find in ref
erence to this affair : ' ' The attack was made with so much
dash that the escape of any of Dibrell' s men was due to
the fleetness of their horses. ' '
Thirty days' provisions being now gathered at the front
and loaded on wagons, and the corn in the fields suffici
ently hard to use, Rosecrans advanced his army, in the
great undertaking of capturing Chattanooga ; the most
important strategic position held by the rebels in the
West. No problem, so fraught with difficulty, was ever before
undertaken and successfully worked out, under like con
ditions, in all the history of war. The position itself was
almost inaccessible to the approach of our army, and was
strongly fortified and strengthened by all the science of
modern engineering could plan, or the art of modern for
tifications execute. The river in front, while deep, rapid,

Chattanooga. 203
turbid, and unf ordable, was, on account of its rocky shoals,
not navigable. The mountains on the north-east and
south-west were high, rocky, and so precipitous that no
road for wheeled vehicles existed across them, and the
only apparent approach was by the narrow defile between
the Cumberland and Lookout mountains, through which
the river forces itself just below the town, and through
which the rail and wagon roads toward Nashville and
Middle Tennessee pass.
Added to these natural difficulties was the fact that
Bragg' s army, re-inforced by all the available forces of
the Confederacy, hurried to him from every quarter, even
to the extent of violating the parole given by the sixteen
thousand men surrendered to Grant at Vicksburg ; now
numbered more than the force Rosecrans was able to
move against him, and the problem becomes one of ap
palling magnitude.
Knowing that to attempt to force the defile by a direct
attack would be but a useless sacrifice of his army, and
that the fortifications on the north and east could not be
carried, even if he succeeded in moving his army across the
Cumberland mountains and Waldren's Ridge and cross
ing the river above the town, without great loss of life,
Rosecrans determined to throw his right wing, under
cover of heavy batteries, and the center of his army
across the river at Stevenson and Bridgeport; then, scal
ing the Lookout and Raccoon (Sand) mountains, descend
into the valley of the Chickamauga, or what is known
as McLemore's Cove; then, by rapid movements, seize
the railroad near Dalton or Tunnel Hill, and compel
Bragg either to fight outside his intrenchments, or, by
moving northward, seizing and occupying Mission Ridge,
pen the rebel army inside its works, and compel its sur
render.

204 Minty and the Cavalry.
In the execution of this movement, both these mountain
ranges had to be crossed by following mule-paths, called
in that country "traces," in contradistinction to roads.
An army, at least three to one of the defenders, should
have been employed, when, in point of fact, the army of
Rosecrans numbered less than that of his opponent.
The right wing, under McCook, commenced crossing
the river at Shell Mound on the 27th of, August, and by
the 1st of September the center, under Thomas, had
crossed, and both were on their march across the mount
ains ; Crittenden, with the left, moving the while up the
river, as though intending to make a direct assault.
For the purpose of covering these movements, and cre
ating the impression on the rebel commander that Rose
crans was moving his army by the left flank across the
Cumberland mountains and Waldren' s Ridge, and would
attack from the north-east, the cavalry was thrown out
in that direction, and, as before stated, was under the
immediate orders of General Crittenden.

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Chickamauga Campaign, J 863.

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CHAPTER XIV.
FROM AUGUST 17 TO SEPTEMBER 3, 1863.
Battle of Sparta — Occupation of Pikeville — Waldren's Ridge — Inci
dents — Fight near Smith's Cross-roads— Loyal Uprising- -Picketing
the Tennessee River—Crossing the River— Fight near Ringgold, Georgia
— Advance on Lee and Gordon's Mills — Fighting in the Pea Vine Val
ley — Information of Rebel Movements and Intentions Furnished —
Camped at Reed's Bridge, on the Chickamauga.
"To horse! To horse I Up, sabers, gleam;
High winds our bugle call ;
Combined by honor's sacred tie,
Our word is law and liberty I
March forward, one and all."
INTY' S brigade moved from McMinnville, Ten
nessee, at 2, A. M., on the 17th of August, by
the way of Sparta, on Pikeville ; situated in
the Sequatchie Valley, between the Cumberland moun
tains and Waldren's Ridge.
At 2, p. M., the advance struck Forrest's outposts two
miles from Sparta, near which a division, under General
Dibrell, was encamped. The Seventh Pennsylvania and
Fourth Michigan were crossed over, and sent up the east
side of the Calf Killer creek. Advancing rapidly up the
stream, these regiments came upon the main portion of
Dibrell' s old brigade at Sperry's Mill, which they, vigor
ously attacking, drove from their camps to the west side
of the creek, when, leaving them to be attended to by other
portions of the command, they (the Seventh Pennsylva
nia and Fourth Michigan) pushed forward rapidly, and
were soon actively engaged. The enemy scattered widely,
and the fight extended over a large extent of country ; the
(205)

206 Minty and the Cavalry.
enemy being steadily driven by these regiments through
and for some miles beyond Sparta.
Minty, taking the Fourth United States and Third In
diana, moved up the west side of the creek, but the
broken nature of the country, traversed as it was by
small creeks every few miles, made the march wearisome
and the progress comparatively slow. The rebels scattered
on this as they did on the other side, and taking advant
age of every stream and cove, fought in widely detached
skirmishing parties in a line nearly five miles long. Fight
ing in this way, from hill to hill and stream to stream, we
drove them as rapidly as was possible to Yankeetown,
over ten miles from Sparry' s Mill, when, it growing late,
the pursuit was abandoned, and gathering the command
into column, Minty marched toward Sparta, wishing to
join the other regiments and camp for the night.
About four miles from Sparta, the road he was moving
on led close to the creek, with a high wooded hill on the
opposite side. On this hill, two regiments of Dibrell' s
command, which had been cut off by the preceding ad
vance, were lying in ambush, and being protected from
immediate assault by the creek, there unf ordable, opened
a heavy fire on the column as it was marching by with
flank exposed. When the head of the column was fired
into, Colonel Minty, with Captain Burns, his A. A. A. G.,
Captain Vale, his A. A. I. G., and three orderlies, one of
whom, Corporal Hodges, was carrying the brigade battle-
flag, was riding about ten rods in advance of the Fourth
regulars, which regiment was at the head of the column.
Captain Burns said :
" Colonel, this is the first time I ever knew you to
move without an advance guard."
The colonel replied : " It is scarcely necessary — we will
go into bivouac almost immediately— but I should not do

Battle of Sparta. 207
it; a bold dash by fifty men would throw the head of the
column into confusion," and turning in his saddle, he
said to the bugler, who was riding behind him : ' ' Bailey,
give my compliments to Captain Mclntyre and request
him to send a dozen men to the front as an advance
guard." As the bugler wheeled his horse and started on the gal
lop, the volley from the men in ambush was fired at the
five men who were thus riding alone. Captain Vale had
four holes bored across his shoulders by a raking shot
from left to right, Sergeant Birch, one of the orderlies, was
shot in the thigh and his leg broken, Colonel Minty ' s horse
received three balls, and the horses of both orderlies were
killed. The last number of The Chattanooga Rebel ever pub
lished in Chattanooga, a sheet about twelve inches square,
and printed on one side only, contained the following
paragraph : "In the fight at Sparta on the 17th, the no
torious Yankee cavalry general, Minty, was killed."
When Vale read this paragraph, he said he would have
his beard shaved off so as not to be mistaken for the
"general" again ; he was willing to be shot as a captain,
but was not ambitious to figure as a dead "general."
A squadron of the Fourth United States dismounted,
engaged the rebels across the creek, and in the attempt
to cross the regiment a little to the left, one of the men
was drowned. The Seventh Pennsylvania now came up,
and the Third Indiana, crossing on the right, joined it in
an attack, and the enemy were speedily driven off. The
brigade then bivouacked for the night, it being after eight
o'clock. In the morning, no trace of the rebels could be
found, (except their dead, which the citizens were ordered
to bury,) they having retreated rapidly during the night
toward Kingston. The rebel force engaged was fifteen

208

Minty and the Cavalry.

hundred men ; Minty's force was fourteen hundred, and
operating in an unknown country, while every cow-path
was familiar to the enemy ; notwithstanding which, they
were driven from position after position, from four to
eight, p. m., a distance of fourteen miles, often at a gallop;
their horses being much fresher than ours — we had al
ready marched thirty miles that day — gave them a de
cided advantage in a stern chase.
The number captured during the day was twenty-five,
representing four different regiments, but the demoraliza
tion of their commands was such that "Dibrell officially
reports that the Eighth Tennessee alone crossed the Cum
berland mountains with less men than when he reached
Sparta." He likewise reports a loss of "eight killed and
thirty-nine wounded. ' '
The brigade lost as follows :

Killed.

Wounded.

Missing.

Total.

Regiments.

wo
O

d

B
mo

d

wo
O

ri

F-i
o
o

d

Fourth United States, .

1

335 1

4
3
Seventh Pennsylvania,
2 1
2 1
5
1
Total, 
1
3
12
3
13
In the fight, a Fourth Michigan man named Lorvin was
wounded by a ball entering the center of his chest, pass
ing obliquely through his body, and was cut out between
two ribs well back on the right side ; it was ragged and
jagged, and carried a piece of the lung with it. On the
following day, when we made our noon halt on the top
of the Cumberland mountains, as Colonel Minty was
Wonderful Recovery of Private Lorvin. 209
about to give the order, "mount," Doctor Fish said to
him: "If you can wait half an hour, you will let poor
Lorvin die in peace." The colonel sat down, and a deep
silence fell on the column ; the usual chaff and jest of the
soldier were hushed ; the word passed in whispers from
man to man that one of the gallant fellows of the Fourth
Michigan was dying. Hundreds of his comrades of all
the regiments came to the ambulance where he was lying
unconscious, looked in silence on him, and wiping the tears
from their eyes, turned quietly away. A full half hour
passed by in this way, when Doctor Fish, after examining
him a second time, said : " He is dead ; he may breathe
once or twice more, but that is all." The colonel replied :
' ' I cannot wait any longer ; I must be in the Sequatchie
valley to-night to cover the left of the army," and giv
ing the order to mount, moved forward. At the time
the column started, Lorvin was lying unconscious, his
hands cold, and presenting a mottled appearance under
the skin ; his lips blue, eyes set, pulse undistinguishable,
and breathing in gasps at about thirty seconds' intervals ;
the external hemorrhage from the wounds had ceased en-
entirely for some hours.
The author was in the same ambulance, and the road
soon getting rough, supported the soldier as well as he
could, but when it came to descending the mountain,
going, down the long flight of irregular, giant steps or
stairs, no amount of care could prevent him from being
most terribly shaken, each step' and jolt we thought
would be his last ; but when about half way down, the
author noticed a change in the appearance of his lips,
and soon after discovered that he was bleeding profusely.
It took about three hours to descend the mountain, and on
arriving at its foot, Lorvin was conscious, breathing regu
lar, pulse restored, and rallying rapidly. That evening,
14

210 Minty and the Cavalry.
at Pikeville, the colonel was called to the ambulance and
found Lorvin sitting up ! The doctor said : "Well, Lor
vin, how do you feel % " The wounded soldier replied :
"I am very hungry, doctor ; can't I have something to
eat?" and within a week was convalescent. He recov
ered rapidly, and, if living to-day, owes his almost mirac
ulous preservation to that rough bumping ride down
the Cumberland mountains. Sergeant Heywood, of the
Fourth Michigan, who was performing the duties of to
pographical engineer to Colonel Minty, was the same day,
at Sparta, shot in the knee, but refused to get into an
ambulance, saying: "It is only a scratch." His leg
inflamed ; he had to be sent to a hospital, and afterwards
use crutches for six months. Lorvin was back to his
regiment doing duty several months before Heywood' s
" scratch " healed. Besides those already noted, Captain
James F. Andress, of company G. and Captain Cyrus
Newlin, of company F, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry,
were severely, though not dangerously, wounded. The
full list of killed, wounded, and missing, in this engage
ment, will appear in the appendix.
At daylight, on the morning of the 19th, the march
was resumed, and, after a toilsome climb of six hours, the
high table land on the summit of the Cumberland moun
tains was reached about 12, m., when a halt of two hours
was had to close up the column, feed, &c. At this halt
began the decided manifestations of the Union sentiment
of the people of East Tennessee, some dozen or so of
these rugged mountaineers coming into the column from
the caves and hiding-places, where, for more than a year,
they had been ' ' lying out, ' ' to escape conscription into
the rebel armies. The column moved forward without
interruption from the rebels, who, in fact, were more afraid
to traverse that country than to meet the Union soldiers

Union People of East Tennessee. 211
in battle. The broad table land of the Summit was
passed, and after a dangerous march down the " steps"
of the southern side, the valley of the Sequatchie was
reached and Pikeville occupied about dark.
A halt of two days was ordered, and communication
opened with General Crittenden, at Jasper, by way of
Anderson's valley ; where General Reynolds, command
ing the left of Crittenden's corps, was found to be. A
scouting party under Lieutenant Ethredge, of the Fourth
United States cavalry, was also sent eastward, but failed
to open communication with General Burnside, who was
advancing upon Knoxville, but had not yet come to time.
The Union sentiment of the people was now thoroughly
aroused, and arms being procured, a full battalion of
loyal Tennesseeans quickly organized and accompanied
the brigade.
On the 21st, the column again advanced, reaching the
top of Waldren's ridge at midnight, when, again halting,
a scene of touching pathos and inspiring patriotism was
witnessed. The brigade head-quarters had halted in front
of a more than ordinarily good house, but which seemed
deserted. The colonel directed that no one should be
disturbed, but in a short time, a young woman was ob
served dodging around the out-houses, as though seek
ing either to gain entrance or escape from the house.
She was detained and questioned by the colonel ; when
a man, nearly eighty years of age, tottered into the column,
begging that he might be punished, if punishment was
to be inflicted, and his grand-daughter left go free. Af
ter assuring him that no harm was intended to either, it
was found that he mistook us for rebel soldiers, but was
still bold in the declarations of devotion to' the old flag !
It took considerable time to convince him that we were in
fact Federal soldiers ; the first that had yet entered that

212 Minty and the Cavalry.
country. He examined our brigade and regimental stand
ards with suspicion they were new and unknown to him,
but when he saw our guidons, they being small Union
flags, he was convinced, and his joy knew no bounds. He
waked up the family with the cry that the " Deliverers
had come ! " " That the United States flag was at their
doors ! ' ' &c. The family, women and children, rushed
out of the house shouting and dancing with joy, and
praising the Lord that the long-looked-f or day of the ad
vent of the National army was come.
After a while, the old man, telling the colonel not to be
surprised at anything, brought out an ordinary horn, and
gave certain peculiar toots on it. In less than five minutes,
men began to assemble, coming out of the bushes by twos
and threes, until fully fifty armed men stood in our midst !
They reported that all night, from station to station over
the mountain, our progress had been signaled, but that
they, fearing that we might be rebels — who frequently
wore our uniforms for the purpose of entrapping the peo ¦
pie — had lain quiet and simply watched our progress.
Each band of new comers repeated the scenes of extrava
gant rejoicing first witnessed, and such a hearty enthu
siastic ovation was awarded us as rarely greets the most
popular statesman or triumphant conqueror.
After a halt of several hours, the command again moved
forward, our new-found friends promising to join us in
force in a few days ; and after toiling down the moun
tain, reached the valley of the Tennessee, surprised and
captured a picket of one hundred and fifty rebels near the
foot of the mountain, and, pushing rapidly on, attacked
a couple of regiments at Smith's cross-roads; and, after a
brief contest, drove them over the Tennessee river at
Blythe's ferry.
Halting the command at Smith's cross-roads, Colonel

At Smith's Cross-Roads. 213
Minty sent the Seventh Pennsylvania to scout the country
as far down as Sales creek, and the Fourth United States
on a like duty up the river to and beyond Washington,
while a strong picket was placed at Bly the' s ferry and
other threatened points.
A few days after the brigade was established at Smith' s
cross-roads, a delegation of our friends from the moun
tain appeared at head-quarters, bringing a large United
States flag, which had been kept hidden for over two'years,
and asked permission to raise it, with public demonstra
tions, in front of Colonel Minty' s quarters. Permission
was readily granted, and the 27th of August set for the
demonstration. The news was circulated from mouth to
mouth, and on the morning of the 27th, several thousand
people, men, women, and children, gathered at the cross
roads to witness and participate in flinging to the breeze
the symbol of a restored National sovereignty. All the
soldiers not on duty were marshaled. Lieutenant Griffin,
commanding the section of artillery, placed his guns in
battery and fired a National salute, corresponding to the
whole number of States, and when the number represent
ing the State of Tennessee was reached, the old patriarch,
from the top of Waldren's Ridge, raised the flag and un
furled it, amid a scene of patriotic enthusiasm unsurpassed
in any part of the country. A public meeting was then
organized, and enthusiastic and patriotic speeches were
made to the large gathering by Captain Robbins and Lieu
tenant Griffin, of the Fourth Michigan, Captain Vale, of
the Seventh Pennsylvania, and Lieutenant Slayton, of the
 Tennessee infantry, who was in attendance as
a recruiting officer. Lieutenant Griffin' s speech from the
text ' ' Are we right ? And have we hope for the future ? ' '
was a masterly production, and gave promise at that early
day of his life of the high station to which he has since

214 Minty and the Cavalry.
attained. Colonel Minty, being repeatedly called for, re
sponded in a few terse sentences, in which he stated that
his was a fighting and not a speaking campaign, but
cheered the people in their determination to stand firm in
their devotion to the cause and flag of the Government.
More than a regiment of soldiers was enlisted as the re
sult of this demonstration.
The brigade, now consisting of the Fourth United States,
Fourth Michigan, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, and one
section Chicago Board of Trade battery, numbered eleven
hundred effectives ; [the Third Indiana cavalry, having
been, on the 19th of August, permanently detached and
assigned to duty with General Reynolds,] remained at
Smith' s cross-roads from this time until the 9th of Sep
tember. During this interval, it was busily employed in
scouting the country, and gathered up a large number of
stragglers from Bragg' s army.
On the 31st of August, a scout, consisting of two hun
dred and four men, under the command of Major Gray,
Fourth Michigan, was dispatched to the left to open com
munication with the army under General Burnside. It
returned on the 2d of September, bringing in one hun
dred and twenty prisoners, with the loss of one man mor
tally wounded. It succeeded in reaching the right of
Burnside' s forces, and entered Kingston, Tennessee, on
the evening of September 1st, which place later on the
same evening was occupied by Burnside in force. Forrest
covering the rear of the right of Bragg' s army, crossed
the river at Kingston, early in the day on the 1st, after
destroying his wagon train.
Buckner destroyed all the boats on the Tennessee river
and the Holsten, except a few which the Union men ran
up the Hiawassee, and, burning the bridges at Loudon,
retreated from Knoxville and East Tennessee on the same

Buckner Retreats from East Tennessee. 215
day, marching hastily to re-inforce Bragg, at near Chat
tanooga, Large numbers of stragglers and deserters
from both the rebel armies filled the country, eighty-
seven coming into Minty's lines in one body from the
Twenty-sixth Tennessee, of Buckner' s command. Infor
mation of the important movement of Buckner, from
Knoxville to Bragg' s army, was promptly transmitted by
Colonel Minty to General Crittenden, as Minty' s official
dispatch, of which the following is an extract, shows :
Headquarters First Brigade Second Division,
Smith's X Roads, September 2, 1863.
General • * * * * " Buckner's command has crossed
the Tennessee river at that place, (Loudon,) and are now being pushed for
ward as fast as possible towards Chattanooga. " * * * *
Tour obedient servant,
(Signed) R. H. G. Minty.
Meanwhile, Rosecrans had pushed the movement of his
army with great vigor ; having, after overcoming almost
insurmountable obstacles, thrown McCook across Look
out and Raccoon mountains, reached McLemore' s cove, in
front of Dug Gap, near Lafayette, sixty -five miles south
west of Chattanooga. On the 9th of September, Thomas
reached Trenton, twenty-eight miles nearly west, and
Crittenden crossed the river at Bridgeport, on the 3d,
and occupied Chattanooga on the 9th.
Bragg withdrew from Chattanooga on the 7th and 8th,
moving by the Lafayette road, but halting his rear wing
at Lee and Gordon's mills, fifteen miles out; threw his
advance under Hill to Lafayette, and drawing Buckner
from the banks of the Tennessee, took up a position along
the Chickamauga creek, facing north-west.
Rosecrans, now desiring to secure the corn crop in
the Chickamauga and Tennessee valleys, as well as to
seize and destroy the enemy's work-shops and arsenals,
at Rome, on the Coosa river, and under pressure of or-

216 Minty and the Cavalry.
ders from the commander-in-chief, General Halleck, de
termined on a still further advance. He accordingly di
rected McCook to march through Alpine to Summerville,
on the Lafayette and Rome road ; Thomas to cross the
Chickamauga, supporting McCook, pass the defiles of the
Pigeon mountains and threaten Lafayette, on the left ;
and Crittenden to move down the railroad by way of
Ringgold and Gordon's mills, seize Tunnel Hill and Dal-
ton. These movements led McCook by the 13th to Al
pine, Thomas to Pond Spring, in front of Stevens' Gap,
and Crittenden, who, after driving Forrest and Pegram a
short distance south of Ringgold, had moved west, to
Lee and Gordon' s mills.
On the 10th of September, Minty moved his brigade,
now numbering twelve hundred effectives, down the
north bank of the Tennessee to a point east of the mouth
of the Chickamauga ; where on the 13th he crossed the
river by fording ; and pushing rapidly forward, skirmish
ing the while with Pegram, through Grays ville, reported
to General Crittenden, at Lee and Gordon's mills, that
evening. On the 14th, he scouted across Mission Ridge
into Lookout Valley, returning early on the 15th to Lee
and Gordon' s mills, not having met an enemy. General
Crittenden ordered him to proceed immediately to the
Pea Vine valley, and to encamp at or near Leet' s cross
roads. Crossing the Chickamauga at Reed's bridge, he
moved into the Pea Vine valley, and encamped near the
Ringgold road, on the Pea Vine creek, at Peeler' s fac
tory, and sent scouts out toward Graysville, Ringgold,
Leet's, and Rocky Springs. The scouting parties, return
ing the same night, he reported to Major General Critten
den the information obtained ; to which communication
he received the following reply from Captain Oldersham,
Assistant Adjutant General, Second army corps: " The

Minty Reports Rebel Advance. 217
Major General commanding directs me to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of this 15th date, informing him
that Forrest is at Ringgold, Longstreet at Dalton, Pe
gram at Leet' s, and Buckner at Rock Springs. All this
would indicate infantry, which the major general cannot
believe. "
The information conveyed by Minty on the night of the
15th was the first intimation received by the army, or its
commander, from any source, that Bragg was re-inf orced
by Longstreet' s corps, from the army of Virginia, and
that he had turned at bay and was threatening an ad
vance, with a view of fighting a general battle for the
possession of Chattanooga, and the Tennessee river and
valley. This information, being so astonishing, and at
such complete variance with all the dispatches and orders
from Washington, and information up to that time had,
was, as plainly stated in the extract quoted, utterly dis
credited ; not only by General Crittenden, but by all the
other corps commanders. Rosecrans, while not fully
crediting the statement, took the cautionary measure of
ordering an immediate concentration of his widely scat
tered corps.
It will always be a source of wonder to the military
student, by what, and by whose stupid blunder, it was
rendered possible for an army corps of twenty thousand
men, with all its artillery and transportation, to be moved
from the rebel army of Virginia, not more than ten or fif
teen miles in front of the Federal army of the Potomac ;
over six hundred miles, to the army of Bragg, on the
banks of the Tennessee, without its absence being sus
pected, or even the movement detected, although more
than a month was actually consumed in making the trans
fer !
Had the most ordinary measures been taken to find out

218 Minty and the Cavalry.
the situation and condition of the rebel army in the East,
the absence and destination of Longstreet would have
been discovered, and the information transmitted to Rose
crans by the commander-in-chief, within one week after
he left the Federal front on the Rappahannock. It was
the more incumbent on the commander, and his chiefs in
Virginia, to be vigilant to perceive and quick to thwart
just such a movement, because the isolated and imperilled
situation of the Army of the Cumberland in its advanced
position, almost in the center of the Confederacy, was well
known. Instead of this even most obvious care, we see the com
mander-in-chief, by his repeated orders, urging the army
forward, and in testy impatience chiding General Rose
crans with tardiness of movement, without ordering a
single regiment, either from the great and victorious
armies of Meade in the East, or of Grant in the West, to
support or re-inforce him, not even allowing the army of
Grant to move inland, or make a diversion in his favor,
sitting, meanwhile, in utter ignorance and self-inflicted
blindness of the movement going on in the army of the
enemy before his very face ! Nay, more, when Buckner was
forced out of East Tennessee by the advance of Burnside' s
army, it was made known, both by Minty, and from him,
by General Rosecrans, and by General Burnside himself
to the commander-in-chief, as early as the 3d of Septem
ber, that he, Buckner, had retreated rapidly to and joined
Bragg at Lee and Gordon's Mills near Chattanooga ; yet
not a regiment or a man was sent to Rosecrans from Burn
side' s army. The presence of Buckner even was officially
denied, and the knowledge of the gross perfidy of the
rebel government in placing sixteen thousand of the
paroled prisoners Grant had captured at Vicksburg, in
Bragg' s army, without their having been exchanged,

Comments — Who Blundered? 219
was, though well known at army head-quarters in Wash
ington, withheld from Rosecrans.
What must be the judgment of the military critics on
that commander-in-chief who pushes a division not num
bering more than sixty -five thousand of all arms through
an almost impassable country, into the very center of the
enemy's lines, five hundred miles farther from its base
than other of his divisions, and then for over a month al
lows the enemy — originally equal to the attacking force —
to be re-inforced by an augmentation of ten thousand
from those surrendereed at Vicksburg, twenty thousand
from Buckner in East Tennessee, and Longstreet' s twenty
thousand from the very elate of the Army of North
ern Virginia, without sending a man or a gun to its
support ! And this while seventy thousand victorious
troops lay idle at Vicksburg, within a fifteen days' march ;
while fifty thousand efficient soldiers lay in practical idle
ness at Knoxville, but five days off, and one hundred and
fifty thousand victorious veterans lay in supineness and in
activity in Virginia, from whence, as was afterwards de
monstrated, twenty thousand men could have been moved
to reach him in seven days' time !
It was the good fortune of Minty's brigade to get and
transmit the information which, though obtained when
the impending blow was already descending, in some de
gree repaired the blunder.
On the 17th, heavy scouting parties of the rebel cavalry,
belonging to Pegram' s and Forrest' s commands, advanced
on Minty' s position at Peeler' s factory, but were promptly
met and driven off. At the same time, a more determined
attack was made on the picket stationed on the Harrison
and Lafayette road ; a road which, leading from near
Graysville to Lafayette, is nearly parallel to the Chicka
mauga at Reed's bridge, there crossing the road from

220 Minty and the Cavalry.
Peeler's factory to Lee and Gordon's Mills at right angles.
The possession of this road by the enemy would cut off
the brigade from the army, and seriously imperil it.
Minty, therefore, determined to move his camp from the
Pea Vine Valley to the cross-roads at Reed's bridge, still,
however, holding a strong force in the valley and all the
roads leading therefrom. During the day, in following
up a repulse of the rebel cavalry on the Leet's road, the
Fourth United States ran into Buckner' s infantry march
ing northward toward Ringgold, and lost one man killed
and five wounded. The presence of Buckner' s army on that
road was promptly reported to General Crittenden, who
replied in writing: "There is nothing but" dismounted
cavalry." On this day, however, the Ninth Pennsylvania
cavalry ran in like manner into Longstreet' s infantry near
Lafayette, and capturing a few, all doubt as to the pre
sence of Longstreet and the purposes of Bragg was re
moved from Rosecrans, and the immediate and rapid con
centration of the army on Crittenden ordered. McCook
was then fifty and Thomas thirty miles from Lee and
Gordons' Mills !
Constant skirmishing occurred on all the roads leading
out of the Pea Vine Valley. General Steadman pushed
a reconnoissance from Rossville to Graysville, and beyond,
but not going as far as Ringgold, did not develop the
enemy. Colonel Wilder' s brigade of mounted infantry,
with four pieces of artillery, took a position on the west
side of the Chickamauga at Alexander' s bridge, above or
south of Minty, and on attempting to scout the country
beyond or in front of the position, was resisted, and the
scouting parties driven in. Thus it will be seen that the
only Union force beyond the Chickamauga, from its source
to its mouth, on the evening of the 17th, was Minty's bri
gade at Reed's bridge and the Pea Vine Valley.

CHAPTER XV.
FROM SEPTEMBER 17 TO OCTOBER I, 1863.
Battle of Chickamauga — Description of the Field — Position of the
Armies — Minty's Battle of Reed's Bridge — Frustrates Bragg's
Plan — Repulse of the Enemy — Battle of the 19th — The Right
Wing Broken on the 20th— Minty's Fight on 21st at Mission Mills —
Battle at Rossville Gap on 23d —Guarding the Tennessee River from
24th to October 1st.
''And forth where Chickamauga sends its blinding smoke
From belching guns and screeching shells, 'mid moans of dying men,
Or Chattanooga's horrid fray, where rivers ran with blood,
Till sorrrowing angels prayed such scenes might never be again.
*****
'"Tis well to pause and ponder on heroic deeds,
And with the hero thrill in sympathy ;
'Tis well to honor those whom Honor's self has crowned,
And teach our youth the price of liberty.''
[From the poem of welcome to the Ninth Pennsylvania cavalry, in Car
lisle, Pa., June 11, 1885, by Miss Zate Longsdorf, daughter of Major Longs-
dorf, of that regiment.] BRIEF description of the topography of the
county, and some of the more prominent roads
in the valley of the Chickamauga, is here
deemed proper. Starting from Chattanooga southward,
the first prominent land-mark is Mission Ridge, an off
shoot of the lofty Lookout mountain. This ridge is about
four hundred feet high, and extends in rather semi-circu
lar form, from a point nearly south-west to south-east, at
an average distance of five miles from Chattanooga. It
descends slightly at each end, being bounded on the west
ern by Lookout creek and valley, and on the eastern by
the Chickamauga creek. Along the Chickamauga creek,
from the ridge proper to the Tennessee river, is a succes-
(221)

222 Minty and the Cavalry.
sion of lower hills or billow-like undulations, cut by ra
vines running east and west. These hills form the eastern
rim of the Chattanooga valley. Mission Ridge is wooded
and steep on its northern face, rising abruptly from the
valley ; on its southern face, the descent is gradual, with
a hilly country to Lee and Gordon's Mills. Through the
ridge, are three principal roads ; first, the Georgia Central,
railroad, which, after skirting along its northern face,
passes through a defile on the east, crosses the Chicka
mauga at a bridge and station of that name. Near the
railroad, and passing through the same defile, is the wagon-
road to Grays ville and Ringgold. After passing the defile,
numerous roads branch off, leading up the west side of
the creek, in almost every direction. Second, the main
Chattanooga and Lafayette wagon-road, which crosses
the ridge at a depression near its western end, at Ross
ville, six miles from Chattanooga. After crossing the
ridge, the main road bears off south-east about two miles
from Rossville, when, after crossing Spring creek, it leads
south to Lee and Gordon's Mills, where it crosses the
Chickamauga creek. At Rossville, a rough mountain
road leads south, winding along a series of foot-hills, off
shoots of Mission Ridge, and joins the main road about a
mile north of the mills. By either of these roads, the
distance from Chattanooga to Lee and Gordon's Mills is
about sixteen miles.
Just west of the mills, and up the Chickamauga, the
outlying hills of Mission Ridge break in on the valley of
the Chickamauga, approaching to within less than half, a
mile of the creek, and forming a little cove or valley
called Crawfish cove, beyond which, still further west,
and entered from the east by a narrow defile, is the com
paratively extensive valley of the Upper Chickamauga,
called McLemore' s cove. This is inclosed on the north

Rebel Plan of Attack. 223
and north-west by the Lofty Sand mountain, and on the
south and south-east by the Pigeon hills.
The Chickamauga creek, from the Pigeon mountains,
flows in a general north-easterly direction through McLe
more' s cove, close to the base of the hills, to Lee and
Gordon's Mills, whence, bending sharply north, it winds
in an irregular serpentine course, slightly east of north,
to the Tennessee river, seven miles east of Chattanooga.
It is in general a sluggish stream, about ten feet deep and
from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty yards wide,
with either steep and rocky, or low, swampy banks.
East of the Chickamauga, ten miles from Chattanooga,
on the railroad is Ringgold, fourteen miles north-east of
Lee and Gordon's Mills, while eighteen miles further down
the railroad is Dalton, about sixteen miles a little south
east of the mills. Lafayette, as already stated, is forty-
five miles distant from Chattanooga, and about twenty-
eight miles a little west of south from the mills. About
a mile and a half down the creek from the mills is Dalton' s
ford. About three miles distant is Alexander's bridge.
About five miles lower down is Reed's bridge, and about
eight miles also northward is Dyre's ford. A good road
extends from the mills to Ringgold, by way of Reeds2
bridge, and Peelers' factory, in the Pea Vine valley,
while from Dalton, by way of Leet's and Rock Springs,
and from Lafayette, good roads extend to all the fords
and bridges crossing the creek.
Bragg, whose army re-inforced, as before stated, now
numbered over eighty thousand of the best fighting vet
erans in the Confederacy, on the 17th moved Longstreet
from Lafayette north and east, to occupy and hold the
passes into McLemore' s cave, only a few miles from
Thomas ; Hill to a point opposite, and three miles south
east of Lee and Gordon's Mills ; Polk to, and within a

224 Minty and the Cavalry.
mile of Dalton' s ford, and Buckner to Ringgold, with
Hood's division of Longstreet' s corps, opposite Alexan
der's bridge. About two hundred of Forrest's cavalry
moved with Buckner.
It was Bragg' s intention to move Buckner and Forrest
from Ringgold and Leet's, at 3 o'clock in the morning, of
the 18th, and sweeping away all opposition, cross Reed's
bridge, by 8, A. m. , at which hour Hood was to cross Alex
ander' s bridge ; the combined force then to seize the Chat
tanooga and Lafayette road, north of Lee and Gordon's
Mills, and attack Crittenden' s left at the Vineyard house ;
while Polk, crossing at Dalton' s ford, and at the mills,
attacked him in front ; thus crush him before noon ; and
then turning on Thomas, overwhelm him by a left, front,
and right assault from the whole army before night ;
leaving McCook forty miles away to be dealt with at
leasure. With these digressions, we return to the brigade en
camped at Reed' s bridge.
Minty had sent, during the night of the 17th, almost
hourly, dispatches to Crittenden, stating that train after
train was arriving at Ringgold from the South, but with
out receiving other reply than that ' 'the rebel army is re
treating, and are trying to get away some of their aban
doned stores ; they have nothing but dismounted cavalry
in your front. "
Being, however, fully convinced of the correctness of
his information, Minty had the men quietly aroused
before daylight, the horses fed, and the men directed to
prepare and eat their breakfasts ; and at daylight had the
horses saddled, the artillery harnessed, and the baggage
loaded up.
At 5, A. m., of the 18th, he sent one hundred men of
the Fourth United States towards Leet's, and one hun-

Opening the Battle of Chickamauga. 225
dred from the Fourth Michigan and Seventh Pennsylva
nia toward Ringgold. At 6, A. m., couriers arrived from
both, stating that the enemy was advancing in force.
Strengthening his pickets on the Lafayette road, he moved
with the Fourth United States and Fourth Michigan, and
a section of artillery, east about a mile and a half to a
ridge overlooking the Pea Vine Valley ; dispatching cour
iers at the same time to General Granger, at Rossville ;
Colonel Wilder, at Alexander' s bridge ; General Wood,
commanding the left of Crittenden' s corps at the mills,
and to General Crittenden, at Crawfish Spring. The rebel
infantry, in strong force, with long lines of cavalry flank
ers, advanced steadily, and drove the skirmishers back to
the foot of the Pea Vine Ridge, when the artillery, open
ing on the head of the infantry column, caused them to
halt and form line of battle, amid heavy skirmishing.
While thus employed in contesting their advance, his
attention was called to a heavy column of dust moving
from the direction of Graysville and Ringgold toward
Dyre's ford, and on inspection, a column of infantry,
miles in length, was seen by means of an ordinary field-
glass, marching steadily toward the ford. He sent a
courier to Colonel Wilder, asking him to send a force to
the ford to cover his left, and being pressed in front and
left flank, fell back to a position immediately covering
Reed' s bridge. Colonel Miller, with two regiments and a
couple of pieces of artillery from Wilder' s command here
reporting, was directed to occupy and hold the ford.
The brigade being now together, all the pickets, except
on the Lafayette road being in, Minty ordered an advance
and drove the rebel infantry over the ridge and back into
the Pea Vine valley. The rebels now formed a continu
ous line, crescent-shaped, reaching from the creek above
Dyre's ford across the ridge into the Pea Vine valley,
15

226 Minty and the Cavalry.
and numbered between seven and ten thousand men ; fif
teen regimental stands of colors being visible, and ad
vancing with determination, drove the brigade steadily
across the ridge and toward the bridge.
Minty now directed Captain Vale, brigade inspector, to.
move the baggage across the creek, and Lieutenant Grif
fin to form his artillery with one squadron of the Fourth
United States cavalry as support, into an ambush behind
some bushes, near the bank ; and moving the remainder
of the Fourth United States across the bridge, formed it
on the high ground immediately west of the creek ; held
the Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth Michigan in line to
check any on-rush of the rebel force.
The rebels followed promptly, breaking into column,
and emerged from the gap but a few hundred yards
from the bridge, before the Fourth United States
began to cross. Lieutenant Griffin opened on them with
canister, from the ambush, checking their advance, and,
as they were deploying, the Seventh Pennsylvania and
Fourth Michigan delivered a terrific saber charge, riding
into the thronging masses of their infantry, and hewing
them down by the score ; drove their center back to the
ridge and through the gap. Their right wing, however,
moving up the creek, had now approached to within two
hundred yards of the bridge, and their artillery fire, sweep
ing the entire space from Mrs. Reed' s house to it, left no
alternative but an immediate retreat, if, indeed, retreat
was possible. For several moments it looked as though
the whole brigade east of the creek would be captured or
annihilated ; the enemy was swarming again by thou
sands through the gap, pressing in a long, compact line,
supported by heavy columns, up the creek, their artillery
raking every foot of space between the little line of
mounted men in blue and the bridge, as well as that ave-

Battle of Reed's Bridge. 227
nue of escape itself ; and the less than one thousand
horsemen, circled in a thin, scant line, confined to a space
not more than two hundred yards in greatest diameter.
Minty directed the Fourth Michigan to form in column
of twos ; four horses could not move abreast across the
bridge, and withdrew it at a trot across the narrow, rick
ety affair, the Seventh Pennsylvania followed quickly
in the same order, while one squadron of the Fourth
United States, which had been supporting the artillery,
being in great danger of capture, before the Seventh
could clear the bridge, wheeled, and by a most daring and
desperate saber charge, cleared sufficient space and gained
sufficient time to cover the crossing of the Seventh Penn
sylvania, and make good their own retreat. Not only
that, but the gallant commander of the squadron, Lieuten
ant Wirt Davis, halted with a few of his men, while on
the bridge, though it was then raked by every discharge
from the rebel artillery, and tearing up the rails and
boards composing the flooring, rendered it, for the time
being, impassable. The artillery had meanwhile been
crossed near the bridge, where the creek was supposed to
be unfordable, and one squadron of the Fourth Michigan,
under Lieutenant Simpson, being on picket duty on the
Harrison and Lafayette road, south of Reed' s bridge, was
cut off, and only escaped capture by swimming the creek.
Minty now formed line on the high ground west of the
creek, and disputed the passage for over two hours, hold
ing the whole rebel force in check the while. A large
body, however, moved up the east side, and joining
Hood's division at Alexander's bridge, forced Colonel
Wilder, about three o'clock, to fall back. Minty had,
soon after crossing, sent Captain Vale toward Gordon's
Mills with the wagon train and guard, with instructions
to select ground where a stand could be made, place such

228 Minty and the Cavalry.
forces as might be sent to him into position, and report
to him from time to time any movement occurring on his
flank or rear ; about half past four, p. m., he received from
Captain Vale this dispatch : " Colonel Wilder has fallen
back from Alexander's bridge; he is retreating toward
Gordon's Mills, and the enemy is crossing the river at all
points in force."
Colonel Miller was now called in from Dyre's ford, and
Minty fell back to Jack's saw-mill, where a second stand
was made for over an hour, when, being completely out
flanked, he was driven steadily, the rebels advancing in
in line, as the country was open, to the Vineyard House,
near Lee and Gordon's Mills, where he joined the left di
vision of Crittenden's force at dark. Without waiting to
report, Colonel Minty immediately dismounted his com
mand, and forming on the right of Colonel Wilder' s bri
gade, thus extended the line from the Chickamauga
creek to the Vineyard House on the Chattanooga road.
After placing the brigade in position, Minty reported to
General Crittenden near Gordon's Mills. He there found
General Thomas Wood in command. General Wood was
writing, and looking up, said: "Colonel, I had just re
ported to General Rosecrans that your brigade was cut
off and captured." Colonel Minty said : "What grounds
had you for making such a report, General % My brigade
is now covering your position." General Wood added a
postscript to his dispatch, stating that " Minty's brigade
had just come in."
Minty had been doing his best for two days to convince
General Crittenden that Bragg' s army was practically
massed in front of our left rear, and that he was re-in
forced by Longstreet from the army of Virginia, but had
been scoffed and jeered at for his pains. Crittenden, in
denying the correctness of Minty' s information, had said

Incidents at Lee and Gordon's Mills. 229
to General Rosecrans : " General, I can whip every rebel
within twenty miles of us with my own corps." General
Wood, as well as the other officers of the corps, shared
Crittenden's disbelief in the presence of the enemy. An
incident which occurred just at dark will serve to show
how little credence was placed in the repeated dispatches
of Minty that a battle was impending. After moving the
baggage train inside the infantry lines, Captain Vale rode
to the front, and meeting the brigade, then, falling back,
between Jack's saw-mill and the Vineyard House, was
ordered by Minty to repair at once to General Crittenden
and notify him of the near approach of the rebel army,
no reply having been received to his numerous dispatches
during the day. The captain found Crittenden in com
pany of General Wood and Colonel Wilder at the Vine
yard House on the Chattanooga road, and delivered the
message. Crittenden asked in reply, ' ' Who is it that is
coming ? What have you been fighting out there ? ' ' The
captain replied: " Buckner' s corps, Hood's division of
infantry and artillery, and some of Forrest's cavalry."
Crittenden scoffed at the idea, and said : ' ' Wilder here, ' '
turning to him, ' ' has come in with the same outlandish
story ; there is nothing in this country except Pegrams'
dismounted, and Forrest's mounted cavalry, with a few
pieces of artillery ; they have been firing on me all day,
but could not cross the creek." About that time Colonel
Minty rode up and reported, and Crittenden said : "Well,
Wood, as Wilder has been chased in from Alexander's
and Minty from Reed's bridges, I suppose we will have to
get ready for a little brush." Wood, ordering a brigade
of infantry to follow, moved to the line where Wilder's
and Minty's men were already skirmishing. Wood said :
"Well. Wilder, where is the enemy ?" Wilder answered:
' ' Ride forward, General, ten paces, and you will see for

230 Minty and the Cavalry.
yourself." Just then the infantry brigade came up, and
filing past Wilder's left, formed line in front, and, as it
passed by, General Crittenden .added as a supplement to
General Wood's orders, addressing the colonel command
ing it, but with a grimace toward Wilder : "And, Colonel,
we expect to hear a good reportfrom you." Wood laughed
cheerfully at the implied compliment, Wilder swore in an
undertone, and Minty gritted his teeth. The infantry
brigade entered the woods, deployed, advanced a few
paces beyond the skirmish line, when it was assailed by
a most tremendous discharge of musketry in the front
and on both flanks, and breaking in pieces, it rushed back
over Wilder's and Minty's men in utter rout and disor
ganized panic. Wilder turned to Crittenden and said,
addressing Minty with grim humor : ' ' Well, Colonel
Minty, the general has got his report, ' ' and without wait
ing for orders, he and Minty dashed forward to the line
of their men, shouting, "Attention! Forward, seven-
shooters!" while Wood, exclaiming, "By gad, they are
here ! " wheeled his horse and galloped off toward Gor
don's Mills. The long rebel line was now within thirty
yards of the rail barricades behind which Wilder and
Minty had sheltered their men, who now opened with their
their repeating Spencer rifles, (called seven-shooters,) a
continuous, well-sustained fire, and succeeded, after about
two hours' fighting, in repelling the attack. The position
thus successfully held was maintained by these brigades
the whole night, and until they were relieved by General
Palmer's division at four o'clock the next morning.
For this repulse at dark, on the evening of the 18th,
General Wood, in most of the accounts of the battle of
Chickamauga, receives mild credit ; couched in about
these terms : ' ' Wood repulsed a feeble attack of the
rebels late on the evening of the 18th, " &c, but while

. Importance of the Cavalry Fight. 231
the engagement was in front of Wood's left, the attack
was in point of fact repulsed, so far as any repulse was
had, by Colonel Wilder's brigade of mounted infantry,
and Minty's brigade of cavalry, fighting dismounted.
Van Cleave' s division came up at the close of the fight,
and, forming on the left, the commands lay on their arms
all night.
The importance of this day' s operations of Minty' s and
Wilder' s brigades can only be appreciated by remember
ing that it was Bragg' s intention to have thrown Buck
ner, Hood, Walker, Forrest, and Pegram on Crittenden's
left flank, in determined assault as early as 8 or 10 o' clock,
on the morning, when Polk' s whole corps was to over
whelm him in an assault from the front or south ; and
having disposed of him, pen Thomas up in McLemore' s
cove, thus defeating the army in detail. The plan mis
carried, not, as alleged by Bragg in his report, on account
of the tardiness of Polk, but because Buckner did not
succeed in crossing Reed's bridge until nearly 4, p. M.,
instead of 8, a. m., as expected. Buckner moved on
time, and at 6, A. m. , was within a mile of the bridge, but
the persistent fighting and daring charges of Minty's men,
of which the one hundred and two rebel graves at Reed's
bridge are to-day mute, but undeniable witnesses, com
pelled him to fight a long, determined battle before
crossing ; and to slow, cautious movements, with fre
quent halts and deployments in his after-progress ; so
hampered and delayed his march, that there was no
"sweeping up the creek, " and prevented the blow that
was planned to fall on Crittenden, when in self-inflicted
blindness he was laughing, in fancied security, at the de
monstrations of "dismounted cavalry" along his front
from falling.
The same persistent resistance and bold tactics on the

232 Minty and the Cavalry.
part of Wilder embarrassed and delayed Walker and
Hood at Alexander's bridge, and though Walker suc
ceeded in dislodging Wilder, and saving the bridge at
about 1, p. m., yet he did not rush in to the attack un
til Buckner' s advance cleared his right. Minty says in
his report: "With less than eleven hundred men, the
old First brigade had disputed the advance of seven thou-
"sand, from 7 o'clock in the morning, until 5 o'clock in
the evening, and during that time fell back only five
miles. "
Forrest, in his ' ' Campaigns, ' ' says, page 313 : ' 'John
son (of Buckner' s command) was in motion early on
Friday morning, 18th, with four brigades, four thousand
three hundred bayonets, and twelve guns. Forrest cov
ered this column in front and right flank, and came in
contact with the Federal cavalry at Keeler' s Mill, on Pea
Vine creek. Swiftly dismounting his men, a sharp skir
mish took place ; but Johnson pressing up and throwing
forward his skirmishers, the enemy were swept back to
Reed' s bridge, where another sharp affair, with severe loss
occurred before the bridge was seized ; and the infantry
began to cross about 3, p.m." He also, on page 314, says
that ' ' Law and Robertson' s brigades had come up from
Ringgold, and that Major General Hood had joined at
Reed's bridge. " The whole force thus employed in
driving in Wilder and Minty was over sixteen thousand
men. Polk stood idle all day waiting for the attack on
Crittenden's left, which never came.
From all which it will be seen that the minutes of fight
ing were worth hours, and each individual casualty in
Minty and Wilder's brigades worth hundreds of men to
Rosecrans' army, that 18th of September, 1863. Yet in
the histories of the campaign and battle, the whole mat
ter is ignored as though it had never occurred ; in order

Incident of Horror. 233
that the willful blindness of a favorite corps commander
may not be made manifest.
An incident of tragic horror occurred at Reed's bridge,
which, while not witnessed by the author personally, was
narrated with such circumstantial minuteness, by eye
witnesses at the time, as leaves no doubt of its truth.
On the Harrison Lafayette road, about one hundred and
fifty yards from the bridge, stood the house of Mrs. Reed,
near which Colonel Minty had his head-quarters. The
family consisted of herself and two or three small chil
dren. She seemed to be in fair circumstances, and all her
provisions, house, and premises were carefully protected
during our stay. She was a quiet, modest lady, unobtru
sive and of fair intelligence, much respected, and treated
with esteem by the colonel and staff officers. When, on
the morning of the 18th, it became evident that we, being
forced back from Pea Vine Ridge, would have a hard fight
at the bridge, the colonel, in the midst of his pressing
duties, rode up to the house, informed her of the fact
that a desperate battle would take place around her, and
urged her, in the strongest terms, to take her children
across the creek out of danger. She most determinedly
and emphatically refused, said she was not afraid, and
that not only would she not leave the house, but that
she would resist any effort to take her away by force.
Various staff officers, also, entreated her, if not on her
own, on account of her children, to take them and go at
least to the picket post up the Lafayette road ; but with
out avail, she would not go, nor would she remain inside
the house, but was continually out viewing the scene.
When the rebel line had been driven back over the
ridge, the colonel again urged her to run away from the
house, and on her refusing, as before, ordered her, in per
emptory tones, to "stay inside the house." The house

234 Minty and the Cavalry.
was a strong one, built of logs, but had no cellar. This
she promised to do, but when our lines were driven back
by the final advance of the rebels, she rushed out to the
road, shouting, ' ' You Yanks are running ! Our army is
coming! Our friends will not hurt me," &c, seemingly
crazed with excitement ; just then a rebel battery, get
ting into a position to sweep, with an enfilading fire, the
space from the bridge to the Lafayette road, opened fire
not more than two hundred yards away, using either can
ister or spherical case ; and at the first discharge, some
of their missiles struck and laid her a mangled corpse in
front of her door. What became of her children we
never learned. The colonel, when informed of her tragic
fate, deeply regretted not having had her forcibly re
moved, which he intended doing, but the rapid advance
of the enemy in their final attack gave him no opportu
nity. The author gives this on the statement of a num
ber who claim to have been eye witnesses, but has not the
means of either verifying or contradicting it.
On the morning of the 19th, the brigade was relieved
by General Palmer's division, and moved to the west of
the Vineyard house, the men and horses were fed, for the
first time within twenty-four hours. About 10, a. m.,
the battle being then on, and in full tide, Minty was or
dered to the left in rear of the line to protect the trains
of the army moving into Chattanooga, camping that night
at Rossville.
During the forenoon of the 20th, Minty, under orders
from General Granger, was posted at the ford of the
Chickamauga, near Missionary Mills, and sent strong
patrols to Chickamauga station and Graysville, without
meeting the enemy. From this he was recalled, in the
afternoon, by General Granger, and directed to occupy
his, Granger's, position on the Ringgold and Rossville

Minty Defeats Scott's Brigade. 235
road ; Granger marching immediately to the assistance of
General Thomas.
• Pushing forward toward Red House bridge, Minty came
in collision with Scott' s brigade, about one thousand five
hundred strong, and after about an hour' s fighting, drove
them across the creek, with considerable loss. The bri
gade remained in this position during the night, with
strong pickets at Red House bridge. Although the night
was very cold, and we had no fires, every man remained in
position, sitting on the ground bridle in hand ; we were
chilled and miserable, feeling that the army had been de
feated, and that our only chance to regain the field was
the timely arrival of Burnside, with the Ninth corps, from
Knoxville. About daybreak, on the 21st, cheering was heard away
to our rear, near Rossville. Every man sprang to his feet,
all feeling that Burnside had come, and we could whip
the enemy yet. The misery of the night was forgotten,
the blood coursed through our veins once more, and we
felt bright and cheerful, hopeful of the issue of the con
flict. Colonel Minty sent a couple of orderlies to Rossville to
learn the cause. They soon returned with the dishearten
ing news that General Thomas, whose left we supposed
we were supporting and covering, had fallen back during
the night, and was then in position at Rossville Gap, over
two miles in our rear ! As soon as reports came in from
the pickets, stating that all was quiet, Colonel Minty gal
loped back to Rossville and reported his position. Gen
eral Thomas said, in quite a grave manner, ' ' You should
not be there." Minty replied, "lam aware of that, gen
eral, but there I am, and the question is what is the best
for me to do ? " After a moment, General Thomas said,
" Well, as you are there, delay the advance of the enemy

236 Minty and the Cavalry.
as much as possible, give me all the time you can to pre
pare for them."
By 7, a. M., the enemy were discovered advancing on
Mission Mills, Ringgold, and Dyre's Ford roads. The
country was rough and hilly ; we made a strong show of
resistance at every available point, and did not allow
Bragg to strike General Thomas' position until after
noon. A detailed account of the battle of Chickamauga, with
the movements of the various organizations sharing in its
glories and its horrors, is not within the scope of this
work, but a few pages can properly be devoted to outlin
ing its prominent features.
Bragg, though foiled in his grand scheme of attacking
and cutting Rosecrans' army to pieces, in detail on the
18th, determined to extend his right, on the 19th, and,
overlapping the Federal left, crush it in, and seizing the
Chattanooga and Lafayette roads, north of Lee and Gor
don's Mills, plant his army finally between Rosecrans and
Chattanooga, thus compassing his del eat and consequent
destruction. lie, therefore, during the night of the 18th, brought up
his forces, pushed Polk's whole corps across the creek at
Dalton and Tod ford's fords, and Alexander's bridge, and
moving Buckner and Walker, with Forrest and Pegram,
to Jacks' saw-mill, thence westward, formed his line a
short distance east of the main Chattanooga, road, and
commenced the attack with his extreme right at about
10, A. M., of the 19th. During the, whole of that day,
assault after assault was delivered on the left of Rose
crans' army, which, with the constant extension of the
rebel right, necessitated a corresponding augmentation
and extension of his left. To effect this, Thomas, who
arrived at Lee and Gordon's Mills about 11, A. m., was

Battle of September 19th. 237
immediately formed on the left of Crittenden, slightly
east and nearly parallel with the Lafayette road ; and
later in the day, about 1, p. m., McCook, who had just
come upon the ground after a night and half day's con
stant marching, during which he covered nearly fifty
miles, was likewise dispatched, with the greater part of
his corps, to the left of Thomas.
About 1, p. m., Thomas, thus re-inforced by Johnson's
division, of McCook' s corps, advanced, in conjunction
with Palmer's division, of Crittenden's corps, and drove
Walker' s corps and Landell' s and Armstrong' s divisions,
of Bragg' s army, back almost to Reed's bridge.
About 4, p. m. , Hood, with a part of Longstreet' s corps
and three of Hill's divisions, advanced directly on the
line in front of the Vineyard house, and succeeded in
penetrating it ; passed over, and half a mile west of the
Chattanooga road and nearly to the mountain road at Mr.
Glenn's house. Here around a hill Rosecrans massed
about forty pieces of artillery, and opened on the dense
masses of the enemy with terrific effect, while the por
tions of the severed line forming on each side poured a
destructive fire of musketry into their ranks. In less than
an hour, the whole rebel force, seven divisions, was torn
to pieces, and driven back with a loss of over sixty per
cent. , to, and beyond, or east of the main Chattanooga
road, and the line reestablished. About 6, p. m., Rose
crans advanced his whole left and center, and by desper
ate fighting drove the whole right and center of Bragg
east of the road to and beyond Jack's saw-mill, and
almost to Reed's and Alexander's bridges ; and held the
ground until night closed the contest. Rosecrans had
now cleared the way for his army to Chattanooga, and
Bragg had failed in the effort to cut him off, and the bat
tle of the day closed with the advantage in favor of the

238 Minty and the Cavalry.
former in having repulsed the assaults and held his
ground. During the night, Rosecrans moved his right some miles
north and westward, and extended his left so as to cover
the approaches to Chattanooga from the direction of Gor
don's Mills, thus planting his army on the first foot-hills
of Mission Ridge, and facing it generally south-east ; dur
ing the 19th, the army had fought facing generally east.
The battle was resumed early on the 20th, by determined
and persistent assaults on the left, as on the day before.
During the whole forenoon, and up to 4 o'clock in the
afternoon, Bragg dashed his forces, wave after wave,
against Rosecrans' left, commanded by the steadfast
Thomas, only to be hurled in disordered masses from that
front ; but, in the terrific fighting required to hold the
position, the left and center were badly depleted, and re
inforcements had to be constantly sent to that quarter, •
which necessitated either a weakening or shortening of
the line on the right and right center. Rosecrans ordered
a constant closing of ranks toward the left ; in one of
these movements, Wood was ordered to ' ' close with his
division on Brannon's right and support him;" but an
other division, under orders to move to Thomas, not hav
ing yet marched, Wood decided that the quickest way to
reach Brannon was to withdraw his division, and march
in rear of the line, to the position designated. This with
drawal, and the movement of the division next on the right
of Brannon, left a gap in the line between Thomas and
McCook of nearly a mile. It so occurred, that just at this
hour, Bragg, despairing of defeating the left under Thomas,
directed Longstreet, who commanded the left wing of his
army, to assail the right and center of Rosecrans. Long-
street, moving forward, pushed his leading divisions
through the gap, and McCook, being assailed in front and

Defeat of the Right Wing, September 20th. 239
left fiank, was defeated, and driven from the field, retreat
ing over Mission Ridge into Chattanooga.
Granger, with the reserves, four thousand in number,
moved from Rossville, and formed on Thomas' right; when
the whole rebel army, for more than four hours, surged
around the position of Thomas, assaulting him on the
left, front, and right simultaneously. The battle swayed
and roared around the crescent-shaped lines of Thomas,
until night put an end to the conflict, but Thomas held
his position without giving an inch of ground, and re
pulsed, with great slaughter, every assault of the enemy.
He here justly earned the sobriquet of "The Rock of
Chickamauga," and won for himself the lasting gratitude
of the army and the Nation. It is true he had with him
more than two thirds of the army, but this detracts noth
ing from, but rather adds to, his glory in holding his posi
tion, and inflicting on the enemy a terrible defeat, after
finding his comrades in arms driven from the field and
himself left to act on his own responsibility. During
the night, Thomas withdrew to Rossville, and the morn
ing of the 21st found him in line facing the foe. He held
his position that day, and on the 22d, marched to Chat
tanooga. As we have seen, the retreat of Thomas left Minty on
the morning of the 21st, two miles in front of his new
line. The rebel advance being held in check until nearly
night, he was ordered to send the Fourth United States
to Rossville, and with the remainder of the brigade, he
moved to the left, guarding the passes of the ridge on that
flank. On the morning of the 22d, the Fourth United
States was attacked at Rossville, and Minty moved the
Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth Michigan to its sup
port, and was soon engaged in a desperate conflict. The
rebels advanced in force in front and on both flanks, driv-

240

Minty and the Cavalry.

ing him, with heavy loss, back almost to the top of the
Rossville pass. The principal loss fell on the Seventh
Pennsylvania, which here bore the brunt of the conflict.
Captain D. G. May, of K company, was here killed ; First
Lieutenant Bernard Reilly, Jr., of F company, wounded,
and thirty men of the regiment either killed or wounded.
The rebels did not press their advantage, and Minty re
tired to Chattanooga, where he arrived about 7, p. m.
Thus, to Minty belongs the credit of having opened and
closed the great battle of Chickamauga. On the 23d, the
Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth Michigan worked in
the trenches in front of Chattanooga, and on the 24th,
crossed the Tennessee and camped on Opossum creek,
picketing the Tennessee river from Washington to Sandy
Shoals. Minty states in his official report, under date of De
cember 26, 1863, ' ' that the entire loss in the brigade from
the day he was attacked at Pea Vine creek until he
crossed the Tennessee river, on the 24th, was one hundred
killed, wo.unded, and missing;" that the " missing was six
from having been captured, and two not accounted for. ' '
That during that time he "took from the enemy four
hundred and thirty-nine in prisoners alone." The tabu
lated list of casualties (certainly not full) is as follows :

Killed.

Wounded.

Missing.

Total.

Regiments.

w t-.<x>
O 1

a
CD

CDO
m

aCD

«3CDa
o

CD 1

COO
ao 2 1

a
CD

Fourth United States, .
Seventh Pennsylvania,

54 1

ii

14 1411

20 18

3

15

Total, 

1

10

2

39

4

3

53

Honorably Mentioned — Comments. 241
The officers commended in Minty's report are "Lieu
tenant Wirt Davis, Fourth United States cavalry, for gal
lantly covering the retreat across Reed's bridge, and per
forming his duty in a uniformly satisfactory manner."
"Lieutenant Simpson, Fourth Michigan cavalry, for
saving his picket after being cut off, and bringing it in
without loss, by swimming the creek. ' '
In support of the position taken in the text, that Minty' s
brigade warded off the crushing blow descending on Crit
tenden and Thomas on the 18th, which, if delivered as
contemplated, must have been disastrous to the army,
the following extract from Bragg' s order, for the opera
tions of that day, is inserted :
[circular.]
" Head-quarters Army of Tennessee,
In the Field, Leet's Tan-tard, September 18, 1863.
I. Johnson's column, (Hood's,) on crossing at, or near Reed's bridge,
will turn to the left by the most practicable route, and sweep up the Chick
amauga towards Lee and Gordon's Mills.
II. Walker, on crossing at Alexander's bridge, will unite in this move,
and push vigorously on the enemy's flank and rear in the same direction.
III. Buckner, crossing at Telford's ford, will join in the movement to
the left, and press the enemy up the stream from Polk's front, at Lee and
Gordon's Mills.
IV. Polk will press his forces to the front of Lee and Gordon's Mills.
(Signed) G. W. Brant,
A. A. 67.
An officer of considerable experience and rank, and
who has made the movements of the armies in many
fields a special study, writing to General Minty since the
war, and since the facts, movements, and military condi
tions of both armies on that day have been fully made
known, says : "It will, I think, be seen that you held
on that day, September 18th, the key of the position, the
left of the army, and so successfully that the rebels'
plan was frustrated. It cost General Thomas thousands
16

242 Minty and the Cavalry.
of men to maintain it, persistently fought for on two days.
Had the rebels succeeded early on the morning of the
18th, in taking Reed's bridge, not only Colonel Wilder,
but the whole army, would have been seriously compro
mised. I am sure, had General Rosecrans known all the
facts, he would have added the 18th to the number of
days, ' the army could not have dispensed ' with the
cavalry. ' ' The more I consider the facts concerning the situation
of the army and learn of the rebel's, the prouder I am of
your glorious services. Ord says of the Hood campaign
in Middle Tennessee, ' Preston' s division effected an un
obstructed passage at Huntsville, ' &c. Not so with
Johnson and Walker, at Reed' s and Alexander' s bridges.
Without them there was no ' sweeping up the Chicka
mauga and vigorously pressing the enemy's flank and
rear, ' and, when the passage was effected, your persist
ent presence and line of retreat made the rebels fear to
'turn to the left,' and so expose you to their flank and
tear. It was not cavalry you were fighting, as Bragg' s
order proves * * * On the whole, colonel,
while you have earned many laurels, at no time can I
find you doing such valuable services to the army of the
Cumberland as on the 18th of September, 1863. "
(For full list of casualties, see appendix. )

a ¦'^^¦¦i ¦-> ¦¦ ¦  i n 11 n o

v  ¦ ¦» ¦¦ ¦¦ " " " ¦»

CHAPTER XVI.
FROM OCTOBER 4 TO NOVEMBER 17, 1863
Wheeler's Raid — Fight at Cottonport — Battle Near McMinnville —
Battle Near Farmington — Minty Under Arrest — Defeat of Wheel
er at Sugar Creek, Alabama — Colonel Low in Command — First and
Third Brigades Consolidated — First Brigade Dismounted — Re-enlist
as Veterans — Fourth United States in North Mississippi — Battle
of West Point, Alabama.
" Come with me now, to the picket, come,
Follow the bugle, the bugle, the drum 1
That's a sharpshooter's rifle we hear,
And that was the bullet which sang so near ;
There's another rifle, that shrill, sharp sound,
And yonder's a wounded man on the ground,
With the blood flowing out in a crimson tide
From a gaping hole in his quivering side ;
Don't sicken and pale at the sights you see,
For this is where only men should be. "
— Song of the Drum.
N the 4th of October, the brigade, while guard
ing the long line of the Tennessee river, from
Washington to below Sales creek, was attack
ed by five thousand cavalry under Wheeler, who, throw
ing a strong force across the river, then very low, at Cot
tonport, near Washington, drove off a picket of the
Fourth Michigan, and succeeded in massing his command
near the river bank. Minty, with about four hundred
men, consisting of detachments of the Fourth United
States, Fourth Michigan, and Seventh Pennsylvania,
not on picket duty along the river, promptly attacked,
but was as promptly defeated, and after two hours of
skirmishing, merely to gain time to gather in his scat-
(243)

244 Minty and the Cavalry.
tered forces, he withdrew to Smith' s cross roads. Dur
ing the night, Minty prepared the command as well
as possible, in the absence of regular food and forage,
for the long, hard march he saw was before them ; and
at daylight on the 5th, with about one thousand men,
started in pursuit of Wheeler, who had moved across
Waldren's ridge, in the direction of Pikeville. On the
same day, October 4th, another body of rebel cavalry,
(Armstrong's division,) and two brigades of Hodge's di
vision, of Forest' s command, had forced the lines of our
Second brigade, near Chattanooga, and pressing rapidly
forward, captured and burned a large wagon train in
Sweden's cove, at the lower end of the Sequatchie Valley;
both bodies uniting that night at Pikeville.
Minty, on the 5th, reached Pikeville about noon, and
halted at the foot of the Cumberland mountains, until 2,
p. m. , to feed, when, resuming the march, at that hour he
formed a junction with the Second brigade, and General
Cook, commanding the division, being present, reported to
him. The column moved as rapidly as possible, crossing
the mountains in the direction of McMinnville. When
about eight miles from that place, the Second brigade
being in the advance, struck the rebel rear guard, devel
oping a line of about one thousand men, without artil
lery, strongly posted on some hills, commanding a gorge
or defile through which the road passed. After some
skirmishing, the Second brigade was halted to feed and
rest, while Minty was sent forward to dislodge the enemy.
A brisk fight, lasting about two hours, or until dark,
ensued. The nature of the ground preventing the effec
tive use of mounted men, the Fourth United States and
Fourth Michigan were dismounted, and advancing on foot,
drove the rebels from their position, when the Seventh
Pennsylvania charged through the defile, mounted, com-

Pursuit of Wheeler — Battle of McMinnville. 245
pleting the rout of the enemy, who fled rapidly toward
McMinnville. The rebels lost in this affair eighteen
killed and fifty-seven wounded, besides forty-nine un-
wounded captured. The loss of the brigade was three
killed, eight wounded in the Fourth United States ; two
killed, nine wounded in Fourth 'Michigan, and one killed
and six wounded in the Seventh Pennsylvania ; the latter
regiment receiving but one volley, when it made the
charge. The division camped on the field, about half a mile
toward McMinnville, it being quite dark, and scouts re
porting Wheeler halted in position at that place.
The column moved at daylight, the 6th, and in about
two hours developed the rebel line at the river, a short
distance south-east of the town. Skirmishing was kept
up until about 11, a. m., when the Second brigade was
moved to the left, toward the Morrison road. Wheeler
then fell back to a position covering both the Woodbury
and Morrison roads, about a mile and a half south-west
of the town. At 1, p. m., Minty assailed this position
with his whole brigade, fighting dismounted, while the
Second brigade made a determined effort to turn or break
through their right flank, in order to interpose the divi
sion between them and the Nashville and Chattanooga
railroad. Cook's whole command did not number two
thousand men, while the combined force under Wheeler
reached nearly five thousand, nearly one thousand having
already deserted and scattered through the country.
The movement of the Second brigade was met by a par
tial withdrawal of the enemy's right, allowing the brigade
to push forward nearly a mile, when it was checked by a
heavy fire in front, and, being completely enfiladed, was
most disastrously repulsed, losing one hundred and fifty-
four men killed and wounded. Minty, advancing in line,

246 Minty and the Cavalry.
for a time drove the rebels in his front, but on the repulse
of the Second brigade, was held at bay. The Second
having now re-formed on the left of Minty, the fight was
continued until night, without any material advantage
on either side, when Wheeler withdrew, marching in the
direction of Woodbury.
On the night of the 6th, the Second brigade moved to
the left to Manchester, and opened communication with
Colonel Low, of the Fifth Iowa, and Lieutenant Colonel
Galbraith, First Middle Tennessee Cavalry, who had that
day been fighting Martin's division at near Wartrace.
At daylight of the 6th, Minty marched to Readyville,
skirmishing with the rebel rear-guard. Wheeler having,
late in the afternoon, thrown the head of his column
across the railroad at Wartrace, burned two small bridges
and inflicted some slight damage, moved, during the
night and early morning of the 7th, to Shelbyville, where
he halted to feed.
At Readyville, the enemy suddenly disappeared from
Minty's front, and, communication having been opened
with General Cook, he was directed to march to Shelby
ville, by way of Murfreesboro', without stopping, hold
ing himself, meanwhile, under the orders of General
Butterfield. On arriving at Shelbyville, about 1, p. m.,
and reporting to General Cook, Minty was ordered to
halt his command and feed, and, as Minty understood,
(the order not being in writing,) to "await further or
ders;" but as General Butterfield afterwards insisted,
" for one hour, and report to him for orders." The order
was, in fact, given by General Butterfield to General
Cook, and by him to Minty, and was somehow mixed.
Minty, after feeding, rested alongside the road out which
the commands of Cook and Butterfield had moved to
wards Farmington, "waiting for orders to move," until

Wheeler Defeated at Farmington and Sugar Creek. 247
nearly 5, p. m., when an aid from General Butterfield
rode up from the front, with intelligence that a battle
was in progress at Farmington, ten miles distant, and an
order to report with his brigade at once. He moved for
ward at a gallop, and arrived in time to join in the final
attack and defeat of the enemy, the Fourth United States
capturing some prisoners, but with his horses so blown
that effective pursuit was impossible. General Butter
field peremptorily ordered the arrest of Minty for alleged
disobedience of orders and tardiness of movement in the
presence of the enemy, whereupon General Cook relieved
him of the command of the brigade, which was tem
porarily assigned to Colonel Sipes, of the Seventh Penn
sylvania. On the 8th of October, the First and Third brigades,
Second Cavalry division, were consolidated, and Colonel
Low, of the Fifth Iowa cavalry, assigned to the command.
Taking the head of the column, the pursuit of Wheeler
was rapidly pushed, the Fifth Iowa in the advance.
The rear-guard* of the enemy, composed of Kirkpat-
rick's brigade, halted at Sugar creek, about ten miles
from the Elk river, and erected barricades, behind which
they proposed disputing our advance, for the purpose of
covering the crossing of their main force over both the
Elk and Tennessee rivers.
Colonel Low, now commanding about twenty-three
hundred men, struck this force at 10, a. m. After some
demonstrations and sharp skirmishing in front, the Fifth
Iowa, a well mounted and equipped regiment of nearly
eleven hundred men, gained a position on the left favor
able to a charge, and rushing in, with drawn sabers,
dislodged the whole rebel brigade, killing thirteen,
wounding one hundred and fifty, and capturing eighty-
five unwounded. The remainder broke into the woods,

248 Minty and the Cavalry.
scattered all over the country, and escaped. This charge
of the Fifth Iowa was made in three lines, or column of
battalions, was a most brilliant affair, and reflects great
credit on the regimental commander and his brave officers
and men. The balance of the brigade was quickly broken
into column of fours, and rushing forward at a galop, in
the hope of bringing Wheeler's whole force to bay,
reached the Elk in about an hour, only to find that he
had made good his escape, abandoning, however, two
pieces of artillery and some wagons on the banks of the
Tennessee. The brigade, in this last ten or twelve miles,
gathered up about two hundred and forty of the rebel
stragglers. The force with which Wheeler crossed the Tennessee,
on the 4th, was his own cavalry corps, consisting of Mar
tin' s and Armstrong' s divisions of three brigades each,
and Hodge' s division of two brigades, or in all nine bri
gades, numbering not less than six thousand men, and
twelve pieces of artillery. He destroyed one hundred
wagons loaded with commissary stores and forage in the
Sequatchie valley, burned two small bridges, and slight
ly damaged about five miles of the railroad, near War-
trace, and captured one hundred and fifty infantry guards
at the two bridges ; this, with the scare, was all the dam
age he inflicted. He lost four pieces of artillery ; two
captured and two abandoned ; over five hundred killed,
nearly eight hundred wounded, and eleven hundred taken
prisoners. He recrossed the Tennessee on the 8th, at
Mussel Shoals, Alabama, with eight pieces of artillery,
and less than three thousand dejected men, his horses
broken down, and a thoroughly disorganized command.
The difference is the number of deserters who were ' ' tired
of the wah, sah; " and went home to stay. This was the
last extensive raid against our rear and lines of commu-

Brigade and Staff Organization. 249
nication Bragg attempted, he being satisfied that, as Mor
gan' s raid into Kentucky and Ohio had cost him over
four thousand, and Wheeler, in four days of that kind of
work, had lost over three thousand of his best cavalry,
the raiding business, as a paying institution, was a fail
ure, /. e., the costs were greater than the profits. The
loss to the brigade was, after Colonel Low took com
mand, eight killed and nineteen wounded ; or a total of
eighteen killed and forty-six wounded and three cap
tured. Among the seriously wounded was Lieutenant Edward
Tucker, of the Fourth Michigan cavalry, who was shot
at Cottonport ford, while, gallantly resisting the crossing
of Wheeler, on the 4th, and being taken to Chattanooga,
died on the 7th, at that place
Colonel Low moved his command, on the 9th, to Rog-
ersville, Alabama, where it remained, doing picket and
scouting duty to the 15th, when he moved to the left and
occupied Maysville, Alabama.
The brigade, still holding its designation of First bri
gade, Second Cavalry division, now consisted of Fourth
United States cavalry, Seventh Pennsylvania, Fourth
Michigan, and Fifth Iowa cavalry, with the following
field and staff :
Colonel W W. Low, Fifth Iowa, commanding ; Cap
tain R. Burns, Fourth Michigan, Acting Assisting Adju
tant General ; Captain Joseph G. Vale, Seventh Pennsyl
vania, Acting Assistant Inspector .General ; Lieutenant
W. M. Windom, Fourth United States, Acting Assis
tant Quartermaster ; Lieutenant S. M. West, Fifth Iowa,
Acting Assistant Commissary ; Lieutenant C. A. B. Lan-
don, Fifth Iowa, Provost Marshal ; Lieutenant J. G.
Taylor, Seventh Pennsylvania, Ordinance Officer ; Dr.
B. L. Wise, Fifth Iowa, Brigade Surgeon ; Lieutenant

250 Minty and the Cavalry.
J. W. Weatson, Fifth Iowa, Aid-de-camp ; Lieutenant
0. A. Langworthy, Fifth Iowa, Aid-de-camp.
The continued arduous services of the Fourth United
States, Fourth Michigan, and Seventh Pennsylvania had
by this time rendered most of the horses of these regi
ments unfit for service. The six days devoted to the pur
suit of Wheeler had been particularly severe on them.
Following, as it did, the close of the campaign, from
McMinnville to Peeler's Mills and the battle of Chicka
mauga, it seemed to break them completely down, and
no care or attention it was possible to bestow stayed
their downward course. Even in arms and equipments,
these regiments were becoming .sadly deficient, while the
clothing of the men was reduced to rags. Captain Vale,
the brigade inspector, gave great umbrage to the officers
of his regiment by putting it, the Seventh Pennsylvania,
in his report of a special inspection of the brigade, Octo
ber 20, 1863, the lowest in everything except drill and
the "soldierly appearance " and " conduct " of the men ;
while rating the Fifth Iowa "first" in "condition of
horses and equipments. ' ' But when it is taken into ac
count that the Fifth Iowa had been recently remounted,
had remained on guard duty at Manchester and Decherd
during the Chickamauga campaign, not in any active
duty before joining in the pursuit of Wheeler, at Shelby
ville, and even then not marching one hundred miles to
the other regiments, one thousand ; had been in camp,
with every opportunity for keeping their arms and equip
ments clean and bright, while the others were from June
23d to that time entirely without tents, compelled to
bivouac in the open air without any leisure or opportu
nity to take even ordinary care of their arms ; the report,
besides having been strictly true and impartial, was, and
should have been regarded, as the highest compliment it

Regiments Dismounted— -Fourth U. S. sent to Mississippi. 251
was possible to pay the Seventh, as well as the other old
regiments of the brigade, which likewise were rated very
low. The approval of this report at brigade and division
head-quarters resulted in an order directing the Fourth
Michigan and Seventh Pennsylvania to turn in their
horses, arms, and equipments, and serve dismounted while
waiting a re-issue. They thus gained an opportunity for
a little rest, and full camp and garrison equipage having
been issued, the camp assumed rather a holiday appear
ance. The brigade lay thus comparatively inactive, at
Maysville, Alabama, for over a month. About the 1st of
November, a general muster in of promoted officers oc
curred, among which was Colonel W. B. Sipes, from
lieutenant colonel of the Seventh Pennsylvania, on ac
count of constant and faithful services, to rank from July
26, 1863.
(The promotions of the line officers will appear in ap
pendix. )
On the 6th of November, Captain Vale, brigade inspec
tor, received a furlough to have an operation performed
on account of injuries received during the Chickamauga
campaign, and being assigned to duty at Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, as recruiting officer for the regiment, was,
at his own request, relieved from duty as inspector. The
head-quarters of the brigade was transferred to Huntsville,
Alabama, about the middle of November, and on the 1st
of December the brigade went into permanent camp at
that place. On the 18th of December, Colonel Low ob
tained a sick furlough, and did not again join the com
mand. Same day Colonel Sipes assumed command of
the brigade. The Fourth Michigan now received a com
plete re-mount of horses and complement of arms and
equipments. The Fourth United States had received

252 Minty and the Cavalry.
their re-mount some time before, and the Seventh Penn
sylvania was engaged in guarding the railroad to Colum
bia; on which duty it continued until the 2d of January,
1864, when, having reenlisted as a veteran organization,
it received a "veteran furlough," and started for Harris
burg, Pennsylvania.
On January 3, the Fourth United States marched from
Huntsville under orders to report to General W. S. Smith
for duty, in North Mississippi, and the same day the
Fifth Iowa, reenlisting, left for Iowa on a "veteran fur
lough," leaving, of the old First brigade, but the Fourth
Michigan in Huntsville.
The Fourth United States being now transferred to a
field of operations among the swamps and treacherous
water-courses of North Mississippi, it becomes necessary
to follow and briefly record the story of their services and
sufferings. On the 17th of January, General W. S. Smith organized
an expedition of between five thousand and six thousand
cavalry to move from Memphis, Tennessee, to Holly
Springs, Mississippi, and from thence, by way of Pon-to-
toc and Okaloma, cooperate with the advance of General
Sherman from Vicksburg on Meridian and the system of
railroads running through the State. Interposing be
tween Smith and Sherman were the rebel divisions of
General J. R. Chalmers, consisting of the brigades of
McCollough, Bell, and Jeffrey Forrest, numbering, ac
cording to a statement in " Forrest and his Cavalry," one
thousand men each, or three thousand ; the corps of
Major General S. D. Lee, numbering, according to same
authority, six thousand, and the brigade of Richards,
about seven hundred strong, or a total of organized forces
of almost ten thousand men, supported by an ample park
of artillery, and certain to be re-inforced by the entire resi-

General " Sovey" Smith's Expedition. 253
dent white population, ready and ever willing to join in
the work of butchering the hated Yankees, whenever, on
any disaster occurring to them, they could do so with im
punity. The whole force and resources of the department
were under the chief command of Major General N. B.
Forrest, an officer whose cruelty and blood-thirstiness was
as notorious as were his bravery and ability as a command
er well known. It is true that the large rebel force was
widely dispersed and scattered over the country, but this
very dispersion and diffusion of their different commands
served best the purposes and plans of their command
er, or, at least, Forrest was quick to perceive and swift
to utilize the advantage. He, therefore, adopted the tac
tics of allowing the advancing Federal force to gradually
drive back his lines in the front until it had become en
tangled in the swamps and swollen streams, when, by
closing in on both flanks, front and rear, subject it to an
incessant series of assaults until its destruction was ac
complished. General Smith, moving southward from Holly Spring,
first encountered the brigade of Jeffrey Forrest and grad
ually forced it back toward West Point. On the 20th of
January, after some heavy skirmishing, the rebels fell
back through the town to a small stream about three
miles south, to which point Smith followed, after destroy
ing considerable property at West Point. By this time,
from the constantly increasing pressure on his flanks,
General Smith became convinced that he was simply being
drawn into a cul-de-sac, formed by the Sook-a-tou-cha, a
large stream then even navigable for steamers, and the
Tombigbee river, and determined to retreat.
During the night, he withdrew to a position at the edge
of a prairie, about four miles north of the town, when,
not being attacked, about ten o' clock the next day, broke

254 Minty and the Cavalry.
into column and resumed his northward march, leaving
a small rear guard at the head of a line covering a small
causeway. About five miles northward toward Okaloma
was a wooded country, covering, for some miles, the banks
of a swampy stream, through which the road passed with
many turns and numerous bridges or causeways. General
Forrest, apprised of the rearward movement, had disposed
his forces to attack the column while on the march, in
tending to create confusion, and, if possible, throw it in
disorder into the swampy woods mentioned. He there
fore threw Chalmers upon its right flank, while personally,
with his brother Jeffrey's and Richard's brigades, at
tacked with fury the rear guard. The regiment holding
the rear, the Ninth Illinois cavalry, covered well the rear
approaches, and by splendid fighting and generalship re
pulsed the direct onslaught, and held the enemy in check,
while the Fourth United States cavalry, forming a long
line of skirmishers on the right of the column, faced east,
while continually taking ground toward the north, paral
lel with the line of the marching column, repelled with
heavy loss every effort of Chalmers to break through its
line and reach the column. The command in this way
succeeded in crossing the stream and swamp in compara
tive safety. At the edge of the prairie before mentioned
the rear squadron of the Fourth United States closed in
toward the road, joined the Ninth Illinois, and, getting a
portion of Chalmers' command well in range, opened a
terrific fire at short range with their Spencer carbines, in
a few minutes killed eighty, wounded over three hundred,
and drove two brigades in confused rout back into the
woods. The march was then resumed, and was not
further interrupted that day, except by slight dashes on
the extreme rear guard, which were easily repelled. The
command camped about fourteen miles from Okaloma.

Retreat of Smith — Battles of the 22d and 23d. 255
During the whole day, Armstrong' s division and Rich
ards' brigade, then commanded by Barteau, had been
moving northward, up the Tombigbee river, some miles
eastward of Smith's column, and reached, during the
night, a position about five miles from Okaloma. The
loss to the Union forces this day was slight, being con
fined almost entirely to the Ninth Illinois and the Fourth
United States. Seventy-five men of the former were
killed, wounded, or captured, and eight of the latter were
killed and four wounded. Forrest would not take any
of the Fourth United States cavalry prisoners.
On the 22d, the march was resumed, and Okaloma
reached with but little loss, when it was discovered that
a large rebel force was approaching from the north-east,
while heavy columns were still pressing the rear and
moving toward the west. General Smith, therefore, de
termined to fight — a determination which had he formed
it two days sooner, and moved his forces west, across the
Sook-a-tou-cha, would have been more to his credit.
Forming his line upon hills west of the town, he skir
mished at long range, and both sides using considerable
artillery, a noisy, indecisive contest ensued, lasting sev
eral hours, when, finding that Forrest was merely making
a feint in his front to gain sufficient time to place a large
force, moving eastward on the Pontotoc road, in his rear,
he, after sending the Fourth United States to guard the
eastern flank, resumed his retreat to the north. .About
four miles north of Okaloma, in crossing a swampy
stream, the rear guard was forced, and in the stampede
of that part of the column, seven pieces of artillery were
captured by the rebels. The Fourth United States, in
the meantime, had become heavily engaged with the
brigade of Jeffrey Forrest, on the right flank, and suc
ceeded in beating him off and preventing his gaining the

256 Minty and the Cavalry.
road or striking the column. General Smith now directed
the Fourth United States and Ninth Illinois to occupy a
ridge about seven miles from Okaloma, and protect his
rear. This led these two regiments to confront and en
gage in a sanguinary battle with the whole of Forrest' s
army. On coming up to the position, Forrest deployed,
with Chalmers on the right, Jeffrey Forrest's brigade in
the center, and McCullough on the left, when Smith re
inforced his rear-guard with the Sixth Illinois. The
rebels moved to the assault with determination, partic
ularly so in the direct attack in front, made by Jeffrey
Forrest's brigade.
The portion of the line attacked by this command was
held by the Fourth United States, who, allowing them to
get within a confined space about forty yards distant,
poured into their ranks volley after volley from their
Spencers, killing the brigade commander, General Jef
frey Forrest, and stretching three fourths of the brigade
dead or wounded upon the ground, and inflicting upon it
a bloody and disastrous repulse. Being, however, com
pletely overborne by numbers, the other portion of the
line, after two hours' desperate fighting, fell back about
a mile, where, forming rail barricades, the three daunt
less regiments again turned and faced their foes. Grown
wary from the terrible punishment just inflicted, the
rebels here contented themselves with flanking the posi
tion and pressing a sharp attack upon the rear as it was
forced to fall back. In the fighting this day, these three
regiments lost heavily in killed, as Forrest took no pris
oners from the Fourth United States, and such of the
wounded as were unable to keep with the column were
no sooner in the rebels' hands than they were ruthlessly
slain. This butchery of the Fourth United States cav
alry by Forrest was — whether ordered by him or not —

Smith Retreats to Memphis. 257
claimed to have been in retaliation for the pretended
murder of Captain Freeman, of Freeman's battery, at
Franklin, Tennessee, a year before, as noted previously
in this work.
Reaching a position upon an elevated ridge, with an open
field to the southward, Smith formed the three regiments
composing the rear-guard — the Fourth United States, the
Sixth and Ninth Illinois — in column of regiments upon
the crest, and waiting for the pursuing rebels to gather
in force, and while, they were advancing, with loud yells,
across the field to the attack, delivered, in quick suces-
sion, three tremendous saber charges, led by the Fourth
United States. The rebels were swept completely from
the field, were sabered and ridden down by the hundreds,
piled in confused heaps of mangled men and disabled
horses in the ditch bounding its southern border, and the
whole pursuing column, thrown into utter rout and con
fusion, was driven back over five miles.
This brilliant affair closed the operations of the day
and expedition, it occurring late in the evening, the col
umn soon after halting for the night, and on the 26th re
turned to Memphis in regular marches, without being
further molested, except by small scouting parties hanging
on the flanks and rear. Forrest lost, in this contest, two
hundred killed, besides an unknown number wounded.
Among the killed were the leading officers of his com
mand, besides his brother, Jeffrey. The Fourth United
States lost, during the day, forty-nine killed and about
twenty slightly wounded, who came in with the column.
It had none captured.
After arduous and continued duty in West Tennessee
and North Mississippi, though without marked incident,
the Fourth United States returned to the Department of
the Cumberland, arriving at Nashville, March 19. It
17

258 Minty and the Cavalry.
was here immediately re-mounted and equipped for active
service in the front again.
The following extracts from a letter, written by Brevet
Major Joseph E. Hedges, late captain Fourth United
States cavalry, to the author, give a graphic account of
this expedition :
OKALOMA EXPEDITION— LETTER FROM MAJOR HEDGES.
Mansfield, Ohio, February 19, 1886.
Joseph G. Vale, Esq.,
Late Captain Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, Carlisle, Pa.
Dear Captain: — I had intended writing you before this in reply to your
request of the 14th of January, but a press of business has prevented me.
There is another campaign in which the Fourth United States cavalry took '
a part, when your regiment went home on furlough, (I think in Decem
ber, 1S63, and spring of 1864,) which you may not have an account of.
This was the raid under the command of General William Sovey Smith,
composed entirely of cavalry, about ten thousand. We left Pulaski about
January 1st, or soon thereafter, 1864, and marched by forced marches to
Savannah, where we crossed the Tennessee on a ferry boat, and then pro
ceeded to Corinth, Mississippi, then by railroad to Collensville, near Mem
phis, where we fitted up for a few weeks and then joined the expedition on
the march towards Genada. and proceeded towards the Mobile and Ohio
railroad, at Okaloma, Mississippi, thence to West Point, where we came in
contact with Forrest's command, and found it too strong. General Smith
was sick and riding in a carriage. So we commenced to retreat, and
reached Okaloma about daylight, February 22d, and found the enemy
drawn up in line of battle, on an open plain, but east of the town and
railroad. The Fourth cavalry, then under command of Captain Charles
Bowman, was directed to occupy the town, until the head of the rear bri
gade came up, (there were three brigades, and our regiment acting singly.)
The enemy advanced on the town and made it too hot for us to stay in the
town. We charged and drove them back, but when we fell back to re
form, we did not find any support to form on, and the enemy came on in
mass and charged us and the column marching on the road, and as near as
I can now recollect, they chased us for an hour or more before a new line
was formed, and that line soon gave way, and we had to retreat very has
tily for seven miles, and in fact, all day and all night, before we got out of
their way. We fell back clear to Memphis, but brought off some five thou
sand or ten thousand negroes, each mounted on a mule or horse, and de
stroyed thousands of bushels of corn, which the rebels had gathered into
cribs along the Mobile and Ohio railroad, and took up and destroyed miles
of that railroad. It was on this raid that Lieutenant McCafferty and

WILLIAM B. SIPES,

Colonel Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry.

Captain Hedges' Letter. 259
about seventy-five men of the Fourth were captured while out on the
flanks, to prevent the willful destruction of private houses by fire, and to
capture horses and mules, &c. General Forrest condemned McCafferty
and his party to be shot, without court-martial, and only the interceding of
a miller, at whose mill they were and which McCafferty had saved from
burning, by our troops, saved him and his men. We staid at Memphis a
few days, and then started back to Nashville overland, but being in the
spring of the year, it proved to be marching through water most of the
way. We had to abandon and burn our wagons before we had gone very
far. We crossed several rivers by fording, swimming, and building bridges
besides the Tennessee and Cumberland, which we crossed by boat,
the first at Fort Newry, and the latter at Clarksville, and while we were
making this trip, Forrest went up to Columbus and murdered the negro
troops at Fort Pillow. How we escaped his command, was more luck than
strategy. Our regiment was entirely alone — not over nine hundred
strong — while Forrest must have had some ten thousand, and after he re
turned south of the Memphis and Charleston railroad, you will recollect
that General Sam Sturges was sent out with an infantry command of five
thousand or six thousand from Memphis, and Forrest pitched into and
whipped him, and drove him back into Memphis.
I merely mention this expedition, as your regiment was not with us, and
I have never read any account of it in any history of the war, and as it did
not prove very successful. The object of it, as it was then understood,
was to make a diversion in favor of General Sherman, who marched out
from Vicksburg to Meridian, on the Mobile and Ohio railroad, but we were
too late in starting.

CHAPTER XVII.
NOVEMBER, 1863, TO APRIL, 1864
The Fourth Michigan with Second Brigade — In Front of Chattanooga
— Major Gray's Battalion —Lieutenant Hudson's Detachment —
Head-quarters at Huntsville — Colonel Mintt Acquitted, After
Trial, Fully Vindicated — Resumes Command — Campaign Reviewed —
Summary of Results— Major Lawton's Expedition Up the Red River
— The "Horse Marines."
" When rebels seek our subjugation,
Perish the thought! our blades are drawn
Thick as the summer blades of corn,
Swift to defend our bleeding nation."
jETURNING now to the other portions of the
brigade, the active operations of the Fourth
Michigan cavalry claim attention, of which
the following summary is largely taken from "Michigan
in the War."
On the 17th of November, 1863, all the mounted force
of the regiment, three hundred in number, under com
mand of Major Gray, joined the Second brigade, under
Colonel Eli Long, at Paint Rock, Alabama, and, with
that brigade, marched through Stevenson and Bridgeport,
Alabama, crossed the Tennessee river, then through Shell
Mound to Kelly' s Ferry, arriving in Chattanooga on the
21st. On the 24th of November, with General Sherman's
army, it moved up the north bank of the river and
crossed, moving, during the battle of Chattanooga, with
Long's brigade in the direction of Etowah, Tennessee.
Captain Grant, with the first battalion, captured, while
(260)

Operations of Long's Brigade. 261
on this march, a forage train of ten wagons, eighty mules,
and took eighteen prisoners.
On the 25th, the regiment burned the railroad bridge of
Etowah, destroyed a large quantity of meal, and captured
a lieutenant colonel of the rebel army, after which, re
joining the brigade, it marched to Cleveland. On the
26th, while on scouting duty, it captured two hundred
and fifty prisoners, eighty wagons, four hundred mules,
two hundred and seventy-five hogs, and tore up several
miles of railroad track.
On the night of the 27th, the enemy attacked Long at
Cleveland, and next day, pressing in heavy force forward,
Colonel Long decided to burn the railroad buildings, and
the iron works and copper rolling mill. A large amount of
shell and other fixed ammunition had been stored by the
rebels in these buildings, which exploding during the prog
ress of the fight led the enemy to suppose a large artillery
force was engaged and induced them to fall back. During
the lull thus produced, and before they again advanced,
Colonel Long retired, with all the prisoners and captured
property under charge of the Fourth Michigan, to Chatta •
nooga, by way of Harrison's Ferry. From Chattanooga
Major Gray marched, early in December, to Huntsville,
Alabama, reporting at that place to the old First brigade.
Another detachment of the regiment, under Major Rob-
bins, having been mounted, joined Long's brigade on the
29th of November, and with it moved through Harrison
and Cleveland to Benton, Tennessee, capturing on the scout
a large amount of stock and thirty rebel prisoners. Re
turning to Cleveland, Major Robbins was ordered to rejoin
the^ First brigade, and moved, accordingly, to Charles -
town, Tennessee, thence to Athens, Tennessee, where,
having no tidings of the brigade, he reported to General
Sherman, and, under his orders, marched with Sherman' s

262 Minty and the Cavalry.
army to Loudon, Tennessee, where crossing the river he
proceeded to Maysville, Alabama. Joining the Fourth
Ohio cavalry, moved on a scout into Georgia. On the
16th, this battalion was detached, and remained on courier
duty between Chattanooga and Charlestown until Jan
uary 4, when, being relieved, it joined Long's brigade at
Calhoun. Major Gray, on arriving at Huntsville, moved, on De
cember 24, to Pulaski, Tennessee. On the 9th of Jan
uary, 1864, he reported to Colonel Boone, of the Twenty-
eighth Kentucky mounted infantry, and with it marched
to Rossville, Georgia, reaching that place on the 19th of
January. On January 21, the main portion of the reg
iment, under command of Captain Abeel, moved with
Colonel Boone's brigade on a scout across the Pigeon
mountain to Summerville, in the Lafayette valley. The
regiment, being in the advance, captured fifteen prison
ers, including one captain. Pushing out from Summer
ville, it crossed Taylor's ridge, and surprised Colonel
Culbertson's camp, dispersed his command, captured and
destroyed his arms, and returned to Rossville.
On the 28th of January, Colonel Boone again moved in
advance of Major General Palmer's division, on the rebel
position at Tunnel Hill, Georgia, marching by way of
Ringgold, but returned to Rossville without the regiment
being engaged. The regiment lay in camp at Rossville
from the 1st to 13th of February, with scouting parties
out daily. In one of these scouts Lieutenant Hudson, on
the 13th, captured a picket of the enemy at Derry Mills.
On February 22d, Lieutenant Hudson, with one hun
dred men, formed on the left of Long's brigade, had a
severe skirmish on the Dalton road, losing four men
wounded; and on the next day in driving in the enemy's
pickets was surrounded, but by skillful management ex-

Scouting and Skirmishing. 263
tricated his command. On the 24th, he picketed the
flank of the column on the Tunnel Hill road, skirmishing
all day, and repelling numerous assaults. He had on
this occasion his horse shot under him, and lost three
men wounded. His services are thus referred to in the
official reports : "I cannot speak in too high terms of
Lieutenant Hudson ; his coolness and bravery are unsur
passed, and on the several occasions referred to these
soldierly qualities were all advantageously brought into
requisition." On March 1, the detachment, under command of Major
Robbins, moved to Cleveland, and on the 2d joined the
regiment at Etowah, Tennessee, where the regiment lay
until the 29th doing scout and picket duty. On the latter
date, it moved by rail to Nashville, rejoining the First
brigade, was soon after remounted, armed with Spencer
carbines, and fully equipped for the field.
The "head-quarters, field and staff," located at Hunts
ville, had, during the period covered by this chapter,
consisted of the following, with "Old Joe Runderbrook"
as ' ' right-hand man :' ' ' Commanding.
A. A. A. G.
A. A. I. G.
Captain R. Burns, 4th Michigan, \ A. A. C. S., Rundce0robkro0k'
A. A. Q. M.
Prov. Mar. G.
A. D. C.
All which remained at Huntsville until March 14, when
it was transferred to Nashville.
On January 23, General Cook, having been assigned to
duty in the Army of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia,
General Gerrard was assigned to, and, arriving at Hunts
ville, took command of the Second division.

264 Minty and the Cavalry.
From February 3 to 16, Colonel Minty was on trial be
fore a court-martial at Nashville, on charge of "disobe
dience to orders" at Shelbyville, during the Wheeler
raid. He was on the latter date triumphantly acquitted
by the unanimous vote of the whole court, and immedi
ately restored to the command of the brigade, by order
of General Gerrard.
On the 19th of March, the Fourth United States re
joined the command at Nashville, and receiving a suffi
cient number of recruits to fill it to the full complement,
was remounted, armed with Spencer carbines, and fully
equipped ready for the field.
On March 22, the Seventh Pennsylvania, with every
company full to the maximum, reached Nashville from
Pennsylvania, and were immediately remounted, armed
with the redoubtable Spencer, and fully equipped.
And now, while the busy notes of preparation for what
all recognized was destined to be the great campaign of
the war were sounding through all the camps, it is fitting
that a brief summary of the achievements of the brigade
during the campaign, or period from its organization, be
here given. The brigade as a body, not counting the
numerous expeditions of detached portions, had marched
three thousand four hundred and eighty -nine miles ; it
had been under the enemy's fire as an organization, count
ing the great battles of Stone' s river and Chickamauga as
one each, on fifty different occasions ; had fought twenty-
four engagements worthy the name of battles ; had deliv
ered fifteen strictly saber charges ; had captured six
pieces of artillery ; two thousand six hundred and sixty-
nine prisoners, when acting independently ; and in con
junction with the other brigades of the division, over
eleven hundred more, making an aggregate of three thou
sand seven hundred and sixty -nine ; besides wagons,

Lawlon's Expedition to the Red River. 265
mules, horses, and provisions from the enemy in more
than sufficient quantities to have kept it in constant sup
ply. It had killed of the enemy in battle six hundred
and fifty-seven, and wounded seven hundred and sev
enty-three known, besides the large number of killed and
wounded, who, not falling into our hands, could not even
be estimated. Had been gloriously victorious in every
encounter except one, and on that occasion, had with
drawn in such good order as made the morale of the men
as good as a victory. It had never been repulsed in a
saber charge ! Its total casualties were sixty killed,
one hundred and seventy-four wounded, and severity -
three missing ; total of twelve officers and two hundred
and seventy-six men. THE HORSE MARINES.
" I'm Captain Jinks, of the Horse Marines,
I feed my horse on corn and beans. " — Old Song.
Who has not heard of the Horse Marines ? Lo, their
memory is as a household word ! And yet few are they,
who, in their day and generation, were privileged to see
even one of the unique species. It was the good fortune
of Minty's brigade to produce the first, if not the only,
specimen of this genus militari, the most rare of all the
forms of soldiering. It has even been seriously urged by
military critics that the horse marine is a purely fabu
lous creature, that he existed only in the cloudy regions
of romance, and that his production in actual warfare
is a military impossibility ; but we had him in our bri
gade. " Captain Jinks " and all! And, in order that
no portion of his history and achievements may be lost,
the full text, in the language of the commander, is here
inserted, as a complete summing up of the doings of the
brigade in the campaign of 1863. The author is under

266 Minty and the Cavalry.
obligations to Major George W. Lawton, of the Fourth
Michigan cavalry, for the following report of the expedi
tion to Red river after Smith's corps :
' ' On the 3d of April, 1864, while the brigade was en
camped near Nashville, I received an order to take com
mand of a sergeant and fifty men, selected from the
Fourth Michigan cavalry, to which was attached Lieu
tenant Roys, and a sergeant of the Fourth United States
(regular) cavalry, with an equal number of men, and to
report at army head-quarters, and by a staff officer was
conducted on board of the gunboat, ' Silver Lake, ' lying
in the Cumberland ; with horse equipments, arms, am
munition and thirty days' rations. Here I was' ordered
to await orders that would be given me.
' 'About 10, p. m. , a group of officers came on board, and
I was introduced to Brigadier General Corse, with the in
formation .that I was to take my orders from him. Soon
after, the staff officers bade us a hearty good-by, and the
boat cast off, and we moved down the river with not a
distant shadow of understanding of our destination, and
amused ourselves in watching the lights of Nashville
drop behind us and disappear. Taking possession of a
'state-room,' Roys and myself made a comfortable bed
and disposed of ourselves, resolving that whatever might
be the end, the present should be enjoyed.
" In the morning, I ordered the saddles stored and the
men to fit for themselves such quarters as they might,
and as there- was no artillerymen on board, I divided the
men into gun-squads, and in default of other exercise,
and because it might prove useful, I began a drill in the
howitzer and Parrott rifle practice, and so well did the
men progress in it that almost before the day had closed
General Corse, observing it, not only highly commended

Down the Cumberland and Ohio. 267
them, but expressed astonishment at their rapid pro
ficiency. "In the meanwhile, we were going winding down the
historic river, noting with great interest such points as
Fort Donaldson, and scenes of conflict as we passed, and
to a great extent delighted. The boat was sufficiently
roomy, but not a strong one. It was designed to protect
quartermaster's transportation, and was sufficiently for
midable to ward off any attempt to capture or sink us from
the shores. Still, we were on the alert at every bend of
the river, to anticipate any of Forrest's or Wheeler's ef
forts to take us in.
"At Smithfield we 'tied up,' and the general and my
self went ashore to receive any dispatches forwarded ;
meanwhile the crew took in one thousand bushels of coal.
This hinted a long trip somewhere.
' ' We headed down the Ohio, passed Paducah, and in
due time ' tied up ' at Cairo. A few hours' delay, and sup
plies were ordered on board, among which, not appearing
on the requisition, was afterwards found hidden under the
coal, a cask of ' red-head ' whiskey and sundry kegs and
half barrels of salt fish." (Obs they were now marines,
for if whiskey and salt fish rations, and artillery drill on
shipboard don't make a marine, what does?) "The
whiskey, on discovering it to be on board the next day
after we left Cairo, I had put upon the upper deck with
a guard over it, to be issued in regular rations to the men
and crew when loading on coal; as to the latter, however,
when called to load coal the men relieved themselves
somewhat by impressing every negro that showed his face,
as they would be coming to the shore to learn what was
there. The only pay these negroes got was cups of
whiskey from the purloined cask.
"But I anticipate; we cast off and headed down the

268 Minty and the Cavalry.
Mississippi. Where to % What for ? No one was there
to tell, unless it was the general, and he professed the
profoundest ignorance as to our destination. He inti
mated we might learn something at Memphis; so we set
tled back contented, noting Belmont, Hickman's, Island
No. 10, and other points made historical by the bloody
strife waged upon them. Island No. 10 was almost
washed away by the river. Our brigade could not then
have camped on it.
"Our pilot was Ashton, a man who ran the Tuscumbia
past the forts, and served through contests that had
opened up the river to run ' unvexed to the sea.' He was
full of anecdote, and was free to entertain us in pointing
out the localities of the stirring events then so fresh in
the public mind, and which had such interest to us of
the inland -operating Army of the Cumberland.
"At Memphis, we took on more coal, some sanitary
stores, and then headed still down the river ! Point after
point of interest was passed, and we were constantly re
minded of what our brothers-in-arms on shore and river
had accomplished to save the Union, while passing the
new-looking places of their sacrifices. Milliken's Bend,
the cut-off canal, and Vicksburg ! in turn, came in sight,
and were discussed. We were kindly allowed, by the
general, to visit the bluffs, caves, and dug-outs of Vicks
burg, and obtain a clearer impression of the great victory
gained in its conquest. But, again, down the river we
go. We pass Jeff Davis' plantation, opposite which,
high and dry, lay the ill-fated ' Indianola,' watched by a
gunboat to preserve her machinery.
"The mouth of the Red river is reached, where lay
'The Little Rebel' and 'General Bragg," captured boats
on guard, commanded by old seafaring officers, who
grumbled much at the ' freshness ' of their station. But

Up the Red River. 269
to us the locality was delightful. Roses were in full
bloom, and most varieties of other flowers, and at the
mansion-houses were ladies who, in spite of their South
ern proclivities, stood to welcome the 'shoulder-straps'
with smiles and cheerful hospitality. We wanted a pilot
for Red river ! Then that was our destination: We had
began to hope it might be New Orleans. There was no
pilot to be had, but Ashton was equal to the emergency.
So, with him at the wheel, we headed up the Red river.
"Soon we saluted the 'Essex,' ashore opposite Fort
DeRussey, the scene of Smith's gallant victory. We
noted the shot holes through her smoke-stacks, and the
deep indentations made in her armor by the rebel missiles,
but we delayed not. Up against the slow-running cur
rent we went, now and then a man trying his carbine at
an alligator, numbers of which lay lazily snoozing on the
banks. Alexandria was reached, and the ingenious dams
that deepened the current over the shoals, and let the
'Carondelet,' 'Pittsburg,' 'Mound City,' as well as the
flag-ship, the 'Black Hawk,' with others, pass on and up,
whither we followed them. The 'Benton,' grim and
scarred, lay at Alexandria, and its officers bid us • good
luck' in getting around the sharp bends of this very
crooked river. We now knew we were destined to Gen
eral Banks, wherever he might be. If on the river bank
it was easy and well ; if away in the country, then I was
to escort General Corse to him for some purpose— to de
liver dispatches, doubtless, that would not be sent other
wise. Grand Ecore was reached, and, amid a crowd of
quartermaster boats, gunboats, and river craft of all de
scriptions, we stopped and found General Banks ' in
town,' speeding back from a thirty-five-mile jaunt into a
country covered, to a great extent, with pine forest, and
destitute of forage and supplies for his men. He had left

270 Minty and the Cavalry.
his dead on the field unburied, his commissary train and
considerable of his artillery and ordnance behind him,
' But,' said he, ' we had a great battle and won a glorious
victory.' I could not but admire the general — he was so
cheerful under such depressing-looking circumstances,
and I could not help but wonder how our Army of the
Cumberland would feel if similarly situated. It was
much like it at Chickamauga, and I came to the conclusion
that the war was evolving men who could command a
large army, and that they, happily, were being called
upon, while the much-praised unfortunates were likely to
find the measure of their capacities in other positions.
"And now we knew the whole of our errand, which
Banks' ' unimproved ' victory had thwarted, viz : It was
to bring Smith' s corps back to the Army of the Tennessee,
by the way either of Vicksburg, or some other point on
the river, and a march eastward to Rome or Atlanta,
Georgia ; and I, with Lieutenant Roys, two sergeants, and
one hundred men, was to — well, I do not know just what.
H to be the ' avaunt courier' of the corps, I don't think
we could have kept many miles in advance of it, and if
to do their picketing and scouting, I wonder how much
territory we could have covered. Then, of course, if
Forrest or Wheeler had dropped on us we should only
have had to cut our way through them and gone on, as
we could not have been expected to have gobbled them
and bothered ourselves with prisoners ! But we had none
of that in store for us — only to wend our way from the
Red up the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Cumberland,
pass the scenes we noted with so much interest in our
progress down, back to the old wharf at Nashville.
" Only one incident occurred of much note, and that
was an attack by rebels secreted on the bank of the river.
I was sitting in the cabin, when a crash of glass and

Return to Nashville. 271
shower of splinters, with a spent ball striking at my feet,
gave notice of the assault. I jumped to the gun-deck,
but the men, pleased with an opportunity of exercising
their skill in handling the artillery, were already at their
places. In a moment shells were flying among the enemy,
and they disappeared immediately. They, however, mor
tally wounded one of my men of the Fourth Michigan cav
alry, who was serving at the larboard gun, and slightly
wounded one of the Fourth United States. General Corse
left us at Memphis, as our boat was slow up stream. On
passing Fort Pillow, we took on a man wounded at. the
massacre there. At Nashville, I learned the brigade was
encamped at Columbia, and obtaining a requisition for
horses and rations, I soon hunted my men and speedily
joined the command, without mishap. At Nashville, the
men struck a show tent, near the horse corral, and, before
I could interfere, compelled the men to exhibit for their
benefit, without pay; for how could they pay, not having
seen a paymaster for months, and being just in from the
' Red river V
(Signed,)  ,
" Brevet Major, U. S. V."
Dated: June 17, 1861

CHAPTER XVIII.
[864— FROM APRIL 2, TO MAY 27.
Opening of the Campaign — Military Situation — Organization of Cav
alry — March to Villinou, Georgia — Battle of Aumuchee Creek —
Rome — The " Sand-flies " — Battle of Kingston — Ten-mile Gallop —
Capture of Gillan's Bridge — " Carrying Rails. "
u The drum rolls loud — the bugle fills
The summer air with clangor ;
The war storm shakes the solid hills,
Beneath its head of anger ;
Young eyes that last year smiled in ours,
Now point the rifle's barrel,
And hands then stained with fruits and flowers,
Bear redder stains of quarrel. " — Whittier.
j HE campaign of 1864 opened with a most marked
change and improvement in the situation, con
dition, and spirit of the army of the Cumber
land over that of 1863. Then stretched along the hills in
front of Nashville, and close hugging the banks of the
Cumberland river, the army, like a giant at bay, was shak
ing off from its sides the on-pressing forces of the enemy ;
and when it made its first thirty miles' march, it received
such a staggering blow as caused it to halt for nearly five
months. While active, defiant rebels in its front hurled
their defiance, with their shot and shell into its face, de
claring that the rebellion never could and never would suc
cumb ; in its rear the sneaking, cowardly peace party was
belittling its achievements, magnifying every rebel success,
and with ill-concealed delight, repeating and reechoing the
terms of the rebel defiance in taunts and jeers, writing,
printing, speaking, and at all times proclaiming ' ' You
(272)

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ATLANTA CAMPAIGN.

Military Situation. 273
cannot conquer the South ; the war is a failure and should
cease. You are as far off the suppression of the rebel
lion as you were at the beginning, ' ' &c. Oh, me-
thinks, if the letters received by the officers and men of
the ' ' Cumberland ' ' from many of their rebel sympathiz
ing acquaintances had been preserved, and were now
published, they would cause many a cheek to blush with
shame, that such cowardly dastards lived in the same age
of the Titans who bore on their shoulders the burden of
their country's honor and existence.
Now, how changed the conditions ! The great river
opened to the sea, severed the pretended ' ' Confederacy ' '
and rendered its establishment an absolute impossibility.
The mighty armies, lately so defiant and confident of
victory, in the States of Mississippi and Alabama, cap
tured and dispersed ; the whole sea coast in the posses
sion of the National forces ; the power of the rebels in
men and material, as well as in occupancy of territory,
steadily, surely, and inevitably dwindling away, and
their officials driven to the necessity of " robbing the
cradle and the grave, " for material to fill their fast de
pleting armies. The great armies of the Nation, with
veteran regiments filled to the maximum, from the eager
recruits rushing forward at this, the second great upris
ing of the Union sentiment ; under the shibboleth of
" Vicksburg, " in the West, and "Gettysburg, " in the
East ; and above all, the great, the "silent man of desti
ny " called from our own special field, now in supreme
command, wielding the lavish resources of the mighty
people, to the inspiration of his single will and indomi
table energy ; bore down the now feeble hiss of the "Cop
perhead, " drove the covert allies of the rebels into their
dens and secret caverns, and raised such an outburst of
patriotic, determined devotion to the national cause as
18

274 Minty and the Cavalry.
presaged the early triumph of the national arms. The
energy of the Government and patriotism of the people
permeated the entire army, and inspired it with the live
liest enthusiasm.
We, of the army of the Cumberland, with proud ex
ultation now saw the importance of our field of opera
tions appreciated, and finding ourselves placed in the van
of what all realized must be the great campaign of the
war, felt like the weary pilgrim who, toiling for a long
period up a steep and rugged way, stands at length on
the crest, and viewing his onward journey, sees but the
comparatively light task of a rapid and easy descent, and
certain triumph beyond.
In this feeling, the army of the Cumberland, "while
their camp fires shone bright on the mountains," looked'
down on the long stretch of country south and east ; and
while realizing that the task was an arduous one ; that
many sanguinary conflicts, and even probable disasters
awaited it, resolved that the hopes of the Nation should
not be blighted, but that the ' ' gate city ' ' should open her
doors for its passage, to the aid of its heroic, long-suffer
ing co-patriots of the Potomac.
Looking backward, it saw, over the grave-furrowed land
it had traversed, the great States of Kentucky, Missouri,
Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee permanently freed
from the domination of the local rebel State governments,
with executive, legislature, and judiciary in active aid and
hearty concord with the National Government, fast al
laying the treasonable proclivities of the rebel element in
their midst; and by enlisting the good offices of the
quietly disposed people in the great work of furnishing
and forwarding supplies, bringing the base of operations
from the banks of the Ohio to the banks of the Tennessee.
Thus, while in December, 1862, the order to advance from

Advance of the Division. . 275
Nashville was received by the army with many fears and
much misgiving, though obeyed with alacrity and cheer
fulness, the order for the advance received on the 2d of
April, 1864, was hailed with the glad acclaim of a march
as to an assured triumph.
As before noted, the brigade head- quarters was located
in Nashville. Here, on the 5th of April, the cavalry was
re-organized ; General Gerrard retaining, however, the
command of the Second division, and the brigade desig
nated as the First brigade of that division, consisting of
the Fourth United States, Fourth Michigan, and Seventh
Pennsylvania cavalry, commanded, as heretofore, by
Colonel Minty. On the 19th of April, Minty moved to
Columbia, Tennessee, reporting at that place to General
Gerrard, and on the 30th the entire division, except
Long's, or the Second brigade, left Columbia for the
front. On the march that day, General Gerrard caused Lieu
tenant Sullivan, Adjutant of the Fourth United States,
to be arrested on the charge of drunkenness. A court-
martial was organized that night, and the lieutenant
brought to trial the next day. Major Robbins, of the
Fourth Michigan, was president, and Captain Vale, of
the Seventh Pennsylvania, the judge advocate of the
court. The testimony adduced showed the whole matter
to have been a mistake. The lieutenant's saddle having
become loosened during the march, he had dismounted
alongside the passing column to adjust it and fasten the
girths ; his horse was very mettlesome, and becoming
restless had forced the lieutenant into the road ; and in
the effort to control the horse and fasten the girths his
hat had been knocked off into the mud, and stooping
down, still holding his horse, the passing troopers had
splashed him, completely covering his clothes with mud,

276 Minty and the Cavalry.
not giving him a presentable, still less an inviting, appear
ance. In fact, his face and hair, as well as clothing, were
well plastered.
Now, the lieutenant was very proud of his appearance,
and had on his dress-suit, and withall was rather in
clined to let ' ' his angry passions rise ' ' on slight provo
cations; hence he got mad, and the longer he got splashed
the madder he got. The men of the Fourth Michigan,
who were passing at the time, rather liked to torment an
officer, particularly of the regulars, when they could do so
with impunity; so, instead of riding out of the way, or as
sisting him to control his horse, they rode as close to him
as they could, splashing and laughing at him the while.
Of course he swore like a "regular," always did, and
finally got so insanely angry that he stood in the middle
of the road, up to his knees in thin mortar-like mud,
shaking his fists and swearing at every one who passed.
Hundreds who saw him were convinced, and many testi
fied, that he "was drunk." The general and his staff
came along just in the rear of the Fourth Michigan, and
the lieutenant "let out" on them in the same fashion.
Of course the general put him under arrest, and the trial
followed. The facts above stated being, however, clearly proven,
and the lieutenant stating that he had not even been
drinking that day, the judge advocate, in behalf of the
accused, asked that ' ' all testimony expressing the mere
opinions or conclusions of the witnesses be stricken from
the record," which being done, the lieutenant was prompt
ly acquitted by the unanimous vote of the court. In the
order approving the finding, dissolving the court, and
restoring the lieutenant to duty, however, the general
significantly said: "Appearances are sometimes wonder
fully deceptive, but Lieutenant Sullivan is admonished

A Court Martial. 277
'not to do it again.' " The lieutenant and officers of the
Fourth United States considered themselves under some
obligations to the judge advocate, and presented him
with a series of resolutions, expressive of their appreci
ation of his fairness, &c. Courts-martial do not always
convict, and no other one was held in the brigade during
the campaign.
The funny thing about a court-martial is that the judge
advocate is not only prosecuting attorney for the Govern
ment, but is also, when the accused appears without coun
sel, attorney for the prisoner. This anomalous position
was shown in a very ludicrous way on this trial. The
judge advocate, for example, would, as prosecuting of
ficer, call a witness, who, having been sworn, would an
swer the question: "What was Lieutenant Sullivan's
condition and appearance on that occasion V ' thus : "I
saw Lieutenant Sullivan; he was drunk; so drunk he could
not stand still; had his hat off; clothes all muddy, where
he had fallen in the road; he was in the middle of the
road swearing at every one who came by," &c. Then, as
attorney for the accused, the judge advocate would move
the court to strike out of the record all that portion of the
testimony in which the witness gave his opinion, or drew
conclusions from the facts he saw, on the ground that it
was the sole prerogative of the court to draw conclusions
and formulate opinions; and none of the witnesses being
willing to testify as experts in drunkenness, the record had
to be so amended, which being done, left nothing but the
naked facts that the lieutenant was standing in the road,
muddy, swearing, &c, which facts the judge advocate, as
counsel for the accused, proceeded to explain, and ample
testimony on that head being at hand and produced, the
farce resulting in the triumphant acquittal of the lieuten
ant, as stated.

278 Minty and the Cavalry
The division, now consisting of the First brigade, under
Colonel Minty, and Third brigade, under Colonel Miller,
marched through Shelbyville, Tullahoma, and Deckerd,
Tennessee, crossed the Cumberland mountains to Steven
son and Bridgeport, Alabama; then crossing the Lookout
mountain and valley, the Sand and Pigeon mountains to
Lafayette, Georgia; thence across Taylor's ridge to Vil-
lanou, where it arrived on the 10th of May, and joined
the right wing of the army, then marching through Snake
Creek gap, to attack Resaca.
The march from the Tennessee river to Villanou, at the
northern end of Snake Creek gap, while laborious and ex
tremely wearisome, was in the highest degree interesting
and romantic. After crossing the Tennessee, we wended
our slow, weary way up the steep sides of the lofty Look
out, until, when about thirty-six hundred feet above the
river, we came to the precipitous and often overhanging
"palisades," extending perpendicularly three hundred
feet to the summit above us; then turning sharply to the
right, passed for nearly two miles along the base of the
high solid, granite wall, when, coming to what, appeared to
be a well-used footpath up a long winding stairway of high
rock steps — -but which, in reality, was the ' ' trace ' ' passed
over by McCook in his advance to Chickamauga the pre
ceding September — we turned sharply to the left, and, dis
mounting, scrambled to the top, pulling our horses, and,
in some cases, having a refractory horse or mule pushed
up after us. The wagons and artillery had to be hauled,
pushed, carried, and lifted up by hand. It took nearly
an hour to get a man and horse, and about three hours to
get a wagon or piece of artillery, up.
On reaching the southern crest of the mountain, what
a view met our astonished sight ! A far-sighted boy of
the colonel's escort, Fourth Michigan, exclaimed : ' ' Oh,

View from Lookout Mountain. 279
Lord ! boys, I can see the Atlantic ocean, the city of
Richmond, and the army of the Potomac fighting its
way to the city ! " At our feet lay, in billowy waves, the
wooded ranges of the Sand, the Pigeon, Taylor, Etowah,
Kenesaw and Lost mountains, and beyond a long stretch
of apparently level country, reaching to the far distant
horizon, to the south-west, the ' ' high hills ' ' of the San-
tee, in South Carolina, could, by the aid of a good field
glass, be perceived ; to the east of south, seemingly about
midway to the horizon, the mist-like haze of smoke hang
ing, apparently over the forest, marked the site of At
lanta, ' ' the gate city ' ' of the Confederacy, while bound
ing the south-eastern and eastern horizons, the lofty
ranges of the Appalachian chain of North Carolina moun
tains reared their grand barrier in successive peaks and
lofty spurs ; and on the east and north, the mountains of
Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky lay apparently
within a cannon shot of our lofty perch.
In our rear, we traced the course of the Tennessee and
Cumberland rivers, almost from their sources to their
mouths ; in front we could see the Ostenaula, the Coosa,
the Etowah, and the Chattahoochee sparkling, in silvery
sheen, amid the dark, green foliage of the somber for
ests, while far beyond, on the verge of the southern hori
zon, the long telescope of the general commanding
brought into view the thread-like course of the waters of
the Savannah.
At first glance, the country appeared as an unbroken
forest, but as the eye became accustomed to the view and
adjusted itself to the details of the landscape, tracts of
cultivated land, and fields of corn, cotton, and cereals
were discerned, marking the location of many a planta
tion of Georgia's arrogant, treason-maddened rebel slave
holders. Such were some of the prominent objects

280 Minty and the Cavalry.
within the range of our vision, but at our very feet, and
appearing almost within rifle shot, along the base and
crowning the crest of " Rocky-face ridge, " lay the camp
and bivouacs of the great rebel army of the West, now
commanded by the ablest and most wary of their chiefs,
General Joseph E. Johnson, holding the pass at Buzzard's
roost, and stretching in long lines of battle far along the
ridge to the west.
After a halt of some hours, to allow the column to
"close up, " we descended the mountain and camped in
the narrow valley of Lookout. The march over the Sand
mountain, across the upper valley of the Chickamauga,
and through the defiles of the Pigeon and Taylor moun
tains, was, in itself, a delightful journey and equestrian
picnic, having for halting places, in the day-time, some
grand old shady grove, clothed in all gorgeousness of
an early summer' s foliage ; and at night on the banks of
some swift-running, clear, flower-lined mountain stream.
And so we reached "the front" with men and horses in
good condition, good health, and also excellent spirits.
On the 11th of May, the brigade was placed on picket
duty on the Rome road, guarding the right flank of the
army in its passage through Snake Creek gap, and re
mained on that duty until the 15th. On the 12th, a scout
of two hundred men from the Seventh Pennsylvania, un
der Captain Vale, was sent toward Rome, going as far as
Sub Ligna on the right hand and Farmer' s bridge on the
main road, without meeting the enemy ; its rear was,
however, assailed by the enemy at the junction of the
Sub Ligna road, by a regiment numbering about eight
hundred poorly mounted, worse commanded, rebels, which
it easily repulsed and returned without loss. The pres
ence of the enemy being reported, the brigade moved, on

Fight at Farmer's Bridge. 281
the 14th, to drive them beyond the creek, and demon
strate toward Rome.
At five o' clock on the morning of the 15th, accordingly,
Colonel Minty marched, taking the main road to Rome.
At the junction of the Sub Ligna road an advance or out
lying picket of the enemy, consisting of the Twelfth Ala
bama cavalry, was encountered and driven rapidly by his
advance guard, consisting of two companies of the Fourth
Michigan under Captain Grant, to Farmer's bridge, on
the Armuchee creek. In the eagerness of the pursuit, 'a
few men of the extreme advance crossed the bridge, but
finding themselves confronting a full brigade, were una
ble to maintain their position, and were driven back again
with the loss of one of their number wounded. The main
portion of the advance coming up, promptly engaged the
rebel command, and held the banks of the stream until
relieved by the arrival of the brigade.
This conduct evinces the staying qualities of this regi
ment, for it must be remembered that these two com
panies skirmished actively in the face of the whole rebel
brigade over an hour and a half, with but a narrow stream
between them, the bridge over which was completely un
der the rebel fire, and successfully held their position.
Minty, on arriving, sent scouts to the right and left,
and finding a couple of practicable though bad fords, sent
two companies of the Fourth Michigan across below, and
six companies of same regiment, with the Fourth United
States, above the bridge, while with one battalion of Fourth
Michigan and Seventh Pennsylvania, and one gun of
Chicago Board of Trade battery, he headed the direct at
tack by crossing the bridge. A spirited contest ensued,
but was soon over, the rebels being routed with the loss
of Captain Lakey, of the Twelfth Alabama, and nine men

282 Minty and the Cavalry.
killed and six captured. The prisoners were members of
five different regiments.
Not deeming it advisable to follow at a charging pace,
owing to tlie known close proximity of a large rebel force
at Rome, Minty advanced cautiously, keeping the ranks
well closed up. Skirmishing began after the column had
marched about a mile and a half ; when the Fourth
Michigan were dismounted and formed on both sides of
the road. On arriving at a point where the Dallas road
crosses or intersects the Rome road, the rebels made a
determined stand with four pieces of artillery, but on the
mounted men turning their flanks, again retreated to a
strong position three miles from Rome, where a line ex
tending entirely across our front, from the Ostenaula on
our left, to the Coosa, was developed, heavily supported
by artillery.
It being now evident that the rebels still held Rome in
force, Polk's corps, of Johnson's army, were in reality
there, and that they were crossing the Ostenaula in large
numbers, the position was one of grave peril to the little
brigade, and one which required both skill on the part of
its commander and steadiness on that of the men to ex
tricate it. This could best be done by impressing the
enemy with a belief that we were strongly supported.
Sending strong bodies of mounted men to the left and
scouting parties to the right, Minty directed the Fourth
Michigan to vigorously engage the whole rebel force in
front. After two hour's fighting, it was found that a heavy
column of infantry had crossed the Ostenaula on the left
and were advancing on the Dallas road to seize the posi
tion at the junction, while at the same time Smith's full
brigade of cavalry moved on the right with the same ob
ject. Minty thereupon, forming the Seventh Pennsylva-

Battle near Armuchee Creek. 283
nia on the left, parallel with the road, and Fourth United
States, in like manner on the right, fell back slowly to a
position north of the junction ; and, after a short contest,
the flanking movement being continued, to the north side
of the Armuchee, at Farmer's bridge. The Fourth
Michigan skirmished heavily all the way back and was
the only regiment actively engaged. It was charged four
distinct times by Smith's brigade of cavalry, while fight
ing dismounted, but repulsed each attack handsomely
and with great loss in men and horses to the enemy. It
lost three men severely, and eight slightly wounded. The
rebel loss was heavy, aggregating between fifty and sixty
killed and wounded, but as they held the ground, could
not be definitely ascertained. The rebel forces actually
engaged were Jackson's division of infantry, and Smith's
brigade of cavalry, with Ross's division of cavalry in re
serve. Minty, taking position at the bridge, formed his com
mand as a grand guard to the right wing of the army and
bivouacked for the night, reporting the situation to Gen
eral Gerrard. On the 16th, Captain Garrett, of Seventh
Pennsylvania, with a scouting party, crossed the bridge
and advanced to the cross-roads, where he attacked and
drove off the rebel picket, killing one and wounding
seven of the Eighth Texas. On the 17th, the brigade
moved up the Ostenaula, passed over part of the battle
field of Resaca, crossed the river on a pontoon bridge at
Lay's ferry, near Resaca, and moved rapidly to the right
front of the army.
Meanwhile, the army having flanked the rebel position
at Buzzard Roost and Dalton, by passing through Snake
Creek Gap, had met and defeated the rebels in a series of
great battles at Resaca, fought on the 14th and 15th, and
on the 16th drove them across the river to a fortified posi-

284 Minty and the Cavalry.
tion in front of Adair. The left flank of this position.
was slightly in front of Kingston, at the junction of the
Rome branch with the Georgia Central railroad. To
seize Kingston, therefore, would not only enable Sherman
to turn Johnson out of his position near Adair, but in
sured the fall of Rome, with all its arsenals and machine-
shops. Situated at the junction of the Ostenaula and the
Etowah, which there uniting, form the Coosa, at the head
of steamboat navigation, Rome was, in point of locality,
the most important place in inland Georgia, and in point
of manufacturing facilities for supplying the rebels with
arms and ordnance, and ordnance stores, second only in
the West to Atlanta itself. But Kingston, the key to
Rome, if seized at all, must be by a rapid advance of the
right, while the center and left of the army held John
son in check at Adair. Hence, on the 17th, General Mc-
Pherson, with the army of the Tennessee, was deployed
rapidly to the right, reaching toward Kingston, and Min
ty was directed to move to his right flank and occupy the
place by a dash.
Minty came in collision with Furguson's brigade about
a mile and a half after crossing the Ostenaula, which, at
tacking vigorously, he soon brushed from his path, and
pushed on rapidly toward the railroad between Rome and
Kingston, as by cutting the road he would isolate the
force at Rome, and prevent the removal of the arms and
military stores from that place. While making this move,
he detached the Fourth Michigan to attack Kingston.
After heavy fighting, Minty succeeded in getting posses
sion of the road, and destroyed it from a point about two
miles out to the Kingston junction.
The Fourth Michigan advanced rapidly, driving the
enemy in confusion before it, to within half a mile of
Kingston, when it found itself in front of a large force of

Engagement at Kingston, Georgia. 285
the enemy. It was in fact Jackson's division of infantry
and Smith's division of cavalry on their march from
Rome to join Johnson at Adair. Now, the boys of the
Fourth Michigan had an idea that they could whip the
whole rebel army if they only had a fair chance, and be
lieving this to be their opportunity, and, moreover, ex
pecting that Minty would soon appear on their right, and
that McPherson' s whole army was moving to their sup
port, boldly attacked the whole rebel force. They soon
found themselves in a hornet's nest, but pressing on,
with their seven-shooting Spencers speaking with deadly
volleys at short range, absolutely drove the infantry di
vision before them into the town and from the railroad
junction. Here, however, the rebels rallied behind bar
ricades, and the rebel cavalry attacked them in the rear
and both flanks. The regiment was now completely
surrounded ; but desisting from the attack on the infantry
in front, it closed ranks, drew sabers, and charged the
cavalry in its rear, cutting its way out, and rejoined the
brigade at Woodland. In this desperate affair, the Fourth
Michigan lost thirteen officers and men killed or mortally
wounded, and eighteen officers and men wounded, ten of
whom, being unable to accompany the command, were
left in the enemy's hands. The officers wounded were
Major Robbins and Lieutenant Carter; Lieutenant Ran
dolph was mortally wounded, and died on the 30th ; Cap
tain Grant was cut off from his company, not noticing
the attack of the cavalry on the right, and taken pris
oner. In this engagement, the regiment was commanded
by Major Gray.
On the night of the 17th, it being reported that the
rebels were still using the branch railroad to Rome,
Minty was directed to cut it by a movement from Wood
land to the west.

286 Minty and the Cavalry.
Now, all down through Tennessee, Alabama, and thus
far in our march through Georgia, we had been told that
after we got a little further South we, would meet the
enemy in a new form; that there were whole tracts of
country where neither man nor animal could live or pass
through on account of the hosts of
"Sand Flies!"
Hearing so much about them, and. that they were always
a ' ' little further to the South, ' ' and that we would meet
them "down tha'h, su'ah," we had come to 'regard them
like the Western man's mosquitoes, who, when asked if
the ' ' skeeters ' ' are bad in his locality, always answers :
" No, stranger; but you jist bet they be in the next county.
Why, sir, over in that county they eat the hogs up alive."
So we thought the ' ' sand flies ' ' were always in the next
county, and would always remain a "little further Souf,
sah. ' ' Moreover, after our experience with the pediculus,
the woodtick, and jigger, in Tennessee, we thought our
selves proof against the assaults of any and all the vermin
of the Southern rebel country combined, and did not be
lieve the much-vaunted and widely-advertised sand fly
was much of a "bug" after all. We knew what sand
was, and had seen flies before, and laughed at the idea of
a fly of any kind being even a transient annoyance.
The movement to the railroad was to be a surprise,
hence we left Woodland about 11, p. m., and marched,
by unfrequented ways, across the fields, winding along
water- courses and deep hollows, and quietly passing in
solemn silence through the gloom and over the sward of
the shadowy forest. No talking, or even speaking in
lowest tones, or clanking of bits or saber scabbards, being
permitted. And so, like silent specters of the night, we were pass-

The Sand Fly Surprise. 287
ing through a strip of rather open woods, each man in
tent only on keeping his horse in place and close against
the rump of his file-leader, when suddenly, without a
premonitory buzz or sign of any kind, a horse in one of
the center files gave a loud snort, sounding more like the
dying cry of a mortally-stricken human being than any
sound we had ever before heard a horse make, and dashed
off to the right at the top of his speed, rearing, plunging,
and kicking the while, soon leaving his luckless rider
sprawling on the ground. Another and another followed,
rushing madly right, left, front, and rear, with snorts
and kicks, and almost human-like groans of pain, in
every direction, unhorsing riders, trampling the fallen,
dashing headlong through the woods, rubbing against
trees, rolling over and over on the ground, and in an in
stant converting the quiet, orderly column into a pan
demonium-like mass of struggling, groaning, kicking,
plunging, rolling horses and swearing, yelling men, in
which confusion worse confounded reigned supreme.
We had struck the sand flies, and the
Sand Flies Had Struck Us !
Well, the expedition ended there ! The railroad was not
cut that night ! In fact, in less than three minutes from
the time the first fly struck the column, about twelve
hundred cavalry were scattered over a radius of two miles
of rebel territory, and deeming one surprise enough in
one night, and we being the party surprised, and we hav
ing made noise enough to arouse the whole rebel army,
if in hearing distance, the colonel concluded to sound
the "rally," and get into a camp as soon as possible. It
was a bad repulse, and though the damage consisted
mainly in the swollen nostrils of the poor horses, yet
many of the men were bruised, kicked, tramped on, and
otherwise disabled.

288 Minty and the Cavalry.
This was our first and only experience with this adjunct
of rebeldom, and we had no desire to renew, much less
to prolong, the acquaintance. The combined power of a
swarm of angry bees, of a fully-developed colony of un-
nested hornets, and of a completely fledged nest of after-
harvest oats-stubble yellow-jackets, with their business
qualities intensified one hundredfold, would not be a
circumstance to the terrific onslaught of the average
Georgia sand fly !
Early on the morning of the 19th, the brigade advanced
from Woodland, crossed the Rome and Kingston railroad,
and entered Kingston in advance of General McPherson' s
army. About an hour after the rebels were driven out,
or a few moments before McPherson entered, General
Gerrard ordered Minty to hurl his brigade at a gallop to
the Etowah, and seize and hold Gillion' s bridge, crossing
the river fifteen miles south-west of Kingston. Being
then in column, all that had to be done was to close up
ranks, instruct the officers to keep closed at all hazards,
and away we went. The road was rough, but hard, and
the twelve hundred horses and men, rushing at a fast
gallop, seemed to shake the very earth and cause the trees
on the hillside to topple, as though bowed before the
stern blast of the tempest ! Certain it is, that the thun
der of that twelve-mile gallop echoed far and wide among
the hills along the Etowah. On, on, we rushed ! Over
hills and valleys, across streams and rickety bridges,
while in dust behind us,
" Far streamed a smoky cloud,
Echoed the hills,
The valleys shook,
The flying forest bowed."
We reached the bridge, drove away a party of the enemy
guarding it, in time to prevent its destruction, seized it,
and crossing over a strong force, the colonel ordered the

Carrying Rails. 289
whole brigade, officers and men, to work building a rail
barricade, in anticipation of an instant attack. The posi
tion thus seized was about three miles west, and two
slightly in rear, of the left flank of the rebel army.
One of the punishments inflicted on a cavalryman for
uselessly running his horse was to dismount him, and re
quire him to "carry a rail," either on a march or along a
" beat '•' in camp. The men, seeing the officers busily en
gaged in toting rails from the nearest fences and helping
to pile them up into breastworks and barricades, hailed
them with shouts and the good-natured "chaff" of,
"That's what you get for running your horse !" "Got
to carry a rail, have you ?" " Run your horses again that
way, will you V while some, taking up the refrain of the
"stable call," shouted out the chorus, changed to suit
the occasion : "If again you do it,
You surely will rue it,
And you'll have to tote rails all the day long !"
In less than two hours, and after we had the breast
works and barricades completed, the Army of the Ten
nessee came out to our relief, marching as only the West
ern army could march, with a long, swinging step, which
carried them over the ground at the rate of five miles an
hour, thanked us for building the works, said we were
"good children," and kindly released us by taking pos
session of the works we had, with such labor and anx
ious haste, constructed. With the arrival of the in
fantry, came an order stating that a brigade of the rebel
army had been cut off by the advance of General Hooker,
and were then inclosed between Hooker, McPherson, and
the river, and directing Minty to move up the river about
five miles and bring them in, i. e., capture them.
On mounting and attempting to move, it was found
19

290 Minty and the Cavalry.
that over three hundred horses were so badly stoved,
foundered, and stiffened up by the extraordinary race as
to be entirely unserviceable. Minty was, therefore, com
pelled to undertake the job of capturing an unknown
force of infantry, located in an unknown position, with
less than nine hundred men, on horses already complete
ly fagged out. He marched through a wooded country,
on a ridge parallel to the river, about five miles, then
forming line, faced to the north, advanced about a mile
and a half, when halting on a ridge with a deep ravine
filled with green-briers and all kinds of tangled forest
creepers in front, sent forward dismounted scouts to find
the lost ' ' brigade ' ' we were in search of.
The scouts in due time returned, reporting that they
could not find any "brigade" or other portion of the
rebel army that seemed "lost," for while the whole of
Johnson's army was, in point of fact, fighting for a "lost
cause," and gradually losing itself as well in the conflict,
yet just at that time it did not know it, hence this " lost"
brigade was not found. The scouts did, however, very
soon find that Minty had planted himself just a mile and
a half directly in the rear of the left center of Johnson' s
army. From the position we occupied, this part of their
report was evident to the unaided vision, for directly in
our front, not more than two miles distant, we could see
Hooker' s army fighting a tremendous battle along the hills;
and down the other side of the ravine, at our feet, we
could see a line of "Johnnies " in battle array, over three
miles in length, and like us facing northward. That was
a nice "brigade" for our cavalry to be sent to "bring
in;" a fine little body of "lost" "cut off" wanderers in
the wilderness for us to tackle ! The colonel, finding
himself and command in this awkward fix, concluded
that the boldest course was the best, and resolved to move

FRANK W. MIX,
Maj. 4th Michigan Cavalrv. Brevet Lt. Colonel U. S. Vols.

An Awkward Fix. 291
forward until he struck their baggage and reserves, when
charging into them, throw them into confusion, produce
as much of a panic as possible, do all the damage he
could, and cut his way through their line of battle and
join Hooker. Investigation and the most persistent ef
forts, however, failed to discover a practicable way across
the ravine, the whole thing being filled with green-briers,
underbrush, grape-vines, and creepers fifteen or twenty
feet high, and a boggy, swampy, treacherous soil extend
ing over half a mile on each side of a small stream. So we
could not get at the rebel army, and it did not get at us.
After dark, Minty withdrew to a position along the ridge,
about two miles from the bridge, and bivouacked for the
night. We often wondered, in after years, what the result of
our attack would have been if we had succeeded in making
it, and during the campaign often regretted our inability
to have made the experiment. Our presence was entirely
unsuspected by the enemy, and nine hundred men burst
ing upon their line from the rear, shouting and sabering
every man they met, would have astonished them, at least.
The men believed they could go through if once the
thicket was passed, and confidence of that kind was apt
to be rewarded by success.

urns

k-:"-'--«-':'-'- '¦'¦¦'¦-¦ T;<=t - :

CHAPTER XIX.
1863 FROM MAY 19 TO JUNE 9.
Advance on Right Wing — Fight near Burnt Hickory — Battles or
Dallas — In the Trenches — Battle on Villa Rica Road — In Rear
of Rebel Army — Occupation or Cartersville — Alatona Pass —
Guarding the Beet Flank or the Army — Battle of Big Shanty.
"To Sherman
Like that stout knight, on whose firm mail the sword
Clashed, shivering, glanced, nor burst the fiery charms.
An Iron Man 1 In. happier days, the name
Hailed him the champion of the peaceful North.
And now the faithful years have blazoned forth,
Its splendid prophecy in the battle's flame. " — Anonymous.
j|ROM the 19th to 23d of May, the brigade lay in
camp at the position on the ridge at Spring
Bank, near Gillion's bridge, scouting along
both sides of the Etowah river. During this time, John
son's army, after retreating from Adair and Calhoun,
and abandoning Rome, took up a position on the north
bank of the Etowah, covering Cartersville. On the 21st,
Johnson issued a proclamation to his army from this po
sition, which he named ' ' Manasses, ' ' stating that there
was the "last ditch" to which he had retreated, hence
forward their march would be forward and northward,
&c, and on the next day was in full retreat over the Eto
wah, to a strongly fortified position in the mountains at
Alatona Pass.
It is a mistake to suppose, however, that these succes
sive retreats of the rebel army were caused by the mere
appearance and presence of Sherman's blue coats in his
(292)
Sherman and Johnson. 293
front and on his flank. Johnson held every position most
determinedly, and was only driven out of each in succes
sion after the most desperate fighting, the battle raging
furiously for whole days at a time, along a front more
than ten miles in extent from right to left. Every foot
of the •ground from the Ostenaula to the Etowah was
a battle scene, and was drenched with loyal and rebel
blood !
It certainly speaks well for General Joseph E. John
son's military ability that he was able to withdraw his
army across the latter river without being destroyed or
disastrously crippled. His losses were enormous, but he
still maintained a dogged determined front, and retreated
to his strong position at Alatona in the confident hope
of being there assailed by, and seriously discomfiting, his.
antagonist. But if Johnson was great in conducting a
masterly retreat, Sherman was far greater in fertility of
strategic resources, and in conducting an aggressive
campaign so as to reap the maximum of results with
the minimum of loss to his army. It was giant pitted
against giant, but if Johnson, after each fall, sprang from
the earth with renewed vigor, Sherman held the mighty
odds of never falling, and of always moving to and com
mencing the attack.
Sherman, knowing well the strength of the position,
now, determined on turning it by a great flank movement
to the south-west, by way of Burnt Hickory and Dallas,
and a march thence to the Chattahoochee.
Accordingly, on the morning of the 24th, Sherman, cut
ting loose from his base, the railroad, crossed the Etowah ;
the right, army of the Tennessee, under McPherson,
crossing at Gillion's bridge, the center and left by pon
toons, and advanced by the Van Wert road toward Dal-

294 Minty and the Cavalry.
las. In this movement, the division under General Ger
rard led the advance of the army of the Tennessee.
Crossing the river at the bridge, Minty moved his bri
gade at the head of the column, and occupied Van Wert
that night, without meeting the enemy. The movement
to this place being made rapidly, he found himself dur
ing the next day almost twenty-four hours in advance of
the army. Marching from Van Wert on the 24th, he
pushed on to within about two miles of Dallas, when he
met the rebel cavalry in force, about 7 o' clock in the eve
ning. He immediately deployed the Fourth Michigan in
line, dismounted, and advanced to within half a mile of
the town, driving the rebels constantly before him, when,
it being quite dark, he fell back to a good camping
ground, on a small stream, about a mile from Dallas, and
went into camp. Captain George W. Lawton, command
ing the advance guard, Fourth Michigan, was severely
wounded, at the first fire of the enemy' s pickets, by a ball
passing through his right lung ; he, however, continued
with his men, bringing them ' ' left front into line, ' ' and
engaged the enemy until he fell from his horse exhaust
ed from loss of blood. Colonel Minty was riding along
side him when he was struck, but did not know of his being
wounded until he fell, after the enemy had been driven.
His action is sufficient eulogy of his gallantry, and re
quires no comment. It is a pleasure, however, to be able
to state at this writing, December 29th, 1885, the brave
Lawton is still living. The loss to the brigade during
this day was two killed and three wounded ; all in the
Fourth Michigan. We killed ten and captured fifteen of
the enemy. Some thirty of the rebels were wounded.
On the 25th, the rebels fell back beyond Dallas, and
the division, advancing through that place, moved to the

A Night Attack Foiled by the Men. 295
right, taking position on the right flank of McPherson,
facing westward.
During the night of the 25th, the division moved to, the
left front, from its position of the day, for about three
miles, then turning to the left or eastward advanced in
the direction of the Dallas and Villa Rica road. What
the precise object of this movement was is not known to
the author, but the men, particularly of Minty' s brigade,
never took kindly to a night attack. They were always
ready and willing, aye, even eager to meet the foe in open,
manly conflict by day, without inquiring either the reason
for the fight or numbers of their opponents, but from some
cause seemed particularly averse to owling it by night.
Perhaps the influence of the "Pennsylvania Dutch," with
their traditionary stories of "boogies," "spooks," and
"hob-goblins," had permeated the whole command. We
don't know, but certain it is, the brigade was not as relia
ble by night as by day.
On this occasion, while marching quietly along the road,
without any grumbling, or even ordinary talking being
noticed, it was found that a large number of men were
riding through the column inquiring, in low tones, for
their commands ; always announcing themselves as mem
bers of companies and regiments different from the
one with which they happened to be. The contagion
spread rapidly all along the column, until an investiga
tion disclosed the fact that not a single company or regi
ment maintained its organization. That while the com
pany and regimental officers had each his proper number
of men in place in the column, they were strangers to
them and to each other. It was the quiet, and while
seemingly innocent and orderly, yet most emphatic and
effective protest of the men against a night attack or
battle. The column was halted, held mounted on the

296 Minty and the Cavalry.
road, and the division and brigade staffs, with the regimen
tal officers, carefully selected the men, one at a time, and
restored them to their places. It was an intensely dark
night, and this work of restoring military order was dif
ficult and 'tedious. After the ranks were restored, the
column again moved forward, under special instructions
to keep in place and well closed up ; but had not gone
half a mile when every officer found himself deserted by
his own command, and his ranks filled again with
strangers. It was a situation novel, we believe, in the experience
of division, brigade, and regimental commanders, and one
for which the ' ' rules and regulations of the army ' ' pro
vided no redress. The company officers could not be
punished, for the regimental commanders were equally
in fault; the commanders of regiments could not be held
to account, for the brigades were also "mixed up," and
the brigade commanders could not well be censured, for
the same condition of affairs, as it was found, existed
even in the escort of the general commanding the divi
sion, for not a man of the general's escort was in his
place at this second mix-up, but strangers from all parts
of the division were quietly riding there instead. Even
swearing, that last resort of the puzzled man in civil life,
or officer in the army, was not of any use or equal to the
occasion. It is possible that had the general moved right
along to execute the object in view, the men, particularly
if becoming engaged with the enemy, would have gathered
to their respective standards, or, at least, fought bravely
under the lead of any officer under whose command they
might have found themselves ; but that would have been
a risky experiment, and not by any means military. So
the general, having now reached the Powder Spring road,
ordered a halt, and went into camp ; when lo ! the tangle

Fight on the Dallas Road. 297
unraveled itself as quickly and as orderly as it had
quietly occurred. Oh ! you orderly, mischievous rascals
of the old Second division ! It was a smart trick you
played that night on your officers ! Do you ever, gray-
haired old grand-daddies that many of you now are,
gather the tow-headed toddlers of the second generation
around you and tell the "tricks you used to play " while
in the army, ' ' away down South in Dixie' s ' ' Georgia ?
If you do, we venture the assertion that you don't neg
lect to tell how you tangled up Gerrard' s column on the
night of May 25, 1864.
On the 26th, being camped on the Powder Spring and
the Adair Court House road, Minty was charged with the
duty of picketing the front, and maintained a constant
skirmish with the rebels, at long range, all day on the
Dallas and Villa Rica road, about two and a half miles
east of the camp. The Fourth United States were, dur
ing the morning, detached and placed on duty at the
head-quarters of Major General McPherson. About 1,
p. m. , a couple of regiments of rebel cavalry attacked the
picket on the Villa Rica road, and drove it about a mile.
Minty moved, with part of Seventh Pennsylvania and
Fourth Michigan, to its support, and, sending a battalion
of Seventh Pennsylvania, under Major Jennings, and
one of Fourth Michigan, under Captain Pritchard, to the
left of the Powder Spring road, directed a vigorous at
tack on that portion of the enemy occupying a strong
position at a gin-house, near the Dallas road, while, ad
vancing the pickets to the front, he assailed the enemy in
that quarter. Major. Jennings, deploying, advanced un
der a heavy fire and promptly dislodged the enemy, who,
proving to be cavalry fighting on foot, mounted, and the
whole force retreated rapidly in the direction of Dallas.
Jennings and Pritchard followed in eager pursuit, at a

298 Minty and the Cavalry.
gallop, for nearly three miles, when, coming under the
guns of the fortified rebel position at Dallas, they with
drew in good order, having captured twenty -five of the
enemy, fourteen of whom were wounded by the sabers of
the Seventh Pennsylvania. In the attack on the gin-
house, the Fourth Michigan killed ten and wounded fif
teen of the enemy. Two rebels were killed in the pur
suit, making their total loss fifty- two. On our side, two
men of the Seventh Pennsylvania were wounded.
It being impossible to maintain a picket in the Dallas
and Villa Rica road, except by the presence of the whole
brigade, owing to the fact that that road ran direct to the
center of the rebel army at Dallas, it was drawn back to
a position about half a mile west, and a line formed par
allel with the road. The brigade now held a position
about two miles in the rear of the left center of the rebel
army, and faced nearly north-east.
On the morning of the 27th, Captain Vale, of the
Seventh Pennsylvania, in charge of the picket line, re
ported a vigorous attack on the outposts and that the
enemy were advancing in considerable force from the
Dallas road, and had already occupied their position of
the day before at the gin-house. Colonel Sipes, with the
Seventh Pennsylvania, was dispatched to his support,
and forming on the picket line was soon actively engaged,
fighting the whole of Ferguson's brigade. About this
hour the Seventy-second Indiana, under Colonel Miller,
reported to Minty and he received orders from General
McPherson, through General Gerrard, to gain possession
of the Dallas and Villa Rica road and attack the enemy
vigorously on the flank and rear.
Minty moved out with the remainder of his brigade
and the Seventy-second Indiana. Colonel Sipes, with his
regiment, except the dismounted pickets, was moved to

Battle in Rear of Rebel Army. 299
the right on the Powder Spring road, Lieutenant Colonel
Park, with the Fourth Michigan, to the left of that road,
to attack the position at the gin-house, while the Seven
ty-second Indiana dismounted, and with the pickets
closed the gap between the Fourth Michigan and the
Seventh Pennsylvania. The force advanced, and the fir
ing became general along the whole line. Holding the
Fourth Michigan and Seventh Pennsylvania, mounted,
in check, until the dismounted men had gained about
three fourths of the distance to the Dallas road, these
regiments were then directed to advance at a gallop. The
Seventh Pennsylvania, meeting but slight opposition, soon
gained the Dallas road, turning the rebel left, and pressed
on, up, and east of it toward Dallas. The Fourth Michi
gan were received by a galling fire as they galloped over
the open field toward the gin-house, but pushing gallant
ly forward, soon drove the enemy in confusion from their
front, while the dismounted men, pressing forward at a
run, forced the enemy to retreat, pouring the while volley
after volley from their Spencer carbines into the disor
dered ranks, to and beyond the road, where the sabers
of the Seventh, coming into play, completed his discom
fiture and caused him to seek shelter in disorganized
flight beneath the strongly fortified infantry lines at
Dallas. Minty now caused strong breastworks of rails and logs
to be thrown up, and Lieutenant Colonel Kitchell, with
a portion of the Ninety-eighth Illinois, reporting to him
was directed to hold the works, supporting the Seventh
Pennsylvania, and cover the Powder Spring road. Min
ty, whose line now faced north-east, then moved in the
direction of Dallas, skirmishing to within a few miles of
that place, where, observing on the east side of the road
a long line of intrenchments, facing west, and in prolon-

300 Minty and the Cavalry.
gation of it, cavalry in considerable force, forming along
the hills parallel to the Dallas road, ordered up the ar
tillery, and opened fire, dropping shells inside their
works. Dense columns of dust were now seen moving on the
Marietta road, in rear of the left of the rebel position,
which road, being about a mile distant, was shelled with
effect. A heavy column of infantry moved from the di
rection of Dallas, and turning the left flank, attacked the
position of the Seventy-second Indiana and Seventh
Pennsylvania, while a vigorous attack was pressed on the
Fourth Michigan, on the right. The artillery, having
been pushed to the extreme front, was in danger of being
captured, from the pressure of the enemy on both flanks ;
which Minty perceiving, directed it to withdraw, after
which he fell back to the barricades. Here, although
vigorously assailed in repeated assaults, he repulsed
every attack, and successfully maintained his position.
The enemy abandoned the contest and retreated from his
front before night. After dark he retired to camp leav
ing strong pickets to hold the position. Minty lost in
this fight, in the Seventh Pennsylvania, three killed and
eleven wounded ; Fourth Michigan, one killed, two
wounded ; and Seventy-second Indiana, three wounded ;
total, twenty. Among the wounded was Corporal Edward
L. Beck, of company M, Seventh Pennsylvania, mortally
shot through the body. In the evening, shortly before
he died, addressing his captain, who was with him, he
said : " Captain, good-bye ; write home and tell mother,
she has given one boy to save the Union. ' ' He was a
brave, faithful, and promising young man of eighteen
years, and his loss was deeply deplored by his comrades
and officers.
The following extract from a letter by General McPher-

Incidents of the Fight. 301
son to General Gerrard refers to the services of the com
mand this day : Dallas, 27th May, 7.80, P. M.
"General: — Tour letter inclosing report of Colonel Minty received.
His brigade has done good service to-day, and drew four regiments of rebel
infantry from in front of our right off towards Villa Rica to fight him.
(Signed) Jas. B. McPherson,
Major General Commanding. "
The four regiments spoken of were brought up after
Minty had defeated and driven off three brigades of rebel
cavalry, to wit : the brigades of John H. Morgan, of
Ferguson, and of Ross. They were the infantry which
flanked the position of the Seventy -second Indiana and
Seventh Pennsylvania, and were finally repulsed at the
barricades. The man killed in the Fourth Michigan this day was
Private Benona Birch, of company I, Fourth Michigan
cavalry, mortally hurt. Just before he died, he called
out to a comrade : " Mart, I am going," then raising up
to a sitting position, and waving his hand, added, ' ' but,
hurrah for the old flag!" and falling back, expired.
These incidents are given not as isolated or the only ones
of the kind which occurred — as scarcely a man died but
that if strength permitted did not give utterance to sim
ilar ones — but as illustrations of the lofty spirit of patri
otism animating the men in the ranks. It was love of
country and of human liberty which filled the ranks of
our commands.
On the 28th, the brigade moved close in on the right of
the Army of the Tennessee, and a large portion of it was
dismounted and placed inside of the intrenchments in
front of Dallas, the whole army having taken ground,
that day, to the left or east. It remained on this duty-
doing the same duty as the infantry— the 28th, 29th, 30th,
and 31st of May, and the 1st of June, repelling repeated

302 Minty and the Cavalry.
assaults, and skirmishing constantly, day and night.
During these days, the army had, by a succession of dar
ing movements and hard-fought battles, extending along
a frontage of over twenty miles, completely turned the
rebels out of their fortified position at Alatona pass, and
with his left now well planted on the railroad south of
the pass, and Alatona itself in his full possession, Sher
man now threatened to cut Johnson off from his line of
retreat by seizing the bridge over the Chattahoochee.
To prevent this, Johnson hastily marched from Dallas and
Good Hope, on the night of June 1, by the Marietta road,
and took position on the Kenesaw and Lost mountains,
northward of Marietta. In order to cover their retreat,
the rebel left wing, early in the evening, made a furious
assault on the right wing of McPherson, while in the
midst of a movement toward the left. For a little time,
in some weak places, they succeeded in surmounting the
works and penetrating the line, but were soon driven out,
with the loss of over a thousand killed, wounded, and
captured. While the assault and battle was in progress, Captain
Vale, of Seventh Pennsylvania, who had charge of all
the horses of the brigade — the men being in the trenches
on the right of McPherson' s line — occupied a position
about three fourths of a mile to the rear, and slightly to
the right, of the assaulted portion of the line. Believ
ing, from what he saw,1 that the capture of the horses was
imminent, he moved them to the left, reporting to the
colonel at 4 o'clock the next morning. This action led to
considerable inconvenience, and he was, at first, much
censured for moving without "orders," but, in view of
all the circumstances, it was finally decided that he ex
ercised a discretion which, while an excess of prudence,
was justified.

How Communications were kept up. 303
After the repulse of the enemy, McPherson continued
his movement to the left, and the dismounted men of the
brigade covered the withdrawal by following the army,
during the night, along the line of the works until near
Good Hope church, from which it marched to the horses,
and mounting, moved, on the 2d, to the west end of Al
atona pass, halting for the night near the Etowah, a short
distance from the great railroad bridge. Minty remained
in this vicinity, picketing and scouting, until the 8th of
June. While here, we witnessed one of those surprising man
ifestations of the energy and power of the officers now in
charge of the various departments of the transportation
branch of the service which was so puzzling to the rebels.
The great bridge over the Etowah had, of course, been
burned along with all the others, large and small, along
the line of the road, as soon as abandoned, by the retreat
ing rebels. On the very next day after the enemy had
burned it, and before the ashes were cold, load after load
of timbers, framed and ready to be put together, were
brought up, and the work of rebuilding it commenced
and so rapidly pushed forward that in five days after its
destruction the astonished rebels saw, from their lofty
perch on Kenesaw, the Yankee locomotive, drawing a
long train of cars, come sweeping down the road, through
Alatona pass, on, up, almost to the front, and unload a
quantity of army supplies ! Neither Sherman's boys in
blue, nor the puzzled rebels, knew how it had been
brought about, but the thing was self- demonstrated that
not only the bridge at Resaca, at Cartersville, and all the
minor streams had been rebuilt, but the great one, nearly
three quarters of a mile long, over the Etowah, had been,
in some way, reconstructed, almost, as it seemed, in a
night.

304 Minty and the Cavalry.
Long years after, the great feat was explained. It was
simply that, before ordering Sherman to march on At
lanta, Grant had caused to be built, in Louisville, Nash
ville, and other points, a duplicate of every bridge, great
and small, along the Georgia Central railroad, and know
ing the location of each, the engineers had only to send
forward, each day and hour, the timbers, all framed and
ready, for erecting the particular bridge required.
On the 7th of June, the Second brigade, commanded
by Colonel Eli Long, of the Fourth Ohio, came up and
joined the division, while camped near the Etowah, at
Alatona pass.
At six o' clock in the morning of June 9, the division,
now consisting of the three full brigades, marched from
Ackworth, taking the direct road toward Marietta, Minty,
with his brigade, leading the advance, with the Fourth
Michigan as the advanced regiment. The rebel pickets
were met at Rocky Hill soon after passing outside the in
fantry skirmish line. They were speedily driven from
their rail barricades by the Fourth Michigan, and from
successive positions until a hill in front of Big Shanty
was reached, when they showed a considerable line be
hind formidable breast-works. In addition to the force
and obstructions in front, a large force of cavalry were
found to be moving on each flank. Minty sent the Fourth
United States to the left and Seventh Pennsylvania to
the right, and advancing, skirmishing began along the
whole line.
General Gerrard now came to the front with the Third
brigade, which, dismounting, was placed in the center of
the line, while Minty, dismounting his whole command,
re-inforced the Fourth regulars, by sending the Fourth
Michigan to join in on the left. The advance was re
sumed, and although the country, particularly on the

Battle of Big Shanty. 305
left, was full of dense under-growth, yet the whole line
moved in good style, charging rapidly at double-quick
across the open country, and fighting from tree to tree
through the woods, until within a few hundred yards of
their breast- works, when it swept forward on a run and
carried them with a rush. It was here found that among
other contrivances for retarding our advance, the rebels
had stretched telegraph wires along the entire front of the
works, about two feet from the ground. If it afforded the
rebels any amusement to see the boys in blue tumbling
over the wires, they were welcome to it, as the harmless
thing did us no damage. Driven from the first, they now
manned a second line, with open ground between. The
Third brigade and Seventh Pennsylvania, without more
than a momentary halt, pushed f orward and drove them
out of this to a stronger, third line. The Seventh Penn
sylvania now pushed rapidly through a pine woods on
the right, under a heavy continuous fire, driving the
rebels steadily ; at the same time the Third brigade and
Fourth United States again charged, advancing in mag
nificent style, and carried the last line, defeating and
-driving out of the works the ' ' Mississippi Tigers. ' '
Minty returned to camp about 8, p. m. He reported a
loss of one killed and twelve wounded, and the rebel loss
at twenty killed or mortally wounded. The rebel force
engaged in this affair was Martin' s division of mounted
infantry, supported by a brigade of regular infantry. The
successive lines of works carried covered the space from
Big Shanty to the top of Little Kenesaw, which was not
then occupied by the enemy in force. Johnson' s right
then rested on Big Kenesaw, and his left was taking posi
tion on Lost mountain, and on its march from Dallas.
Had the division, instead of being ordered back to camp
near Ackworth, been supported by the left wing of the
20

306 Minty and the Cavalry.
army, then under Hooker, with the promptness with
which McPherson had supported the cavalry in the pre
ceding movements on the right, Little Kenesaw would
have been seized, and the great slaughter in the Army of
the Cumberland, in the effort to carry it on the 27th,
would not have occurred.
During the battle of Big Shanty, or rather when push
ing forward through the woods to the attack on the
second line, at the time of a short halt, Samuel Duncan,
private company M, Seventh Pennsylvania, called Ser
geant William H. H. Smith to him, and while working
his gun for all that a Spencer carbine was worth, said,
between shots, ' ' Harry, here, take these two copper cents,
and if I am killed, send them home! Mind that you
don't let the rebels get them, for if you do, they will re
sume specie payments, and keep up the war for a couple
of years longer. " Of course Duncan was not killed.
He is yet, February 10th, 1886, living at Watsontown,
Pennsylvania, and is the same incomparable jester as of
old. The loss in the Third, Wilder' s brigade, was five killed
and twelve wounded. The rebel papers stated their loss
to have been twenty killed, including a lieutenant and
five men of the Twenty-ninth Mississippi infantry, " Mis
sissippi Tigers. "
When the rebel infantry were driven from the last line,
they had not time to fasten their knapsacks, which
opened at the top by a flap in the back, hinged about
two thirds of the distance from the top. As we
charged and the rebels ran, Sergeant William H. H.
Smith, of the Seventh, called out to them, ' ' Shut your
doors," "shut your doors." The "boys" seeing the
ludicrous figure cut by the fleeing foe, with the long
white-lined flaps of their knapsacks dancing like white

1 Shut your Doors."

307

flags from the rear of the seat of each individual, "took
up " the shout, and "Shut your doors, " echoed from one
end of the line to the other. The lieutenant that was
shot, was hit between the shoulders, and as Smith passed
him, he said, "Lieutenant, I am sorry for you, but I told
you to shut your door and keep the bullets out. "

CHAPTER XX.

FROM JUNE 10 TO JULY 17, 1864.
Advance of the Army on Kenesaw — Minty's Fight at McAfee's Cross
roads — Cavalry Formation and Tactics in Battle Described — Rebel
Commands Enumerated — Battle of Noonday Creek — Rebel Account
of Same — Incidents of — Account of, by Governor Cox — List of Of
ficers and Soldiers Distinguished in — Retreat of the Rebel Army —
Capture of Rosswell — Battle with the "Bees."
" Whenever for the truth and right
It flashes in the van of fight,
Whether in some wild mountain's pass
Like that where fell Leonidas ;
Or on some sterile plain and stern,
A Marston or a Bannockburn ;
Or amid crags and bursting rills,
The Switzer's Alps, gray Tyrol's hills ;
Or, as when sank the Armada's pride,
It gleams above the stormy tide, —
Still, still, whene'er the battle word
Is Liberty — where men do stand
For justice and their native land,
Then may Heaven bless the Sword! "
— Anon. — From "Song of the Forge."
jHE army advanced to the front of the rebels'
strong position, at Kenesaw mountain, on the
11th of June. Minty' s brigade, now transferred
from the extreme right to the extreme left of the army,
advanced guarding that flank, the Seventh Pennsylvania
cavalry leading the column, striking out to the east of the
railroad, about five miles. A position was reached where
the road from Marietta to Rossville Factory crosses that
leading from Ackworth to Lattimer's mills, called Mc
Afee's cross-roads.
On approaching the cross-roads, the advance of the
(308)

McAfee's Cross-Roads. 309
Seventh Pennsylvania became heavily engaged, but the
regiment drove the enemy gallantly beyond, and occu
pied the cross-roads. While Minty deployed his line, it
was attacked by a brigade of Martin's, and the whole of
Ferguson's division of cavalry. Minty promptly sup
ported the advance regiment with the Fourth Michigan,
and Fourth United States deployed, and after skirmishing
for about an hour, seeing an opportunity for a saber
charge, he formed the Seventh Pennsylvania in column
and let it loose. Charging directly on the center of Fer
guson' s division, it cut through the rebel lines, and then
making a half wheel to the left swept like a tornado
through the crowd of affrighted fugitives. The Fourth
Michigan and Fourth United States, now advancing on a
run, firing heavy volleys from their repeating carbines,
completed the rout of the heavy rebel force, which re
treated rapidly from the field across Noonday creek.
The rebel loss in this affair was seventy-eight killed
and wounded, and fifty-four captured.
The loss in the brigade was confined entirely to the
Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, and was five killed and
seventeen wounded.
The casualties in the Seventh Pennsylvania, and the
killed, wounded, and captured of the enemy, are in this
instance taken from the reports of Major Andress, com
manding the Seventh, and of Captains Sheafer and Gar
rett, commanding battalions of that regiment. We
make this statement in explanation of the marked dis
crepancy between the text and the reports of Colonel
Minty. Most of the prisoners taken were immediately
turned over to other commands, and the rebel dead and
wounded were only noted by these officers.
Simple justice to the brave men who, on this day, sus
tained for five hours the fierce onslaught of Ross' whole

310 Minty and the Cavalry.
division, consisting of three brigades, in all fifteen regi
ments, and after routing the rebel horde and driving them
from the line of breast- works, extending far beyond the
flank of Minty' s whole command, maintained their posi
tion almost unsupported in the extreme front until re
called at dark, requires the following details to be given:
Captain Sheafer, with a battalion of the Seventh, num
bering about two hundred men, had the advance, after
driving the rebels from McAfee' s cross-roads, formed in
company front on the right. Captain Garrett, with two
companies of the Seventh, held the center on the road,
supported by Captain Totten with his battalion of the
Fourth Michigan, who stuck faithfully to, and, with
Garrett, mingled in the thickest of the whole fight.
Major Andress, with the remainder of the Seventh Penn
sylvania, deployed in line on the left until after he had
cleared the breast- works, when he formed column, and,
charging, joined in the furious battle which ensued.
Captain Sheafer, finding that, as he advanced, he was ex
posed to such terrific fire from front and right flank as
would cut his command to pieces before the left could
work its way through the woods, determined to charge
the works with the saber. He accordingly communicated
his intentions to Garrett and Totten on the road, and asked
that they charge in like manner at the same time ; they
readily agreed, and the little band, not over six hundred
strong, plunged forward at a charging gallop, with the
results before stated.
It is desirable that the reader bear in mind in all the
saber charges of these regiments described herein, where
the" contrary is not expressly stated, that the charge was
never the orderly movement of the command at a slow,
steady gallop, with strict attention to alignment and dress
ing of files which characterizes the pageantry of perfect

How They Fought. 311
military drill and manual, but, on the contrary, a wild rush
forward, at a full, running, racing speed, in loose formation,
with far more attention to who should first strike the en
emy than whose buttons he aligned with, or whose file he
covered, or whose stirrup he touched. There was no such
thing as riding stirrup to stirrup, mounted, or standing
shoulder to shoulder, dismounted, in any of our fights in
the Western cavalry, or, at least, in Minty's brigade. In
our mounted saber charges, our favorite formation was in
column of fours, of platoons, of companies, battalions,
or regiments, in single rank, taking distance to the right
and left about four paces, or ten feet, the sets being about
six paces, or fifteen feet, apart. In fighting on foot, or
dismounted, the formation was generally in line, or,
rather, a succession of two or more lines, single rank, and
at what we called half skirmishing distance, /. e., each
man in line, about four paces, or ten feet, from his com
rade. We are aware that this description of " how we fought ' '
will strike the National guardsman of to-day, and even
the regular, with disgust, and fill him with deep regret
that he was not there to show us "how to do it;" but,
in extenuation, it is urged that we were a lot of Penn
sylvania Dutch, and poor, ignorant cusses from the wilds
of Michigan, and the untutored population of the bleak
plains of Hlinois and Iowa, and the ague-shaken swamps
of Indiana, joined by a lot of the poor white trash, the
no-account people, the low-down Unionists, or Lincoln-
ites, of Kentucky and Tennessee. Moreover, we never
had a chance to learn how to fight; for before we got
through the "school of the soldier," the confounded
rebels out in the West commenced their fool business of
running away from us, and kept us so busy in following
them up that all we had a chance to learn was how to

312 Minty and the Cavalry.
march the quickest, so, of course, we never learned how
to fight.
After capturing the breast-works, the Seventh Pennsyl
vania, with Totten' s detachments of the Fourth Michi,
gan, pressed rapidly to the edge of a dense woods, into
which the enemy retreating, the cavalry could not follow
mounted. Andress, therefore, drew slightly back toward
the breast-works and formed line. Soon observing a
body of cavalry moving on the left, Captain Totten
promptly charged and drove them back into the woods.
Active skirmishing all around him disclosed the pres
ence of the enemy in heavy force. Minty deflected the
Fourth United States to the extreme flank, to guard the
road toward Woodstock and cover the artillery. The
line of dismounted men now advancing into the woods
developed a long range of breast- works, extending far be
yond the left flank, from which the enemy issuing, drove
the battalions back in succession to the line Of the cap
tured works ; where a stand was made. After several at
tempts to find a weak point in the new line, the rebels
withdrew, and Minty, finding that the Second brigade,
(Long' s, ) was not moving to his support, determined to
fall back to a position on the old Alabama road, near
where it crosses Noonday creek, about two miles from
the cross-roads, when he reported to the general com
manding the division, the presence of, and the fact that
he had engaged that day three rebel brigades, to wit :
General Allen's, consisting of the First, Third, Fifth,
Eighth, and Tenth Confederate (regular) cavalry ; Tver-
son's, consisting of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and
Sixth Georgia, and J. F. Morgan's, consisting of the
First, Third, Fourth, and Fifty-first Alabama, or at least
forty -five hundred men, pitted against his fourteen hun
dred. The brigade remained in this position near Mc-

Noonday Creek. 313
Afee's, skirmishing more or less daily with the enemy
until the morning of June 20th. At 10, a. m. , of that day,
the Fourth regulars were sent across Noonday creek to
guard the Canton and Marietta road. After driving the
rebel outposts from near the creek to the Marietta road,
the Seventh Pennsylvania was formed on it, and one bat
talion of the Fourth United States was sent south to the
Big Shanty road, which soon developed a force of from
six to seven thousand rebels. A patrol to McAfee' s cross
roads found only small scouting parties of tne enemy.
Videttes posted on the hills east of the Marietta road re
ported parties of the enemy moving ail through the coun
try. The situation remained unchanged until about 4,
p. m. , when, under orders from General Gerrard to encamp
wi,th the brigade across the creek, Minty moved the
Fourth Michigan over the creek. At this time the rebels
advanced in force, and attacking Major Jennings, com
manding the Seventh Pennsylvania, from the north,
drove him slowly toward the crossing of the creek. In
order to relieve the pressure, a saber charge of the regi
ment was ordered. It was led by Captain Newlin, com
pany F, Seventh Pennsylvania, in the most gallant man
ner, and was directed against the right center of the at
tacking forces. For half an hour the opposing ranks
were completely intermingled, the rebels confident in
their vast superiority of numbers, fighting with a deter
mination never before met with in their Western cavalry.
After what seemed an age to their anxious comrades in
other parts of the field, the ranks were seen to separate,
the great masses of the rebel gray falling back to their re
serves and artillery on the hill, to the north-east, with the
little line of blue-coated Pennsylvanians in full pursuit.
In this moment of triumph, Allen's brigade, (late John
F. Morgan's,) of four regiments, advanced and struck the

314 Minty and the Cavalry.
Seventh Pennsylvania on its right flank. This attack re
quired an immediate change of front, which was prompt
ly made, but in making it, the intrepid Newlin, with a
number of his men, was captured by the enemy. A bat
talion of the Fourth United States, under Lieutenants
Fitzgerald and Wirt Davis, immediately rushed into the
melee to the support of the Seventh, and after a most
stubborn fight of over an hour, this brigade was also
driven back to the woods and shelter of their artillery.
Colonel Miller, with two regiments of his brigade, now
reported to Minty and were placed in position ; one on a
wooded hill to the right and the other in the woods to
the left of the Seventeenth Indiana, commanded by Major
Vail, while two battalions of the Fourth Michigan, under
Captains Pritchard and Leach, respectively, crossed Noon
day creek, and, forming on the left flank of the Seventh
Pennsylvania, met and repelled a charge of the First
Georgia, driving them back into the woods. The position
of the command was now critical in the extreme. Near
ly all the First brigade, with its lead horses, mules, &c,
was south of the creek, here impassable except by a rick-
etty, narrow bridge, formed of rails, now floating in the
water ; on the south approach to the bridge a bottom half
a mile wide, covered with mud and water, " belly deep"
to a horse, while on the north side of the creek, the
forces formed on hills and high, timbered ground, could
only look on without materially aiding those actually en
gaged. The rebels now appeared in strong force, Kelly's di
vision and Williams' brigade, on the south side of the
creek, attacking the left of the position furiously, at first
driving a battalion of the Fourth United States, there
posted, back about one hundred yards, when it rallied
behind breast- works, (being dismounted,) and held them

Noonday Creek. 315
in check, the other portion of the command in this part
of the field maintaining its position. On the north side
of the creek, Lieutenant Colonel Biggs, with the One
Hundred and Twenty-third Illinois, and part of the Sev
enteenth Indiana, holding the right of the line, was at
one time completely surrounded, but succeeded in re
pulsing the enemy finally.
The artillery, one section Chicago Board of Trade bat
tery, under Lieutenants Griffin and Lutz, and another
under Lieutenants G. I. Robinson and Bennett, being
posted on a hill north of the creek, now opened with
good effect, checking all determined advance of the enemy.
The fighting continued furiously all around the position,
until just before dark the rebels concluding they had
enough for one day, withdrew, leaving Minty in posses
sion of the field. All along the line of march from the
Tennessee river to this place, the people, whether friendly
or not, on being told, in answer to their stereotyped form
of question : ' ' What reejment is youens all V ' that it was
the Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, uniformly replied :
"The Fourth Georgia is waitin' for youens; they've got
their sabers ground, too: they'll meet youens, suah."
Soon after the artillery opened, a full regiment came out
of the woods, dressed their lines, and advanced in good
style. It was the Fourth Georgia, coming to try their
newly -ground sabers. Our boys promptly accepted the
challenge, and, moving out, met their charge at a trot.
The ranks completely intermingled, and the shock was
terrific, but in less than five minutes the splendid rebel
regiment was cut to pieces and utterly routed, retreated
to the shelter of the woods, not having inflicted even a
severe wound on any of our men. * They could not handle
the saber. Again they formed and charged, and were
again repulsed. A third time they ad-vanced, but being

316

Minty and the Cavalry.

met by a counter-charge, they broke and ran, in wildest
confusion, to the shelter of their friendly artillery and
reserve lines in the woods. This was the last we ever
heard about the boasted ground sabers of the Fourth
Georgia. They probably beat them into plowshares or
threw them away, and depended henceforward on the
double-barreled shot gun — a weapon, in their hands, far
more efficient.
.Colonel Minty, in his report (official) says : "I cannot
speak too highly of the gallantry displayed by the Sev
enth Pennsylvania and Fourth Michigan when attacked
by such overwhelming numbers in the early part of the
engagement, or the splendid manner in which Colonel
Biggs, of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Illinois and
part of the Seventeenth Indiana, repulsed the enemy
when they were completely surrounded and cut off from
the remainder of our small force." '
He reports the casualties as follows :

Killed.

Wounded.

Captured.

Total.

Regiments.

S-.o
sa
O

ri

GO*Uo
m
O

3

wo
o 1

ri
a 5 18 1

ESQ<D
O
o

(3

Seventh Pennsylvania,
Fourth United States, .

1

8

1

15 1

Fourth Michigan, ....
Third brigade, 

1

10 2

23 7
39 10
Total, 
1
13
38
1
15
1
64
The following, from the rebel papers, gives the fight as
it appeared to them, and their own statement of the loss
they sustained. They .called it McAfee's; we named it
Noonday creek:
Rebel Account of the Battle. 317
[Extracts from a letter published at Atlanta, Ga., in the afternoon edition of
the Memphis Appeal, of the 25th June.]
"On the 20th instant, two divisions— Kelly's and Martin's— and one brigade
(Williams') of our cavalry, went round to the left flank and rear' of Sher
man's army, it was 'said, to capture a brigade of Yankee cavalry stationed
at McAfee's. We succeeded in getting to the right place, where the enemy
(Minty's brigade) was vigorously attacked by Williams, and a portion of
Anderson's brigade. After a sharp conflict, the enemy were driven from the
field. Hannon's brigade having come up and attacked them on the flank.
The Yankees fought desperately and fell back slowly, with what loss we
are unable to ascertain, as they carried off their wounded and most of their
dead. To one who was an eye-witness, but not an adept in the ' art of war,'
it seemed very strange that the whole Yankee force was not surrounded and
captured. Dibrell's brigade was drawn up a few hundred yards from and
in full view of the battle-field, with Martin's whole division immediately in
the rear. This is one of the best fighting brigades the Yankees have, and
to have captured or routed it would have added a bright feather to the
plume of the successful hero accomplishing the feat. After he (Minty)
had been driven from his first position, Martin's whole division was brought
up and lost several of Allen's brigade. Brigadier General Allen had his
horse shot. The Eighth Confederate and Fifth Georgia, of Anderson's
brigade, lost several killed and wounded. Williams' Kentucky brigade lost
several good soldiers.''
Colonel Minty adds in his report :
"According to the above, there was the following rebel force in the field :
Kelly's and Martin's divisions, consisting of the brigades of Anderson, (six
regiments,) Hannon's, (five regiments,) Allen's, (five regiments,) and John
son's (five regiments,) and the independent brigades of Williams and Dib
rell, composed of five regiments each, say in all twelve regiments, with an
average of three hundred — thirty-six hundred; the Fifth Georgia numbered
over eight hundred. The entire force I had engaged was Seventh Penn
sylvania, one hundred and seventy men, and Fourth Michigan, two hundred
and eighty-three — in all four hundred and fifty-three. These few men held
their ground against the repeated assaults of the enemy for over two hours,
and when I ordered them to fall back, they retired slowly, in good order.
I beg to call the attention of the general commanding to the heavy loss sus
tained by this small force. In a loss of over twelve per cent., the very
small proportion reported missing shows how steady and stubbornly they
fought." Colonel Minty further adds, in a note to this report ;
"One battalion, led by Captain Hathaway, repulsed a charge made by
Williams' brigade by a counter-charge.
" While my loss in this engagement was only sixty-five, the Marietta,
Ga., papers acknowledge a rebel loss of ninety-four killed and three hun
dred and fifty-one wounded."

318 Minty and the Cavalry
Following are extracts from a letter from Colonel Minty,
under date of Kenesaw, Ga., June 28, 1864, to the ad
jutant general of Michigan :
" The fight in which Lieutenant Sutton was killed, ' Lattimer's Mills,' 20th
June, turns out to have been a splendid affair. I knew that the enemy had
suffered severely, but the truth far surpasses my most sanguine hopes.
"The day before yesterday, two negroes came in from General Martin's
division and told us the rebel loss was about five hundred. This I did not
believe, but some of the Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth regulars got
hold of a couple of Atlanta papers, in which they acknowledge their loss to
be over ninety killed and three hundred and sixty wounded. When we take
into consideration the fact that the rebels had two entire divisions actually
engaged, supported by a third, and that I had only three regiments and a
half on the ground, while only the Fourth Michigan and a portion of the
Seventh Pennsylvania were engaged, I think all will allow that the result
is most gratifying."
Among the casualties were Lieutenant Sutton, Fourth
Michigan, killed in the encounter south of the creek, and
Captain Cyrus Newlin, company F, captured.
(For further casualties see appendix.)
While the fight at Noonday creek was going on, a re
port was brought to Colonel Minty that Lieutenant Fitz
gerald, who had a squadron of the Fourth United States
cavalry upon the right flank and rear, guarding that flank,
had been attacked by rebel cavalry. Minty immediately
sent Lieutenant Dixon, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry,
and provost marshal on his staff, to find out about the
truth of it. Dixon started off, and after awhile found
Lieutenant Fitzgerald. He was about to ask him con
cerning the attack, &c, when a couple of rebel bullets
came whistling by his ears. "No matter, Lieutenant,"
saidD., "that is a sufficient confirmation of the report
we heard," and putting spurs to his horse returned to
Colonel Minty instantly, standing not on the order of
his going.
General Cox, late Governor of Ohio, and Secretary of
the Interior, in his "History of the Atlanta Campaign,"

Advance of the Army. 319
referring to the engagement, states that he witnessed it
from the hills near Kenesaw, and speaks of it as "one of
the most hotly contested cavalry fights of the war," *
;i "between Gerrard' s and the enemy's cavalry
under Wheeler."
On the 21st and 22d, the brigade picketed on the west
side of Noonday creek, and on the 23d the division crossed
to the east side, finding only light scouting parties of the
enemy, who speedily disappeared. After penetrating for
some distance without developing the enemy, it returned
to the west side, remaining there until the 27th, with
slight skirmishing each day. On the 27th, the division
demonstrated (dismounted) across the creek; the only re
sult being an artillery duel; returning again to the west
side, a constant skirmish was maintained with the enemy's
dismounted men to July 2.
The position' of the division while engaged in these series
of daily encounters on the left of the army, after advanc
ing from Ackworth, and its services, can only be justly
appreciated by a brief reference to the movements of the
army itself.
After gaining possession of Alatona pass, Sherman
concentrated the army directly on the railroad, and ad
vanced, reaching a position in front of Kenesaw and Lost
mountain, two days after Minty's fight at Big Shanty
and Little Kenesaw. By this time Little Kenesaw had
been strongly occupied and fortified. After demonstrat
ing with constant severe fighting from the 2d to the 27th
of June, in front of these positions, during which time
he had driven the rebels from Lost and Pine mountains,
killing many and capturing several thousand of the
enemy, among the killed being Lieutenant General
Leonidas Polk, commander of the rebel left wing, he
pushed his lines close up to the base of the mountains on

320 Minty and the Cavalry.
the 27th of June, and attempted to carry Little Kenesaw
by assault. The attack was gallantly made and perse
vered in all day, but was repulsed with heavy loss to the
assaulting columns. On the 29th and 30th of June, he
advanced his right, passing between Lost and Kenesaw
mountains, turned and crushed in the left wing of John
son' s army, pressed onward in a great left wheel toward
Marietta and the bridge over the Chattahoochee, in the
rear of the rebel position, thus forcing Johnson to abandon
Kenesaw and fall back across the river. Marietta was oc
cupied by the Union forces on the morning of July 3, and
the rebel army followed rapidly to the Chattahoochee.
While thus operating in front of the Kenesaw, Sher
man's left flank was completely in air and exposed to
serious danger from attack by the large cavalry forces of
the enemy, and it was the duty of Gerrard' s division of
cavalry, operating nearly ten miles to the front and left,
to head off these threatened assaults and protect that
flank, and the rear of the army. We have seen how
faithfully this duty was performed, and how successfully
at times, against overwhelming odds of over six to one,
Minty, on whom the burden of the fighting fell, executed
the trust, inflicting on the enemy, in addition to the hu
miliation of defeating them again and again, day after
day, an absolute numerical loss ten-fold greater than he
suffered. These operations were purely cavalry, for while in
many places over whole miles of country, the dense for
ests and thickets of undergrowth required him to fight
on foot, yet, wherever and whenever a cleared field or
open ground offered the opportunity, the cavalryman's
most effective weapon, the saber, was called into requisi
tion and the "charge" relied on to obtain the greatest
result with the least possible loss.

Capture of Rosswell. 321
On the 2d of July, the division moved into and occu
pied the works on the left of the army, covering the with
drawal of that wing in its movement toward and west of
Marietta, and on the morning of the 3d, moving through
the rebel works, entered Marietta almost simultaneously
with the infantry. Moving on the 4th to the left, up the
Chattahoochee, Minty, with his brigade, developed a con
siderable-force in the direction of Rosswell, and on the
5th, with the Seventh Pennsylvania in the advance, he
moved upon and captured that place, driving out the reb
els and securing the crossing of the river.
At Rosswell, extensive cotton mills, engaged in manu
facturing cloth for the rebel government, were seized, and
with all the machinery, destroyed by order of General
Sherman. It was related at the time that the destruction
of these mills and factories occurred under the following
circumstances : The proprietors of the mills, soon after
our entry into the place, called upon our officers, and de
claring they were subjects of Great Britain and of France
under the protection of these nations, demanded that the
rights of neutrals be respected in themselves and their
property. They were assured that if in fact neutrals, and
not found to be, or having been engaged in aiding the
Southern belligerants, the rights claimed would be fully
accorded and respected. Meanwhile, the work in the mills
went on regularly, as though no hostile forces were pres
ent. One morning, however, about the 6th or 8th of July,
some officers, we are not able now to name them, but are
of the opinion that General Gerrard was the ranking one,
stepped into the factory and passing through, found the
operators busy engaged in making heavy cotton cloth,
and a very little investigation showed that on each webb,
or piece, the cabalistic letters C. S. A. were woven in the
woof. The "neutral subjects of Great Britain" and
21

322 Minty. and the Cavalry.
" Imperial France " were sent for, their attention called
to these facts, and they were told to take down the French
flag, which was flying at the flagstaff, remove their money
and private papers, subject to proper supervision, and
notify all the operators to leave the building at once. On
their refusing to do so, a guard was called in and soon
cleared the building. All the books and papers, &c, of
the company were seized, placed under guard, and duly
forwarded to army head-quarters. When this prelimin
ary work had been done, the buildings were fired in many
places, and with their contents, machinery and stock on
hand, thoroughly destroyed. Of course a claim for reim
bursement was made against the United States Govern
ment, but it has not yet been paid. This was one of the
"vandal" acts of the ruthless invader, (Sherman,) per
petrated on the innocent "non-combatants," during this
and the succeeding campaigns, over which the Southern —
then rebel — now intensely loyal, newspapers and orators
discoursed so freely in that day, and which they still use
to fire the Southern heart, and hold a "united South."
On the 9th of July, the First and Third brigades crossed
the Chattahooche river in the face and under fire from the
enemy, by wading it, while skirmishing, from shore to
shore. At first the fire was heavy, and the undertaking
seemed hazardous, but after getting well into the stream,
there about three fourths of a mile wide, the scene assumed
the ludicrous. As before stated, the brigade, in fact the
whole division, was armed with the Spencer repeating
rifle and carbine, using a metallic water-proof cartridge.
The river was very rocky, and in many places the chan
nels between the rocks were found to be " over head ' ' in
depth. As the rebel bullets began to splash around pretty
thick, the boys sought to keep in this deep water with
only the head exposed; they soon discovered that they

Astonishing the Johnnies. 323
could throw the cartridge from the magazine into the
chamber of the piece, by working the lever, as well under
water as in the air; hence, all along the, line you could see
the men bring their guns up, let the water run from the
muzzle a moment, then taking a quick aim fire his piece
and pop down again, with only his head exposed. Now,
the rebels had never seen anything of this kind before,
nor, for that matter, had we, and their astonishment
knew no bounds. We could hear them calling to each
other, ' ' Look at them Yankee  , loading their
guns under water !" " What sort of critters be they, any
how ?" " It' s no use to fit agin f elms that' 11 dive down to
the bottom of the rivah an git that powdah and ball,"
&c, &c, &c. ; their curiosity so far got the better of their
devotion to the ' ' cause' ' that nearly the whole line, some
thing over two hundred in number, remained on the bank,
quit firing, and surrendered as soon as we got on the south
side, anxious only to see the guns that could be loaded
and fired under water.
The two brigades advanced about a mile, halted,
and threw up breast-works, which were held until dark,
when they were relieved by General Newton' s division,
Fourth army corps, and retired to Rosswell. From the
10th to the 16th, the brigade scouted up the river without
special incident, and on the 17th crossed the Chattahoo-
che at McAfee's bridge, and marched to Cross Keys.
In one of our scouting expeditions up the river, about
the 10th, some of the Seventh Pennsylvania succeeded in
making a bad stampede in the column. We had halted
over night near a plantation house, where there were a
large number of seeps of bees. Now, the boys always
liked honey, and the labor of those bees was not only ap
propriated, but their future usefulness as honey-producing
colonies sadly marred. We started the next morning on

324 Minty and the Cavalry.
the march before daylight, and some of the Seventh Penn
sylvania boys contrived to get a forage bag over one of the
hives, thus securing both bees and honey for future use,
smuggled it into the column, and by supporting it on the
horse in front, relieving each other in turns, and having
it covered with an overcoat or something of the kind, car
ried it along until well in the forenoon. Somehow, in the
march, the bag worked off the end of the hive, and the
bees maddened by the jolting and the confinement, rushed
out in an angry swarm, attacking indiscriminately officers,
men, and horses. Well, for a time it looked as though
the sand-fly experience was to be repeated, and the divi
sion scattered all over the Southern Confederacy. But
by getting far enough away from the hive, now left by
the purloiners in the middle bf the road, after a good deal
of scare, and a good many "stings and arrows of out
raged fortune, ' ' the column renewed its march in pretty
fair order. The only casualties noted, and that on the
quartermaster's report of company G, Seventh Pennsyl
vania cavalry, was "one horse stung to death by bees."
This was the literal fact. The bees seemed to center on
one particular horse of that company, and absolutely
stung him to death.

 " B ¦' If II II II II II 'II II I r

" "  ¦¦ ¦  I

CHAPTER XXI.
I864--FROM JULY 17 TO AUGUST 17
Capture of the Augusta Railroad — Decatur — Covington Raid — Battle
of Flat Rock Shoals — Movements of the Army — Battles in Front
of Atlanta — " In the Trenches '' — Capturing the Rebel Rifle Pits —
Under Fire of Rebel Forts — Camp Shelled — Rebel Sortie — Rebels
Driven into Atlanta — Incidents During the Siege of Atlanta.
" Ho 1 Comrades ! see the starry flag,
Broad waving at our head ;
Ho ! Comrades I mark the tender light
On the dear emblems spread I
Our father's blood has hallowed it , 'tis part of their renown,
And palsied be the caitiff hand would pluck its glories down. "
OVING during the night of July 17th, from
Cross Keys, Minty, with his and the Third
brigades, reached the Atlanta and Augusta rail
road near Decatur, Georgia, about twenty miles east of At
lanta and driving off the rebel guards, destroyed five miles
of track, road-bed, and all the bridges. On the 19th, he
moved on down the railroad, and after a sharp skirmish,
captured Decatur and destroyed the railroad effectually
as far as Stone mountain, then thoroughly scouted the
country for over ten miles in every direction and cleared
it of the roving scouting parties of the enemy.
Leaving old Cross Keys on the morning of the 21st,
Minty marched his command thirty-seven miles that day
by way of Decatur to Rock bridge, on the same railroad,
destroying the road as he advanced, reaching the bridge,
which he burned at daylight on the 22d. After a halt
of two hours he marched on Covington, which, after two
(325)

326 Minty and the Cavalry.
hours' fighting, he captured. Here he destroyed a large
amount of rebel commissary, quartermasters', and ordi
nance stores, and captured during the fight a train of
nearly twenty wagons, which he destroyed, bringing in
the mules. Near this place we ran into a train of refu
gees from Kentucky and Tennessee, who stated that they
had been running away from the ' ' Yankees ' ' for over
two years, because they were led to believe that certain
death awaited them if caught or overtaken. They being
but harmless citizens, though strong secessionists, were
brought in, and men, women, and children fed, kindly
treated, and eventually sent to their distant homes at the
expense of the Government ; the only thing they lost
was all their serviceable horses. From Covington, Minty
moved east five miles, and thoroughly destroyed the
track and road-bed of the railroad for that distance. On
the 23d, he marched to Lawrenceville, and returned to
Decatur, where he camped about midnight.
On the 27th, the division, under command of General
Gerrard, moved eastward from Decatur, for the purpose
of covering a raid by General Stoneman, against the Ma
con and Atlanta railroad. Minty, commanding the First
and Third brigades, took the advance of the column, and
reached Flat Shoals on the Flint river that night.
Of Stoneman' s raid it is unnecessary to speak, beyond
the fact that after penetrating the rebel country to near
Macon, Georgia, he scattered his command, and, after
many conflicts, was, with a portion of it, surrounded and
captured. Most of his detachments were also ' ' gobbled
up," and the raid resulted in utter failure, and the prac
tical loss of nearly one third of Sherman's cavalry.
Minty's force was not part of the raiding column, and
was only advanced by Gerrard to the Flint river to cover
the movement by distracting the enemy' s attention and

Battle of Flat Rock. 327
drawing off sufficient of the rebel cavalry to enable Stone
man to get ' ' a good start. ' '
The night after Minty arrived at Flat Shoals, or Flat
Rock, as it was called, his pickets — the Fourth Michigan
—being driven in from both flanks and the front, (his
rear rested on the river, ) gave notice of the presence of
the enemy in force. He, therefore, strengthened his po
sition by contracting his lines- and erecting barricades and
breast-works of rails and logs, and lay in line of battle
all night.
The morning of the 29th disclosed the fact that the
command was completely surrounded by two divisions
and three additional brigades — nine in all — of cavalry.
A heavy attack was made on the position of the Seventh
Pennsylvania, near the shoals, which was, however, suc
cessfully repulsed. The division now occupied a some
what elongated circular position, on a succession of low
hills, covering the different approaches. Attacks were
made on every part of the line, in quick succession, from
daylight to about 10, a. m., when forming the Third
brigade, dismounted, and a battalion of Fourth Michigan
on each of its flanks, Minty assumed the offensive on the
Lithonia, road, and drove from that front, in confusion.
The division was then mounted and drawn out on the
Lithonia road and adjoining hills, in line, facing nearly
south, and, advancing, forced the division of the enemy
back across the river; then, wheeling slightly to the left,
struck the force which was still pressing the position
of the Seventh Pennsylvania in the flank, completely
routing and driving it from the field. The rebels now,
either tiring of the fight or suspecting that they were
merely being amused while Stoneman proceeded south,
suddenly withdrew from the front and the field.
Having thus completely opened the way for Stoneman,

328 Minty and the Cavalry.
by drawing the rebel cavalry far to the east of his pro
posed line of march, and being under orders to return to
the left of the army immediately on this being done,
Gerrard moved the division to Lithonia, where he
camped that night. Next day, the 30th, after pushing
strong scouting parties out on the Flint road without de
veloping the enemy, he marched to Cross Keys, and on
the 31st went into camp near Buckhead. The loss in the
First brigade was five killed and thirty wounded; of the
Seventh Pennsylvania, three killed and twenty wounded;
of the Fourth Michigan, two killed and ten wounded;
and in the Third brigade, seven killed, -thirty-eight
wounded, and ten captured, the Second brigade not re
porting any casualties.
First Lieutenant Charles D. Brandt, of company M,
Seventh Pennsylvania, was severely wounded, being shot
through both hips. He was permanently disabled, and
never again resumed active duty. He was, at the final
discharge of the regiment, marked on the muster-out roll,
' ' absent on detached duty, ' ' but all inquiries from that
date have failed in ascertaining his fate or whereabouts,
if living. He was a brave and faithful officer.
On the 1st of August, the First and Third brigades,
sending their horses to the rear, entered the trenches in
front of Atlanta, occupying that portion of the line north
east of the city, which had been held by the Twenty-
third army corps, which corps they now relieved. We re
mained in this position, doing duty as infantry, until the
morning of the loth. The First brigade occupied an
angle in the works investing Atlanta, one portion of the
line facing south-west, toward the city, and another
nearly north-east, with a strong skirmish line, in rifle-
pits, pushed up on the former face to within about two
hundred yards of the rebel works, and outlying skir-

In the Trenches — Camp Shelled. 329
mishers on the north-east, also sheltered in strong rifle-
pits, extending to the Augusta railroad, at the Red House,
east of the city, and for a considerable distance along
the railroad.
About one hundred and fifty yards to the right of the
bivouac of the brigade, was a hill on which, in a strong
fort, a battery of heavy siege-guns was mounted, and
on an opposite hill one of the strongest of rebel forts
of defense was constructed, also armed with heavy (sixty-
four-pounder) siege-guns. Our bivouac, located in the
angle, was directly in the line of fire from this rebel fort,
and almost daily the big shells from Atlanta, passing
over the fort on our right, dropped down among us, some
times exploding, but generally harmlessly burying them
selves in the sand. Our acquaintance with, and experi
ence of, these visitors began on the night of the 3d, when
the rebels opened a converging fire on the battery to our
right from five heavy batteries, located within easy range.
The shells dropped into our camp at a lively rate, half a
dozen coming at a time, and as all the boys not on duty
at the line of breast works were sleeping in their little
shelters at the time, they got "waked up" rudely
enough ! Shelters were knocked down, cook-tents de
molished, camp-kettles scattered and destroyed with a
good deal of din, and the boys promptly seeking cover in
the trenches, without much regard to the completeness
of their uniform, presented somewhat the appearance of
Falstaff's regiment of ragamuffins. The occasion was
commemorated as the "shirt-tail dress-parade."
Attached to the brigade head-quarters, was a colored
man named ' ' George, ' ' who, from time to time, when not
exactly satisfied with the situation as cook and hostler,
was wont to declare his purpose of enlisting, and entering
on the work of the immediate overthrowing of the re-

330 Minty and the Cavalry.
bellion. He spoke frequently and very confidently of his
"bravery, " said he would " enjoy" a battle better than
a turkey dinner, and in short was one of the men we
have all seen, since the war was over, who "would sooner
fight than eat . ' ' Up to this time, however, George had
managed to avoid being under fire, though , often com
plaining bitterly of the hard fate that kept him among
the pack mules and camp-kettles, when a fight was going
on. When the shelling began, George was sleeping in the
cook shelter, and only waked up when a sixty-four
pounder shell burst in the vicinity, scattering the cook
house, with its pans and kettles, over and around him !
His longing to be in a fight, or at least under fire, was
gratified at last ! But George was not looking for it in
that form and found the realization of his hopes and long
ings slightly different from his anticipations, and not
wishing to " get hurt," popped into a "gopher hole," as
the old rebel rifle pits in our camping-ground were called.
The next day George came in, looking "off color,"
when Captain Burns, Acting Assistant Adjutant General,
said to him, "George, where were you last night when
the rebels were shelling us % We wanted you to clean up
things a little, after they quit." "Well, de fac is
' Capn, " he replied, "when dey 'trow'd de big sell into
de cook-house, I tought I's not wanted hea'h, 'an jumped
inter dat ' gofer hole, ' wid a lot of you all, den I went
to de bres' works an' fit 'til I got to de bottom of my
brave, an' dat wah a deal shallerer dan I tought ; so I jest
let out, an' did' n't stop till I had run about a mile an'
haf. " After a momentary pause, he added, with great
solemnity: " It wah a tempestuous night, wah' n't it,
Cap'n ! "
On the 7th of August, an advance and demonstra-

In the Trenches — Rebel Sortie. 331
tion was made by the left wing of the army against the
rebel works, resulting in the capture, and permanent oc
cupancy of nearly two miles of their rifle pits, and push
ing our works at several points to within a couple of hun
dred yards of their main forts. In this advance, the
First brigade, dismounted, held the extreme left, protect
ing the flank and rear, and was briskly engaged. It lost
ten men wounded, two in Seventh Pennsylvania, and the
remainder in the other regiments.
Two days after, the pickets on the extreme line in ad
vance of the left or east flank, at the ' ' Red House, ' ' and
along the Augusta railroad, were attacked early in the
morning. The infantry pickets were driven from the hill
on the right, back, about half a mile, when Captain
Vale, in charge of the adjoining skirmishers of the
Seventh, quickly moved his line about three hundred
yards to the right, seizing an angle of the rifle pits aban
doned by the infantry, near the house, got an enfilading
fire on the rebels and held them in check ; preventing
them from occupying the abandoned rifle pits on his right.
After about an hour, parts of the Fourth Michigan and
Seventh Pennsylvania reached the skirmish line, and,
forming on the right, advanced to, and occupied the pits
along the whole line, then pushing forward, drove the
enemy back across the railroad ; when they withdrew
into the city. The "critter back" boys of the Fourth
Michigan and Seventh Pennsylvania then informed the
infantry that their rifle pits were at their service again,
and returned to camp. No portion of the line held by
the brigade was driven out of position at any time. The
men being well sheltered, no casualties resulted, though
the fire of the enemy was continuous and heavy.
On the 13th of August, a few shells from the sixty-four
pounders in the rebel works were again dropped into

332 Minty and the Cavalry.
our camp. One of these, passing through the shelter of
Major Jennings, Seventh Pennsylvania, knocked to pieces
a table, around which were seated at the time the Major,
Lieutenant Percy White, Captain C. C. McCormick, and
either Captain Garrett or Lieutenant Edward P. Inhoff,
all of that regiment. After passing through the shelter,
the shell struck the logs of the breast- work against which
it was built, exploded, prostrating the entire group and
mortally wounding Robert Bridgens, of company E,
Seventh Pennsylvania, who was sitting on the works
nearly over the shelter. Captain McCormick was so
stunned by the concussion of the tremendous explosion,
occurring as it did within one foot of his head, that al
though not struck by any fragment, he lay for nearly an
hour unconscious, and, but for a slight breathing, appar
ently dead. The efforts of Dr. Sherk to restore him pre
vented immediate attention being given to Bridgens, who
lost so much blood, as led to a fatal end when the wound-
. ed leg was amputated during the night. Captain McCor
mick never fully recovered from this injury, for, although
he continued with the command, doing active duty, be
came colonel of the regiment and was discharged a brevet
brigadier general United States volunteers, yet from this
time on he was subject to terrible attacks of vertigo, fol
lowed by periods, varying in duration from one to five
hours of morose stupor, verging on dementia. His con
dition, while exciting the apprehensions of his comrades,
was kept quiet and not generally discussed. Soon after
his discharge from the service, he fell into confirmed de
mentia and died in a hospital for the insane at Danville,
Pennsylvania. He was one of the bravest men and best
officers Pennsylvania furnished to the service of the
country. It must be borne in mind that constant skirmishing was

Siege of Atlanta. 333
maintained, and mingled with the heavy booming o/ the
cannon, day and night, during this whole period, pro
claimed the siege and sounded the doom of the great
' ' Gate City ' ' of the Confederacy. While the men were
thus employed in the trenches, the horses were entirely
without exercise and destitute of long forage, but, on the
whole, rather improved in condition. In reality, it was
this rest of fifteen days which prevented the Second di
vision from being wholly dismounted. The 15th and 16th
were spent, after rejoining the horses, in scouting and
mounted picketing on the left of the army.
During the period covered by the operations of the di
vision and Minty's brigade, described in this and the fore
going chapter, the army had crossed the Chattahoochee
river, fought its way rapidly to the east and north-east of
Atlanta, and meeting the rebel army in battle array, along
Peach Tree creek, on the 20th and 21st of July, defeated
it with great slaughter. On the 22d, in closing in on the
rebel works, the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by
Major General James B. McPherson, was furiously as
sailed by General Hood, who, having been appointed to the
supreme command of the rebel army, abandoned the cau
tious policy of his far abler predecessor, Johnson, de
termined to assault, and, if possible, defeat the corps of
Sherman in detail. In this battle, extending from near
Decatur to the very fortifications of Atlanta, Major Gen
eral McPherson was killed, being shot while riding along
,a glade between two of his divisions, near the "Red
House," east of Atlanta. Hood was disastrously defeated
and driven inside the works. He made a second attempt,
on nearly the same ground, on the 28th, with a like dis
astrous result to his army, being completely routed by
General Joe Hooker— "Old Fighting Joe, " of the Army
of the Potomac. Again, on the 30th of August and 1st

334 Minty and the Cavalry.
of September, he flung his army, in desperate assaults,
on the right wing, near the Montgomery and Atlanta
road, on the west side of the city, only to be a third and
fourth time driven in disastrous rout inside his fortifica
tions. In these sanguinary battles Hood lost one half his army,
and so disheartening was the result, and appalling the
losses, that the rebel private soldiers in the rifle-pits an
swered the question of our skirmishers: "How many
men have you got now?" with, "Only enough to stand
one more good licking !" and refused, almost unanimous
ly, to be led again to the fight outside the intrenchments.
Having secured and destroyed three of the railroads
entering the city, and closely invested it on three sides,
Sherman now directed attention to breaking and destroy
ing the fourth and last — the Macon and Atlanta — and to
this end called in active service the cavalry.
In the progress of the campaign, some changes had been
made in the brigade field and staff. On the 13th of Au
gust, Lieutenant Wilkenson, of the Third Indiana, was
relieved from duty on account of promotion in his regi
ment, and Lieutenant John Schuyler, of the Seventh
Pennsylvania, appointed acting assistant quartermaster
in his stead. About the 1st of June, Colonel Sipes, of the
Seventh Pennsylvania, was ordered to Columbia, Tennes
see, to take command of the men who became dismounted
from the loss of their horses, and were sent to the rear.
Major Andress, soon after the battle of McAfee's cross
roads, was taken sick, sent to the rear, and the command
of the regiment devolved on Major Jennings.
The following extract from a private letter gives some
features of the experience of the men in the trenches, and
is on that account inserted :

Incidents of the Siege. 335
"In the Trenches, Atlanta, August 13. 186!f..
"My Dear Wife:
* * * * * "I have very little to communicate. Our
lines are drawing around Atlanta closer daily. Our regiment is on the ad
vanced skirmish line every third day. Our horses are in the rear, and we
are playing infantry. We teach the rebs, as the boys say, a new game of
' seven-up ' with our seven-shooting carbines. Yesterday an advance, or
demonstration, was made, and our regiment took part. We penetrated the
suburbs of the city, and took the rebel rifle-pits. The main works were
found too strong, so we did not assault them. The rebels fired heavily, but
the company, being sheltered by a rising ground, sustained no loss. I think
we went further than any other troops heretofore. All seemed pleased,
except the rebs. * * * *

" Captain Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry."
The day we returned to camp from the trenches, hear
ing there was long forage to be had in the country north
east, a party was sent by the colonel to secure it. Among
the foragers were several members of company M, Seventh
Pennsylvania, and, as a matter of course, ' ' Sam ' ' Duncan
was one. On their return to camp, Sam rode up to the cap
tain' s quarters and made the report in the following style :
' ' Captain, we were out foraging and got lots of corn-fodder
and things ; and I got a shoulder and a ham ; and you can
have whichever you want, but I' m going to take the ham ! ' '
The captain replied, "All right, Sam, give the boys the
shoulder, and I will mess with you while the ham lasts."
Sam thought the ham might last ' ' one day ' ' under these
conditions, and agreed to the captain's proposition.
Among other of Duncan's "lots of things," the com
pany M men brought in a " poke ' ' containing about a
peck of pears, dried whole, called by the Pennsylvanians
"houtzells," and fruit of all kinds being in constant de
mand, and a rarity, the company concluded to cook all
the pears at one time, and, inviting the company officers,
have a feast. Accordingly, the captain and lieutenant,
A. D. Parker, ("Don Parker,") gathered with the boys
around the camp-fire at the company cook shelter. After
disposing of a short ration of pork, hard-tack, and coffee,

336 Minty and the Cavalry.
the grand dish of the occasion was brought in, or rather
off, for in the informal fashion of ours, in those days of
grand army feasts, the camp-kettle containing the pears
was yanked off the fire, placed on the ground near by,
f*Tid each one approaching at his convenience or oppor
tunity, took a stick, fork, or knife, as the exigencies of
the service may have enabled him to supply himself with,
and fished up a pear, which he took by the stem, put into
his mouth, and ate. The pears were extolled, the cook
praised for the perfection with which they were done up,
and the foragers complimented as the best in the army.
The feast was progressing, and it really was a treat to
officers and men, when attention was directed to the
frantic efforts ' ' Don ' ' Parker was making to pull the stem
out of one he had in his mouth. He had seemingly got
hold of a pear that was not cooked enough, at least the
stem appeared unusually well fastened; in fact, as he
muttered while holding it between his teeth, it was
' ' clinched in the other end. ' ' Holding it in his mouth,
he pulled hard, first with one hand, then with the other,
declaring with desperation that it would take a six -mule
team to pull the stem out, but out it would have to come,
or he would  just what, he did not say, but his de
termined countenance expressed unutterable things. The
captain suggested a requisition on the quartermaster as a
good thing to "draw," but Sam Duncan thought the best
"draw" was "an ace high straight flush!" This fortu
nate suggestion of Sam's seemed to tranquilize "Don," for
he ceased his desperate efforts to pull the ' 'stem' ' out and
proceeded to investigate, when, lo ! he pulled from his
mouth a nice, full-grown, fat mouse, which he had mistaken
for a pear, and, holding on to the tail, had been trying to
pull the stem out! Don never liked "houtzeled" pears
after, but the little incident did not mar the feast much !

CHAPTER XXII.
1864— FROM AUGUST 18 TO AUGUST 24.
Kilpatrick Raid — Fight at Red Bank — Fairfield — Battle at Flint
River — Capture of Jonesboro' — Destruction of the Macon Railroad —
Battle of Lovejoy Station — Great Saber Charge of Minty's Bri
gade — Colonel Long's Battle on the McDonough Road —Crossing
the Cotton River — Return to Camp.
" Hurrah ! the foes are moving. Hark to the mingled din
Of fife and steed, and trump and drum, and roaring culverin.
The fiery duke is pricking fast across Saint Andre's plain,
With all the hireling chivalry of Guelders and»Almayne.
Now by the lips of those ye love, fair gentlemen of France,
Charge for the golden lilies now, upon them with the lance !
A thousand spurs are striking deep, a thousand spears at rest,
A thousand knights are pressing close behind the snow-white crest ,
And in they burst and on they rushed, while, like a guiding star,
Amid the thickest carnage, blazed the helmet of Navarre "
— Macauley — The Battle of Ivey.

]T 10 o'clock on the morning of August 18th,
Minty, commanding the First and Second bri
gades, marched from camp near Peach Tree
creek, north-east of Atlanta, with the following forces :
First brigade, Colonel R. H. G. Minty, commanding:
Fourth United States cavalry, eleven officers, two hun
dred and sixty-two men, Captain Mclntyre; Seventh
Pennsylvania cavalry, sixteen officers, three hundred and
thirteen men, Major W. W. Jennings ; Fourth Michigan,
nineteen officers, two hundred and thirty-one men, Major
Frank Mix ; head-quarters, eight officers, sixty-five men ;
total, fifty-four officers, nine hundred and twenty-five
men ; aggregate, nine hundred' and twenty-five.
Second brigade, Colonel Eli Long, commanding : First
22 (337)

338 Minty and the Cavalry.
Ohio cavalry, sixteen officers, three hundred and thirty
men, Colonel Eggleston ; Third Ohio, twenty-seven offi
cers, four hundred and fifty men, Colonel Murray; Fourth
Ohio, twenty-four officers, four hundred and fifty-five
men ; head-quarters, eight officers, seventy-three men ;
total, seventy -five officers, thirteen hundred and three
men; aggregate, thirteen hundred and eighty-three. Chi
cago Board of Trade battery, two officers, eighty-eight
men ; four guns ; aggregating ninety officers and men,
making a total aggregate of two thousand three hundred
and ninety -eight officers and men, and four guns.
At 6, a. m. , on reaching the banks of Utoy creek, he
halted for a short time, then, resuming the march, reached
Sandtown, where, in obedience to orders of General Ger
rard, he reported to Major General Kilpatrick, command
ing the Third cavalry division. By orders of General
Kilpatrick, he marched at dusk of that evening, in rear
of the Third division, reaching at day-break of the 19th,
the Montgomery and Atlanta railroad, at Red bank,
west of Atlanta. While the First brigade was crossing
the railroad, a battery of rebel artillery posted on the
hills east and parallel to the line of march, and supported
by a brigade of mounted infantry, suddenly assailed with
great fury on the left flank. The rebels, under cover of
the mist, pushed up to within two hundred yards of the
marching column, opening with artillery and musketry
on the Seventh Pennsylvania, then passing. The head of
the regiment having already reached the Atlanta and
Jonesboro' dirt road, passed on, following the Fourth
United States, the advance regiment of the brigade.
Companies G and M, although exposed to the full force
of, and consequent confusion resulting from, the unex
pected attack, were held firmly in place, and, closing
ranks, pushed through the heavy fire, and finding a rebel

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force barring their way at the junction of the Sandtown
with the Jonesboro' road, charged and scattered, and
drove them several hundred yards in the direction of At
lanta ; and then closed up on the leading companies.
Major Davis, however, commanding the rear battalion of
the regiment, not knowing what the condition of affairs
in the front might be, after, a slight skirmish, formed
line eastward of the road ; and, on the arrival of Major
Mix, with the Fourth Michigan, reported the situation to
him. Immediately in the rear of the Fourth Michigan were
the ambulances and pack-mules of the brigade ; Mix,
therefore, promptly deployed his regiment, after slightly
advancing the left of Davis, on the left of this battalion,
the line thus facing south-east, and moving the whole
force forward attacked the rebels with great vigor, and
in about half an hour drove them in confusion from the
position, and re-united the column ; then, wheeling east
ward, pursued them rapidly for over a mile and a half.
On learning of the attack, Minty halted the First brigade
and sent the Fourth United States to continue the pur
suit, which it did three miles, and, returning, reported that
the whole rebel force was in full and confused retreat.
While Majors Mix and Davis were attacking the rebel
force, one of the ambulance drivers, Wilson H. Smith,
(known as "Limerick,") finding the shells bursting over
and around him, attempted to run the fire and join the
column; two other ambulances followed this one, drawing
upon themselves the fire of several of the guns. "Limer
ick" took to the woods on the right of the road, and, put
ting his mules to the run, forced his way through, but
with a very badly used up ambulance. In fact, he
brought out with him very little more than the mules,
harness, the running-gear, and the badly smashed body

340 Minty and the Cavalry.
of the vehicle; the bows, cover, seats, cushions, &c, be
ing left behind. The second ambulance kept the road,
and got through with numerous bullet holes and slightly
shattered by a shell. The other one was wrecked in the
woods. Oran F. Wilson, of company G, was killed at
the junction of the roads, as Captains Garrett and Vale
charged through.
On resuming the march, Minty was directed to take the
advance, the enemy having appeared in force in front.
He soon discovered that the only rebel force was Ross'
brigade of cavalry, and finding the woods so thick that
better progress could be made on foot, dismounted the
Second brigade and advanced as rapidly as the men could
walk, driving the rebels steadily before him until the
banks of the Flint river were reached. It was here found
that the enemy, re-inforced by Ferguson's brigade, had
destroyed the bridge, and taken a fortified position on
the other side, from which they opened on us with ar
tillery. Lieutenant Bennett, with the Chicago Board of Trade
battery, immediately opened on their battery, and soon
silenced it ; upon which, General Kilpatrick ordered up
the remaining guns, under Lieutenant Robinson, and,
placing the whole eight pieces in position, directed the
rebel lines should be shelled by volleys. At the fourth
discharge, Minty advanced his whole division, dismount
ed, to a slightly sheltered position, along the bank of the
river, and opening a deadly fire from his carbines, soon
drove the enemy from their works. The Second brigade,
with the Fourth United States and Fourth Michigan,
crossed the river on the stringers of the ruined bridge,
and, promptly deploying, continued the advance. The
bridge was rapidly repaired, when the whole command
crossed, and, with the dismounted men as skirmishers,

Kilpatrick Raid — Jonesboro'. 341
drove Ross and Ferguson into the town of Jonesboro',
where they, taking shelter in the buildings, continued the
fight, until Minty, getting his artillery in position, formed
storming columns and ordered an advance at a double
quick. Upon this advance, under cover of the guns, the
rebels mounted and retreated in confusion, and the town
and railroad were won.
Thus Minty and his cavalry were the first of the Union
army to stand on the only remaining link of supplies and
communication uniting Hood's army and Atlanta with
the Confederacy. But merely taking possession was not
enough — the road must be destroyed, and that so thor
oughly as to prevent its use for some time, for Sherman
to reap any advantage from our movement. The work of
destruction was quickly begun, and perseveringly pros
ecuted, under a continuous, heavy fire from the rebels,
now re-inforced by a brigade of infantry, brought down
from Atlanta. Leaving the Third division to complete
the work, Minty was ordered to post his First brigade
across the railroad, facing toward Atlanta, and repel the
enemy. A sharp fight ensued, but though he had three
brigades against his one, he held the enemy in check for
over two hours, when, bringing up the Second brigade, he
maintained his position until, at 10, p. m. , he was ordered
to fall back down the road, covering the Third division,
with which the general proposed to move south, and con
tinue the work of destroying the road. Up to this time,
six miles of track, and all the railroad buildings, with
two thirds of the town, had been destroyed.
On reaching the designated position, Colonel Murray,
of the Fourth Ohio, was ordered to advance, but finding
the enemy, by this time, in heavy force, and strongly
posted behind barricades and breast-works, failed to dis
lodge them, and fell back to the main line. The object

342 Minty and the Cavalry.
of the whole movement being only the destruction of the
railroad, Kilpatrick, not wishing to get his men entan
gled in any controversy with the enemy which would
delay or interfere with that object, now determined on a
flank movement : first, toward McDonough, then west
ward, until he again should strike the road, continuing
this operation down the road until it was completely de
stroyed. He, therefore, directed Minty to take the ad
vance with his own brigade, and move out on the Mc
Donough road, while Colonel Long, with his brigade,
formed the rear of the column, Minty to remain with the
Second brigade.
The column moved about 4, a. m. , toward McDonough,
for about five miles, when it was halted to feed — the horses
corn; the men, coffee and crackers — at a place where a road
leading southward intersected the one east to McDon
ough. While here halted, the rear brigade, commanded
by Colonel Long, was attacked by the rebel column,
which had followed from Jonesboro'. Colonel Long
promptly deployed his magnificent command of Ohio
boys, and waiting until the enemy — two brigades of cav
alry fighting on foot and one of infantry — had advanced
within effective striking distance, pushed his men out in
a counter-charge and in half an hour repulsed the whole
rebel force, driving them back, in confusion, on Jones
boro' . While this fight was in progress, the column re
sumed its march, General Kilpatrick remarking that
" Long can easily attend to them fellows," turning sharp
ly to the right, or southward. In making this turn, the
larger part of the column -had a capital opportunity of
enjoying a fight — that is, of seeing Long' s without being
in it.
The road we were on led directly, though with numer
ous turns around and among the hills, to Lovejoy station,

Kilpatrick Raid — Lovejoy. 343
which, like Jonesboro' , is on the Macon railroad. About
a mile and a half from the station, the road forks, or,
rather, a branch road, leading slightly north, runs to the
railroad, about a mile from the station, while the direct
road, about half a mile further on, also turns somewhat
northward, and leads direct to Lovejoy. After the re
pulse of the rebels in our rear — that portion now being
considered safe from attack — Long' s brigade was brought
to the front and joined the First, falling in behind it, at
the head of the column, Kilpatrick seeming to be desir
ous of complimenting the Second division by giving it the
precedence whenever a fight was imminent, no matter
whether in front or rear ! At this time, about 9, a. m. , it
began to be noticed that mounted rebel videttes were
watching and reporting the progress and direction of the
column, always, however, keeping at such a safe distance
as rendered pursuit useless.
Minty detached the Fourth Michigan cavalry, under
Major Mix, on the right hand road, with orders to gain
possession of and destroy the railroad north of the sta
tion. The particular object of this movement, in addi
tion to damaging the road as much as possible, was to
prevent the anticipated return of a train, which the gen
eral thought he had heard pass up the road toward Jones
boro', but which, in fact, had only gone as far as Love
joy. The main column moved on the direct road toward
the station, and when within about a mile of it the ad
vance guard — a battalion of the Seventh Pennsylvania,
under Major Dartt — became heavily engaged. The
woods on the roadside were very thick, and it being de
sirable to get on the railroad as soon as possible, the head
of the column was pushed more rapidly than the dis
mounted skirmishers could clear the flanks, so that when
about half a mile from the station the mounted column

344 Minty and the Cavalry.
had several hundred yards of flank exposed and unpro
tected. The direction which the road ran led this portion
of the command, for about two hundred yards, along the
front of a full brigade of rebel infantry, lying in a de
pression, or, probably, a cut of the railroad. The order
to "trot" had been given, when a volley from the con
cealed foe crashed through the ranks. The men of the
Seventh dismounted immediately and formed in line,
when Colonel Minty, coming up at the head of the
Fourth United States, received a like volley, gave the
command, "Prepare to fight on foot," and formed the
Fourth United States on the right of the Seventh Penn
sylvania. The two regiments moved forward at once,
and drove the enemy back to the railroad, where another
brigade of infantry rose from the embankment, delivered
an oblique fire, raking the line from left to right; then,
fixing bayonets, rushed forward in a charge against our
left, while the force in front, re-forming, joined in the
bayonet charge. The men of the two regiments stood
firmly until they had emptied the seven loads contained
in their carbine magazines, when, not having time to re
fill them, were forced back in utter defeat and badly cut
to pieces. Six hundred dismounted cavalry pitted
against nearly three thousand of the best soldiers of Pat
Clayburn's famous division was more than they could
stand. The four guns of Minty's command, now taking posi
tion in a cornfield, slightly to the left, checked the rebel
onslaught by the gastric use of canister from three of
the pieces, while the fourth exploded shells in their
midst. At the time the head of the column was thus being re
pulsed and cut to pieces near the station, the rear was at
tacked, about a mile and a half off, by Martin's and

Lovejoy. 345
Ross' divisions of cavalry, and two brigades of Clay-
burn' s .division of infantry, with eight pieces of artillery.
The rear regiments were driven in about a mile, or al
most to the point where the road forks. The Third di
vision, with four pieces of its artillery, was immediately
formed in line at the forks of the road, facing southward,
to check this attack, while Long's brigade formed, with
the remainder of the First, in the field supporting its
battery. Heavy and continuous firing was maintained
in both the front and rear portions of the command, the
rebel volleys and cheers in our front being echoed by
rebel volleys and cheers in our rear ! The enemy' s line
now advanced from the station to the edge of the woods,
on three sides of Lieutenant Robinson's Chicago Board
of Trade battery, and opening a galling fire on it from
front and both flanks, forced it to fall back to the same
hill occupied by the guns of the Third division, leaving
one of the pieces, which had been disabled, on the field,
after losing twelve per cent, of the men and two thirds <5f
the horses. The abandoned gun was, however, immediate
ly after brought in by volunteers from the Fourth Michi
gan cavalry, taken off the broken carriage, and placed in a
wagon. Meanwhile, Colonel Long's brigade, though
hard pressed, succeeded in holding the force from the
station in check, and prevented its advance beyond the
edge of the woods.
General Kilpatrick now directed the whole force to
mount, and form facing the rear, preparatory to a charge.
Two well-equipped and powerful cavalry expeditions had
been sent previous to ours to cut this same Atlanta and
Macon road ; the first, under General McCook, after de
stroying the West Point road, had, on approaching the
Macon, been defeated and driven in disordered fragments
into our lines ; while the second, "under Stoneman, after

346 Minty and the Cavalry.
slightly damaging the road near Macon, was repulsed in
an attack on that city, and being widely scattered over
the country, was almost entirely captured, Stoneman
himself surrendering the larger portion, which, remaining
with him, had maintained its organization. Kilpatrick
was now confronted with a far greater force than had
been employed by the rebels in the defeat of either Mc
Cook or Stoneman ; he, however, was a cavalry general,
and avoiding the fatal errors of his predecessors, in scat
tering his command, was able to bring his united force to
bear in this emergency.
The rebels, on finding the railroad cut at Jonesboro' ,
had dispatched Clayburn' s division, four brigades of in
fantry and twelve pieces of artillery, from Atlanta, and
sending, Martin' s division of cavalry to re-inf orce Ross and
Ferguson, had assembled this united force at Jonesboro'
on the morning of the 20th, about day-break. A brigade
of infantry, with six pieces of artillery, had also been
sent up the road from Macon, and was halted at Lovejoy
station. A force, known as the Independent brigade, of
about one thousand State troops, also moved from a point
south of Lovejoy, and, approaching the station, formed in
on the left of the rebel force in our rear. Shortly after day
light, two brigades of Clayburn's men moved down the
railroad, while Ross and Ferguson, with two brigades of
Clayburn's infantry, marched in pursuit, following the
rear of our column. Martin, with his division, joined this
pursuing force at the point where we had halted for
breakfast. It thus appears that the rebels had on the
ground, now surrounding Kilpatrick, five brigades of in
fantry, eighteen pieces of artillery, and six brigades of
cavalry, in all a force of twelve thousand men of all arms.
Kilpatrick had, as before stated, the Second division,
numbering two thousand three hundred and ninety-eight

The Great Saber Charge at Lovejoy. 347
men and four pieces of artillery, one of which was disa
bled and useless, and the Third division, numbering two
thousand four hundred men and four pieces of artillery,
in all four thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight cav
airy and seven guns.
After forming, his command faced to the rear, Kilpat
rick directed Minty to lead the charge with his, the Sec
ond, division. Minty formed, placing the First brigade
in the advance ; on the right or west side of the road, in
regimental columns of fours, the Seventh Pennsylvania,
under Major Jennings, on the right, the Fourth United
States, under Captain Mclntyre, on the left, and the
Fourth Michigan, under Major Mix, in the center ; the
distance between the columns being about one hundred
and fifty yards. Two companies, B and M, of the Seventh
Pennsylvania were deployed in front as skirmishers, and
directed, covering the whole front, to throw down the first
of the intervening fences.
As soon as the skirmishers reached the fence, the ad
vance was sounded, followed, after passing the fence, 'by
the "gallop" and the "charge," and Minty hurled his
three columns, in a terrific burst of flashing steel, upon
three points of the rebel lines. In anticipation of some
thing of the kind being attempted, the rebel infantry had
been formed in three lines, about fifty yards apart, in
double rank ; the first and second lines with fixed bayo
nets and the third line firing ; in both the first and second
lines the front rank knelt on one knee, resting the butt of
the gun on the ground, the bayonet at a " charge."
Immediately on the charging columns showing them
selves, the enemy opened with shell from four pieces of
artillery in our front, and from six pieces on our right
front, canister was, after the first or second discharge,
substituted for shell, by the battery in our front. After

348 Minty and the Cavalry.
the columns had passed the first fence, the infantry and
cavalry opened a fire of musketry. Through this storm
of shell, canister, and musketry, the charging columns,
closely followed by the gallant Long and his brigade of
intrepid Ohioans, in column of regiments, swept over the
fields, broken though the ground was with deep gulleys
or washouts, leaping over three sets of out-lying rail bar
ricades, and, without firing a shot, reached the rebel
first line, posted slightly in the rear of a fence. The reb
el cavalry broke and fled in the wildest panic, just before
we struck them, but the infantry stood firm. Leaping,
in maddened rush at the top of speed, our horses over
the fence, and where this could not be done, dashing
with impetuous force against it, the impediment was
passed, without drawing rein, and, with their keen blades,
the brigade in an instant cut the rebel front line to pieces !
rode over, and destroyed it ! and assailed with renewed
vigor their second line. Between the first and second
lines, the columns obliqued slightly to the left, and, strik
ing it thus on a half left turn, presented somewhat the
appearance of a movement by platoons in "echelon,'" as
saulting it in many places in quick succession, penetrated
and sabered it to pieces as quickly as they had the first !
The third line now broke and ran in utter confusion and
rout, but we were soon among them, riding down and
sabering hundreds as they ran.
The formation of the brigade led the Seventh Pennsyl
vania squarely against the left center of the infantry, the
Fourth Michigan against its right, and the rebel battery,
and the Fourth United States against the battery, and
that part of the rebel line held by their cavalry. After
cutting the enemy' s lines to pieces, the Seventh Pennsyl
vania and Fourth Michigan, making a full left wheel,
dashed upon the artillery, sabering the gunners beside

The Saber Charge — Results. 349
their pieces the while. Three of the pieces, all we had
horses for, were brought off, and the other one was disa
bled by spiking, blowing up the caissons and chopping to
pieces the wheels. The race and slaughter among the
fleeing rebels was then continued for three miles, when
Minty halted and re-formed his command, now badly
scattered. It was understood that the Second brigade of
ours, and the Third division, should follow the charge of
Minty' s brigade in line, thus securing the full fruits of
the conflict, but by some mistake, Colonel Long formed
in column of companies, or battalions, and joined in the
charge, following rapidly through the rebel lines, while
the Third division, holding the column of fours, followed
the road ; hence the masses of the enemy, which had been
run over by the First brigade, were not gathered up, nor
was any effort made to ascertain the number of killed and
wounded. Minty' s task being simply to crush and de
stroy the rebel lines, he made no effort to take prisoners,
only requiring the enemy to destroy their guns as he
passed through. This much is, however, known : over
four thousand of the rebel infantry were either killed,
wounded, or at one time disarmed prisoners in our hands.
The change of formation made in the Third division left
this most brilliant affair almost barren of results, even
the four hundred prisoners taken by the brigade in the
last pursuit, after having been turned over to the other
command, were allowed to escape. Colonel Long was,
however, fully justified in supporting the advance brigade
of his division by the full force of his splendid brigade,
for the charge of the First brigade looked to be such a
desperate undertaking that its success was deemed
almost impossible, but there was certainly no reason why
the Third division should not have swept forward in line

350 Minty and the Cavalry.
and brought off our own wounded and the entire dis
armed host of the enemy. Minty, however, brought in
side our lines three pieces of artillery and three stands
of colors, to wit : The Third Texas cavalry, Zachariah
Rangers, and Benjamin's infantry, and turned over to
the Third division more than four hundred prisoners,
which he captured in the pursuit after breaking through
the lines.
After re-forming his command, Minty was directed by
General Kilpatrick to cover the march of the column to
ward McDonough. The Second brigade, under Colonel
Long, was, therefore, formed in line of battle, facing west
ward. It took some time for the column to pass, and be
fore it got fairly on its way, Long was furiously assailed
by the rebel force advancing from Lovejoy station, con
sisting of the forces before noted as gathered there.
Colonel Long, with his gallant Second brigade of Ohio
regiments, was here engaged in a most desperate battle
for over two hours; but, although largely outnumbered,
himself desperately wounded, and his command reduced
over ten per cent, in killed and wounded, he defeated the
enemy entirely, and successfully "covered the column."
After Colonel Long was wounded, the command of his
brigade devolved upon Colonel Egglanton, of the First
Ohio, who commanded the latter part of the battle, with
skill and success. The Third division being now well on
its march, Minty directed Colonel Egglanton to break
into column and follow, placing the Seventh Pennsylva
nia, the Fourth Michigan, and Lieutenant Bennett' s sec
tion of artillery in position in line to cover the move
ment. General Clayburn, now in command of the rebel
forces, rallied his men, and advanced under cover of the
rapid fire of six pieces of artillery. The two regiments

Long's Battle. 351
hastily constructed barricades of fence rails, and success
fully beat them back without suffering heavy loss, for
while the artillery fire was rapid and noisy, the enemy
did not seem inclined to press the issue to close quarters.
As the rear of the Second brigade passed this position,
one of Bennett's guns burst, and soon after the other was
rendered useless by the wedging in of a shell. The rapid
firing of the "seven shooters" of the Fourth and Sev
enth held the enemy in check, however, until the road
was clear, when the command was mounted, and following
in the rear of the others, marched in the direction of Mc
Donough. A heavy rain began soon after, and continued in tre
mendous showers all night, through which and the deep,
splashing mud we marched, passing through McDonough
about midnight, and halting in short bivouac about 2, a.
m. , on the 21st, on the north bank of Walnut creek. Dur
ing this night's march, the column was considerably scat
tered, and the prisoners captured in the great charge gen
erally escaped. The halt at Walnut creek was so short that
the rear of the column scarcely noticed it, for about the
time the column closed up the march was resumed. About
6, a. m., we reached the south bank of the Cotton river,
which, now swollen to an enormous height, had swept away
the bridge. In the course of a couple of hours, the waters
subsided sufficiently to enable the command to cross by
swimming the horses over a swift, though narrow, channel.
In this crossing, the First brigade lost one man and fifty
horses, and nearly all the pack -mules drowned. All the
cooking and mess-kits of the companies were lost. It being
impossible to get the wagon with the two disabled guns
in across, the guns were taken out and buried, the site
marked as the graves of two soldiers of the Fourth United

352 Minty and the Cavalry.
States cavalry, and the wagon burned. After a long, con
tinuous march, we reached Lithonia, on the Augusta rail
road, and went into bivouac about 9, p. m., and next day,
22d, marching through Latimer and Decatur, reached
our camp at Peach Tree creek, having made a complete
circuit of both armies in five days.
Minty says, in his official report :
"Every officer and man in the command acted so well, so nobly, so gal
lantly, that under ordinary circumstances they would be entitled to special
mention. Day and night, from the 18th to the 22d, these gallant men were
without sleep, and almost without food. During that time they marched and
skirmished almost incessantly; fought four pitched battles, and swam a
flooded river, without once complaining or murmuring!" * *
"I cannot close this necessarily long report without calling attention to
the magnificent manner in which the Chicago Board of Trade battery was
fought by Lieutenants Robinson and Bennett on every occasion on which it
was brought into action." * * *
"Colonel Long, Second brigade, and the regimental commanders, distin
guished themselves by the able manner in which they handled their com
mands." * * *
"Captain Mclntyre, Fourth United States cavalry, rendered himself con
spicuous by the gallant manner in which he led his command on the 20th."
¦3(t itr ¥ 5p S|* "T
' ' Private Samuel Walters, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry, rode in advance
of his regiment, and made good use of his saber. * * Private
Douglass, company C, Fourth United States cavalry, rode by the side of
Captain Mclntyre, and brought in fifteen prisoners, three of them being com
missioned officers." * * *
"Private William Bailey, Fourth Michigan cavalry, specially distinguished
himself by riding through a narrow gap in the fence in front of the enemy's
artillery, galloping into the battery, and shooting the captain dead on the
spot. I beg most respectfully to call the attention of the general to these
gallant private soldiers."
The following list of casualties is officially reported, but
should be corrected to the extent of placing most of the
' ' missing ' ' in the column of killed or wounded :

Casualties.
First Brigade.

353

Killed.

Wounded.

Missing.

Total.

Regiments.

u0)
O

a 10 52

«30>o
O 1 1

CD10 12 6 1

COo
m
o l
3 1

C
a 2024 9

COSiCD
O
sa
o 23 11

Fourth United States, .
Seventh Pennsylvania,

40
41 17 1

17 4 7
3
22 2
29 13
30 16
5 2
53 2 75 1
7 1
4 2
99
Second Brigade.
First Ohio, 
19
Third Ohio, 
1
44
Fourth Ohio, 
24
Board of Trade battery,
1
4
6
Total aggregate, ....
1
32
6
92
7
68
14
192
Of the officers reported "missing," Lieutenant Heber
S. Thompson, Seventh Pennsylvania, and brigade inspec
tor First brigade, was wounded and captured.
Captain Percy H. White, Seventh Pennsylvania, was
captured. Captain James G. Taylor, Seventh Pennsylvania, was
killed. Lieutenant C. C. Hermans, Seventh Pennsylvania, was
killed. (The complete list to appear in appendix.)
As this charge at Lovejoy covered a frontage of a line
of battle over a mile in length, different eye-witnesses
describe the affair with some considerable variations from
the text, as well as from each other. The author de
scribes it from his place in the ranks, to wit, the extreme
front and right of the charging columns ; correspendents
23
354 Minty and the Cavalry
to different newspapers stating what they saw on the left
and center.
A correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial says :
While the various regiments were being maneuverd into position to meet
the onslaught of the rebels, who were sweeping down upon them, the men
had time to comprehend the danger that surrounded them — rebels to the
right of them, rebels to the left of them, rebels in the rear of them, rebels
in front of them — surrounded ; there was no salvation but to cut their way
out. Visions of Libby prison and starvation flitted through their imagina
tion, and they saw that the deadly conflict could not be avoided. Placing
himself at the head of his brigade, the gallant and fearless Minty drew his
saber, and his voice rang out clear and loud : "Attention, column ! Forward,
trot; regulate by the center regiment; march, gallop, march!" and away
the brigade went with a yell that echoed away across the valleys.
The ground from which the start was made, and over which they charged,
was a plantation of about two square miles, thickly strewn with patches of
woods, deep water cuts, fences, ditches, and morasses. 'At the word, away
went the bold dragoons at the height of their speed. Fences were jumped
and ditches were no impediment. The rattle of the sabers mingled with
that of the mess-kettles and frying-pans that jingled at the side of the pack-
mule brigade, which were madly pushed forward by the frightened darkies
who straddled them. Charging for their lives, and yelling like devils, Minty
and his troopers encountered the rebels behind a hastily constructed barri
cade of rails. Pressing their rowels deep into their horses' flanks, and rais
ing their sabers aloft, on, on, on, nearer and nearer to the rebels they
plunged. The terror-stricken enemy could hot withstand the thunderous
wave of men and horses that threatened to engulf them. They broke and
ran just as Minty and his troopers were urging their horses for the decisive
blow. In an instant all was confusion. The yells of the horsemen were
drowned in the clashing of steel and the groans of the dying. On pressed
Minty in pursuit, his men's sabers striking right and left, and cutting down
everything in their path. The rebel horsemen were seen to reel and pitch
headlong to the earth, while their frightened steeds rushed pell-mell over
their bodies. Many of the rebels defended themselves with almost super
human strength ; yet it was all in vain. The charge of Federal steel was
irresistible. The heads and limbs of some of the rebels were actually sev
ered from their bodies, the head of the rider falling on one side of the horse,
the lifeless trunk upon the other.
The individual instances of heroism were many. Hardly a man flinched,
and when the brigade came out, more than half the sabers were stained with
human blood.
It was,1 all admit, one of the finest charges of the war. Fully one hun
dred men fell under the keen sabers of Minty's brigade. The praises of
Minty and his command are upon every tongue. The Fourth United States)

Lovejoy — Other Accounts of. 355
Fourth Michigan, First, Third, and Fourth Ohio regiments charged over a
rebel battery of three guns on the left of the road; but no sooner had our
men passed than the rebels again seized the cannon, and reversing them,
poured grape and canister into the charging columns. General Kilpatrick,
seeing this, with his staff and others, about thirty in all, moved forward to
capture the guns, but found a high staked-and-ridered fence between him
and the battery. Seeing the predicament in which the general was, Private
William Bailey, a young Tennesseean belonging to company I, Fourth
Michigan, an orderly to Colonel Minty, coolly rode up to the fence, dis
mounted in the face of a severe fire, tore down the fence, remounted, rode
up to the battery, shot the captain, took possession of the horse and arms,
and rode out. He was immediately followed by a party of men, who cap
tured the battery and spiked the guns. In the charge, Minty's brigade cap
tured three stand of colors, the Fourth United States taking two, and the
Fourth Michigan one.
The following is from a Michigan paper, but being an
old clipping, the author is unable to give the proper
credit :
With one division of infantry in front of us, and three brigades of cavalry
in our rear, we could not entertain any very pleasant feelings, you may be
assured. While thus situated, and each man meditating upon future life in
some Southern prison, it was announced to us that General Kilpatrick
was going to cut his way through the cavalry. Minty's brigade was
mounted and ordered back in that direction, and while forming for the
charge, the rebel infantry were held by Kilpatrick's division, under com
mand of Colonel Murray, of the Third Kentucky cavalry. The brigade was
formed on the right of the road, within gun-shot of the rebel fine, but so
quickly was it done that they did not divine the movement. And now
comes one of the most brilliant saber charges that has been made during this
war, either in this department or elsewhere. It requires a more able pen
than mine to give it a correct description.
The brigade was formed in three columns, the Fourth regulars on the
left, the Seventh Pennsylvania on the right, and the Fourth Michigan in the
center. When everything was in readiness the general came up, drew his
saber, and took position at the head of the Fourth regulars. Colonel
Minty was in front of the center of his brigade, and when notified that
everything was ready, gave the command to draw saber. Every saber
leaped from its scabbard, and then came the clear ringing voice of our brave
little colonel, "Forward! regulate to the center regiment, charge I" The
whole brigade moved as one man, yelling and shouting, the colonel all the
time at the front leading them on. The enemy opened with grape and can
ister, and shell from their battery, and the dismounted cavalry poured in a
volley from their guns, but it was but one volley only ; before they could
again load and fire, we were among them with our sabers, cutting them

356 Minty and the Cavalry.
down on every side. The battery was silenced in no time, one gun being
upset, while we took the other one along with us. In less time than it takes
to relate it, we had run over and cut our way through three brigades of
cavalry, and made a road for the remainder of the command to pass out,
which it did with safety, artillery, ambulances, pack mules and all.
General Kilpatrick's head-quarters flag was pierced by a shell in making a
charge, and Colonel Minty's horse was slightly wounded by a musket ball
from the line of the dismounted cavalry. Had we the time, we could have
brought off five or six hundred prisoners, but they were in close pursuit,
and we were obliged to leave them behind in order to secure our own
safety. Our ambulances were loaded with wounded, the horses of the com
mand very much fatigued, and our progress was occasionally very slow.
We brought out about thirty prisoners only, and about one hundred horses
and mules. In going out the command had become somewhat confused and
disorganized, and in order that we might the better be prepared for work,
the general ordered a halt and re-organization. When the re-organization
was about completed, the enemy overtook us and attacked Colonel Long
with great fury, who again happened to be in the rear. It was all he could
do to hold them until the column got straightened out on the road, but at
the sacrifice of about fifty men he succeeded in holding them. The colonel
himself was twice severely wounded in this engagement, and had to be car
ried from the field.
The Fourth Michigan and Seventh Pennsylvania were now dismounted
and deployed across the road for the purpose of protecting the retreat of
Colonel Long's brigade. We remained in line until the brigade had passed,
followed by the rebels, but the reception with which they were met a few
moments before prevented them from attacking us with the same impetu
osity with which they had rushed on to Colonel Long's command. After
skirmishing with them a short time, we withdrew and closed up with the
column. That was the last time they bothered us on the march. Dark
ness now set in, and we marched until two o'clock, when we crossed a deep
stream, burning the bridges after us, and went into camp until morning.
At sunrise the column was again on the move, and after marching three
miles we came to a stream which had been so swollen by recent rains that
the whole command had to swim it. Three men and several animals were
drowned, and one ambulance and two wagons lost in crossing. That night
we went into camp in good season at Lithonia, a village on the Augusta
railroad, about fifteen miles from the left of our army. Considering our
selves out of danger, we slept soundly, which was the first night's rest we
had since leaving camp on the morning of the 18th.
The next morning at sunrise we again resumed the march, and arrived
inside our fines at an early hour in the afternoon, having been completely
around the rebel army. Of one thing we were completely satisfied, that
General Kilpatrick is entitled to the cognomen which was given him on the
Potomac, viz.: o£ "Kill Cavalry." But of another thing we are satisfied,
also, that he is one of the very best cavalry generals in the service. He

Lovejoy — Rebel Account. 357
knows exactly how to handle cavalry, is not afraid to fight, and is always
at the front in person, willing to take his own chances with the rest.
The following extract from the Memphis- Atlanta Ap
peal, published in Macon, Georgia, in September, 1864,
is given, showing the fact that Cleburne's infantry was
cut to pieces, as stated in the text :
* * " "The newspapers have lately been full of accounts of
how Martin's division of cavalry was 'run over' by the Yankees at Love
joy, on the 20th ult. The writer was on the field on that occasion, and, in
justice to the much-abused cavalry, states the facts in the matter: Martin's
division, supporting the battery, was formed on the McDonough road. Ross'
and, Ferguson's commands, on foot, were in front and on each side of the
battery, behind rail breast-works. A brigade of Cleburne's division was on
the left of the road, in three lines, the last one in a piece of woods, about
one hundred yards in rear of the position of the battery. On the right of the
road [east side] the State troops were formed in line. When the Yankees
charged, they came in a solid column, ten or twelve lines deep, running their
horses, and yelling like devils. They didn't stop to fire or attempt to keep
any kind of order or formation, but, each fellow for himself, rushed on,
swinging his saber over his head. They rode right over Ross' and Ferguson's
men in the centers and over and through Cleburne' s lines, one after the other,
on the left. Cleburne's first line, they say, tried to use their bayonets, but
the Yankees cut them to pieces. After the Yankees had cut through all the
other forces and captured the battery, Martin, seeing the field was lost, re
treated in good order to the east and joined Cleburne's main body, and aided
in the final defeat of the enemy on the McDonough road that evening, and
pursued them to and through McDonough that night, re-capturing nearly five
hundred of our men, which they took in the charge. The effort to arouse
the people against Martin and his brave division is more disgraceful and de
moralizing than the Yankees' 'charge' itself, and should be frowned upon
by all who wish well to our cause." * * *
The following account of the "Kilpatrick raid" is
taken from a private letter, written by Captain Robert
Burns, acting assistant adjutant general of the First bri
gade, and is inserted as written to give the reader an idea of
how the men felt, and how they described to their friends
at home the stirring scenes through which they passed :
Head-quarters First Brigade Second Cavalry Division,
Near Sandtown, Ga., August 28, 1864-
My Dear D  : A few days ago I wrote you a few lines announc
ing my safe return from one of those raids, which have generally been so
unfortunate in this department. On the 18th, at 1, a. m., ours, and Colonel

358 Minty and the Cavalry.
Long's brigade, the First and Second, all under Colonel Minty, left our
Peach Tree Creek camp, on the left of our army, and at seven the next
morning reported to General Kilpatrick at Sandtown, having, during the
night, passed in the rear of our army to its right. We remained quietly at
Sandtown during the 19th, and at sundown started to cut the rebel- com
munications south of Atlanta. Two well equipped expeditions, Stoneman's
and McCook's, had been totally ruined in attempting the same thing. We,
however, imagined we were made of sterner stuff, and started off in good
spirits. The command consisted of the Third cavalry division (Kilpatrick's),
under Colonel Murray, of the Third Kentucky cavalry, being Fifth Iowa,
Third Indiana, Eighth Indiana, Second Kentucky, Third Kentucky, Fifth
Kentucky, Tenth Ohio, and Ninety-Second Illinois, about 2,700 men, and
our brigade, the Fourth United States, Seventh Pennsylvania, and Fourth
Michigan, and Colonel Long's, the First Ohio, Third Ohio, and Fourth
Ohio, the two latter brigades being under the command of Colonel Minty.
We knew that all the fighting would have to be done by us and Long's
men before we started, and so it turned out. We had about 2,700 men
with us, too. The whole was commanded by General Kilpatrick, and a
good deal of a little man he is, too ; not at all afraid to be in the fight him
self. Away we went, Colonel Murray's division being in the advance. It
was a bright, beautiful moonlight night, and we should have enjoyed it
more if we had not been up all the night preceding. We had not gone
more than three miles when we ran into the enemy's pickets. Then we
had to go slowly, driving them before us, dismounting to feel the woods
on both sides, &c, so that it was morning before we reached the Atlanta
and West Point railroad, near Fairburn, at Red Oak. We had torn up about
half a mile of track, and were moving on, when the rear battalion of the
Seventh Pennsylvania was suddenly attacked by a force of dismounted
men and artillery. (The column, you must know, was four or five miles long,
and the rear or front might be fighting briskly and the other end know
nothing about it, except when the artillery was opened.) Just back of
where the rebels struck our column were the ambulances, and the darkies
leading officers, horses, pack-mules, &c. They, of course, skedaddled, each
nigger and ambulance-driver bolted for the woods. Several shells exploded
among the colored brethren, and they thought the kingdom had come.
Three ambulances were smashed to pieces, and about fifty of the sneaks
who hang around the doctors' shops were scattered into the woods. I
thought my lead horse was gone, but finally my contraband came crawling
out of the woods, scared almost white. The Fourth Michigan, which was
in the rear of the ambulances, soon came up, and drove the rebels back to
their haunts. All this time the head of the column was kept moving on as
time was precious, and we could not halt for slight "scrimmages."
General Kilpatrick, not being satisfied with the progress Colonel Murray
was making, ordered our brigades to come to the front, and Murray to take
the rear. Long's brigade had the advance, and had not gone more than
half a mile, when he found a strong force of rebs in his front. He had to

Kilpatrick Raid — Col. Burns' Account of. 359
dismount his men, drive them from the rail breast-works they had thrown
up, mount again, and he would find them in the same position a half mile
farther on. This was tried two or three times, when it was determined to
march on foot altogether, and drive the rebels steadily, having men behind
to lead the horses, from which the riders had dismounted. I was up at the
front all the time with Colonels Long and Minty. We drove them steadily
until we came to the valley through which Flint river runs, when the
rebels were re-inforced by Ferguson's brigade of cavahy (we had been
fighting Ross' brigade thus far), and opened on us sharply with artillery,
when we commenced descending the hill. The shells and bullets rattled
merrily around us, knocking the bark and dirt in close proximity to our
heads. Two guns of our battery (we had with us four guns of the Chicago
Board of Trade Battery, which belongs to our division, and Murray had
with him four guns of the Eleventh Wisconsin battery) were soon brought
up, and succeeded in silencing the rebel artillery. The very first shot struck
a rebel artilleryman, burst in him, and blew him to atoms. Our men were
all then dismounted, and went forward at the double quick, under fire of
our eight guns, and drove the rebels clear into and through Jonesboro'.
Our regiment had the advance, being deployed as skirmishers. We then
seized the railroad, for which we had been aiming since we started, and
commenced to smash it generally. The track was torn up, the depot and
public buildings burned, and destruction was let loose. We destroyed about
two miles of the track. While this was going on, the rebels returned to the
attack. Our command was sent to meet them, while Colonel Murray's
turned over rails.
The rebs had been driven southward, and our forces were pushed that
way to shove them farther. Before us was darkness and rebels ; behind,
the burning buildings and smoking ruins. It also commenced to thunder,
lighten and pour down rain. All this time, while we were skirmishing with
the rebels, General Kilpatrick had one of his bands close behind us playing
Yankee Doodle, Hail Columbia, and other airs, very provoking to rebel
ears. It appeared as if chaos had come again. Soon the whistle of the cars
could be heard in front of us, and we knew by the sounds that the enemy
were receiving re-inforcements from below. It was then determined to
"flank" them. So, about midnight, our brigade, followed by Colonel Mur
ray's division, moved in a south-easterly direction, about seven miles,
Colonel Long's brigade being left to cover the rear. I stayed with Colonel
Long's command. While waiting for the command to move out, I fell
asleep on the ground, and came very near being left. However, we all got
awav clear About seven miles out we found our brigade and Colonel
Murray's command feeding by the side of the road. Our brigade was on
a hill about a mile in front of Colonel Murray. Both hills were cleared,
and the valley had but few trees in it. I rode over to our brigade and sat
down to get a bite. Colonel Long halted just in rear of Colonel Murray.
(This was about 6, A. m., on the 20th.) Our brigade had just been ordered

360 Minty and the Cavalry.
to mount and move forward, when Colonel Long was attacked by the rebel
cavalry, which had followed us from Jonesboro'. It now consisted of
Ross', Ferguson's, and Armstrong's brigades, about 4,500 men. Our brigade
moved on and turned sharply to the right, in a south-westerly direction, foi
the purpose of striking the railroad again, about eight miles below Jones
boro'. I stayed on the hill to witness the skirmishing for a little while.
From where I was all the maneuvers of our men could be distinctly seen.
It was a beautiful sight. The rebels could be perceived moving towards
our men, and were driven back whenever seen by them. It was the best
chance I ever had of seeing the whole of a skirmish. I remained as long
as I could, and then galloped after our column. Colonel Long had orders
to follow as quickly as possible, and Colonel Murray was to come after him.
We, in the meantime, pushed for Lovejoy's station. When within a mile
and a half of the railroad, we halted for Colonels Murray and Long to join
us. This they soon did, having driven back the enemy. About a mile
from the railroad, the road forked, the two prongs striking it about a half a
mile apart. A few hundred feet in front of, and parallel to, the railroad,
another road ran. The Fourth Michigan was sent by the right hand road
to the railroad, which it reached without any difficulty, and commenced
tearing up the track. They sent word to us by the parallel road, mention
ing what they were. doing. Our column, the Seventh Pennsylvania, in ad
vance, moved down the left hand road, having for the last mile or two been
driving about a dozen rebel cavalrymen. As we passed the parallel road,
the firing became hotter and-heavier.
I had been with the advance urging them forward, as it was extremely
necessary to reach the railroad as soon as possible, and rode back to have
more men sent to re-inforce the advance guard, when a devil of a fusilade
took place. The Seventh Pennsylvania was immediately dismounted, and
sent forward into the woods. (One battalion of it had been the advance
guard.) Hotter grew the firing, and the horses of the advance, who had
dismounted, began to hurry back. The Fourth regulars, who were next,
were dismounted and sent in, and I was told to go back, and hurry up two
of Long's regiments, have them dismount, and push in. Before that could
be done, the Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth regulars had been driven
from the woods in confusion, the former leaving two captains and one
lieutenant, and the latter one captain, in the hands of the enemy, dead or
wounded. We had run on a brigade of rebel infantry who were lying in the woods,
by the side of the railroad, behind barricades. A division was also
pushing in on our right, near the point where the Fourth Michigan were at
work. Long's men were immediately put in position to check the advancing
rebels, and our battery brought up. The woods in front and on our left
were swarming with rebels. The Fourth regulars and Seventh Pennsylva
nia were gathered together and made to support the battery. Poor fellows,
they were badly cut up. One of Long's regiments was formed near the

Lovejoy — Burns' Account.

361

fork of the road, the Fourth Michigan was sent for, and placed there too.
The rebels tried again and again to take our battery. It fought magnifi
cently. It was a glorious sight to see it sweep those woods with grape and
canistes, sending many a howling rebel into eternity. The guns were made
to radiate in all directions, and did work splendidly. Our men supported
them well. One of the guns, by the rebound, had broken its trail short off,
so that it could not be drawn from the field. When the rest of the pieces
had been withdrawn, Colonel Minty called for some volunteers to drag off
that gun by hand. I collected about twenty of the Fourth Michigan men,
went down there, and helped pull it off. The rebels were then very close
to us. While this was going on, we could hear musketry and artillery firing
directly in our rear. The cavalry, with which we had been skirmishing
early in the morning, had followed us, and had attacked us from " behind.'
Thus, you see, we were in a pretty tight box : A brigade of infantry in our
front, and partly on our left ; a division moving to hit us on the right, and
but a little distance off; and three brigades of cavalry in our rear. Stone
man and McCook caved in under just such circumstances. It was quickly
decided what to do. We must leave the railroad alone for the present, and
smash the rebel cavalry. We were withdrawn from fighting the infantry,
who now had become very quiet, probably because effecting some
combinations with their cavalry, and expecting confidently to " gobble " us
all The whole command was faced to the rear, as follows : Our brigade was
formed on the right hand side of the road, each regiment in a column of
fours, i. e., four men abreast, or the whole regiment in a column, presenting
a front of only four men. The Fourth United States were on the left, the
Fourth Michigan in the center, and Seventh Pennsylvania on the right.
Long's brigade formed in close column, with regimental front, i. e., each
regiment formed in line, the men side by side thus :

Fourth
United States.
I I I
I I I
I I !
I I I
I I I
I I I

Fourth
Michigan. I
I

Seventh
Pennsylvania.

First Ohio,
Third Ohio,
Fourth Ohio,

I I I I I I I I I I I II II II
II I I I I I I ! I II II I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I I I

The last regiment was deployed in rear of the others, so as to cover a large
space of ground, and pick up prisoners and trophies. You see, we were to
break through the rebels and smash them, and Long was to sweep the
ground and gather them in. This was very quickly determined and acted on
as we had not much time to lose..

362 Minty and the Cavalry.
I happened to be near General Kilpatrick before he determined what to
do. One brigade was then drawn up in line, in front of the Second brigade.
He turned to me and asked, "Captain, can your men charge through and
break those rebels in front of us ?" "Yes, sir, they can." "What would
be the best formation, do you think? In fine, or in column?" "In columns
of four, I think, each regiment to form a column, and then the rebels' atten
tion would be distracted." '¦ We will have them so. How do they gener
ally charge — with saber or firing ?" " With saber, sir.'' "Good! Go tell
Colonel Minty to have them charge in that way, and drive the  rebels
 to  ." At this moment Colonel Minty rode up, and the regiments
were quickly formed as I have marked.
A few of our men were in front of us dismounted, skirmishing with the
rebels. They were told to throw down the fence behind which they were.
The rebel skirmishers were keeping them engaged as much as possible,
while a large force of them were throwing up rail breast- works. We were
formed just behind the brow of a hill. Our skirmishers were on the crest
of it- The rebel artillery to our left and front was playing over us. Bullets
and shot were flying thick over our heads. We drew sabers, trotted until
we came to the hill, and then, with cheer upon cheer, started at the gallop.
What a sight it was! I rode at the head of the Fourth Michigan, or center
column, Captain Thompson, our inspector, on my right, and Colonel Minty
on the right of Thompson. Down the hill we went, the rebels turning
their batteries of grape and canister upon us, while the bullets of the skirm
ishers and dismounted men whistled freely. The battery away on our right
threw shells. We leaped fences, ditches, and barricades, and were among
them. Their skirmish line did not attempt to stand, and the men behind
the barricades turned to run just before we reached them. It was too late-
Our fellows were mounted and on the gallop, and we did cut them down
right and left. I was just about to strike two. when they threw up their
hands and surrendered. I passed them by, leaving some one in the rear to
take care of them. A third, who did not surrender quick enough, I struck
full on the top of the head, felt my saber sink m, saw him fall, and dashed
on. I think I killed him, but did not wait to see. The rebel artillery was
very hot at this time. I could almost feel the balls as they swept by.
Colonel Minty's horse was shot. Poor Thompson was hit close by my side,
and fell. He is yet missing, and we do not know what has become of him.
The last seen of him he was dismounted, wounded, and trying to rally
some men to take the rebel battery. I hope he is not dead. Our column
and the Seventh Pennsylvania dashed straight forward into the woods.
The field over which we passed was at least a half a mile wide, with three
fences, one partially built barricade, and a half dozen ditches or gullies,
washed out by the rain, from two to six feet deep, and from five to thirteen
feet wide. We would no sooner leap one of them when we would have to
go flying over another. Our horses went kiting over the fences, some of
them they knocked down. Of course, a good many of our men were dis
mounted. Upon reaching the woods we could not go fast, and could not keep

Kilpatrick Raid — Burns' Account. 363
in column. They were full of flying rebels. We soon struck a path or lane,
and turning to the right, followed it about a mile and a half, when we turned
to the left and joined the main column on the road. The Fourth regulars,
instead of keeping parallel with us, as was intended, seeing an opening in
the fence by the side of the road, and finding very high fences in front of
them, turned. to the left and struck out on the mam road. They ran on
the rebels in the road near the battery, and sent them flying, and were
soon among the led horses of the dismounted men in the rear, and among
the ambulances, which were collected togetherin a disorganized body in the
road. A perfect stampede took place. The horse-holders did not attempt to
hold the animals, and a general "skedaddle" took place. Riderless horses and
driverless ambulances were scattered in all directions. Our men were in the
midst of them, shooting and cutting. As the rear of the Fourth regulars was
passing the battery, a part of them, with scattered men from other regiments,
dashed on to it, drove the gunners from their pieces, and captured three of
the guns. One of our orderlies shot the captain. We brought away the
pieces with us. The other two were so injured about their running gear that
they could not be hauled off, so they were spiked and left. The charge con
tinued for about two miles, when the command was collected together again.
Colonel Long'sbrigade did not charge in line, as it was intended, but finding
the ground impracticable for it, formed in column and followed the Fourth
regulars. Colonel Murray's command, instead of sweeping all to the left
of the road, as we supposed they would do, turned to the right, and filed
in after Colonel Long. Had he (Murray) done as was expected, both sides
of the road would have been cleaned out. As it was, a good many of the
rebels escaped off to the left.
Immediately after the charge, and while we were pushing through the
woods, it commenced to rain. It came down in torrents. I had lost both
hat and rubber overcoat in the brush, and in just five seconds was soaked,
saturated, even my boots were so filled that the water ran out of the tops.
The command was gathered together about two or three miles from where
we started, and pushed on for McDonough. Before the whole of it had
moved off, Colonel Long's brigade, which had been moved to cover the
rear, was fiercely attacked by the division of rebel infantry, which I have
mentioned, was moving in on our right, as we faced the railroad, our left
and rear as we were now going. Colonel Long fought them for about two
hours, when his ammunition began to give out. He was obliged to retire
(here Colonel Long was wounded twice), and the Fourth Michigan and
Seventh Pennsylvania were formed a short way behind him, behind rail
breast-works, which they had been ordered to hastily throw up. The
Fourth regulars had been sent on, their ammunition having been all ex
pended. We borrowed one of Long's regiments to assist the Fourth Michi
gan and Seventh Pennsylvania. Long passed his men through, when the
rebels came on us. There we had it, hot and heavy. The rebels charged
two or three times, but were bloodily repulsed. All this fighting was done
dismounted, and was for the purpose of holding back the rebels until our

364 Minty and the Cavalry.
main column could get out of the road. Our battery, of three guns now,
during this fight, burst one gun, and wedged another (got a shell half way
down in it, so that it could neither be fired nor pushed down), so that we
had but one to use, but that- was used with effect. The rebels were play
ing with their artillery into our column along the road. You see our two
brigades had to do all the fighting, obliged to lead the charge, and cover
the retreat. As soon as all the column had got into the road, and moved
about a mile, our regiments were withdrawn, and followed it. The rebels
did not attempt to pursue much farther. Their infantry could not keep up
with us, and their cavalry was too thoroughly scattered to be gathered to
gether again. We pushed slowly on to McDonough, crossed Walnut creek,
and about two o'clock in the morning lay down by the side of the road for
a few hours' rest. How terribly tired we were 1 Men would tumble from
their horses, and it would be almost impossible to awaken them. Two or
three men would fall asleep together upon their horses, their horses would
stop, and the whole column behind them would stop, too, supposing that
there were some obstructions ahead. Hundreds of men were sometimes
asleep in that way on their horses, and in the mud, for two or three hours
at a time. Once during one of the halts, I fell asleep on my horse for two
hours, during which time we had a terrible storm of rain, which drenched
me more, if possible, than I was. I knew nothing of it until I awoke, and
then found myself in a strange crowd, the column in the meantime having
moved on. It was raining and pitch dark, and, in fine, we had a terribly
disagreeable time of it. About two o'clock we found a place to halt. The
head of the column had been in at eight, but the tail was delayed by
the causes I have mentioned. You never yet knew what fatigue is. We
had not slept a wink, for the nights of 17th, 18th, 19th, and until two
o'clock of the morning of the 21st, except what we could snatch riding
along. We had not had but three meals, and but little time to eat them in.
Had fought seven pretty tough fights, besides skirmishing, &c, &c. Oh !
how tired and sleepy I was! At day-break the next morning we started on
again. At Cotton river the bridge was gone, and the stream terribly
swollen by the rains. It could not be forded, and the horses were obliged
to swim it. The current was very swift. We had a terrible time crossing
it. One man and about fifty horses were drowned in the attempt. We
were obliged to leave behind the disabled cannon we had brought thus far
in a wagon. A good many men who had gone through the fighting bravely
dreaded to enter that stream. We lost also two wagons, and one ambu
lance. It was almost heart-rending to see the poor wounded fellows car
ried across. Some were fastened on horses, while others were carried
over in the ambulances. I saw one, with three in, tip over, fill with water,
and go down the stream. However, the men were rescued. I shall never
forget crossing Cotton river. We all finally got over. If we had been at
tacked by a large force before we had succeeded in crossing, a great num
ber of us would have been captured. We were almost wholly out of am
munition, and many an anxious glance was cast to the rear. We expected

Return to Camp. 365
every moment to hear the roar of artillery. It was a relief when the rear
of the column was on the north side. We then crossed South river, burn
ing the bridge behind us, and all the bridges on each side for ten miles.
During the day, we marched slowly, and encamped that night at Lithonia.
The next day we returned to our camp on Peach Tree creek, having made
a circuit around the two great armies of Hood and Sherman. We did not
do all that we had hoped to do when we started, but we did all we could."

CHAPTER XXIII.
FROM OCTOBER I TO 31, 1864.
General Eli Long in Command of Division — Sketch of General
Long — Capture of Atlanta — Battle of Jonesboro' — Lovejoy
— Review of Campaign — Hood's Advance on Alatona — Cav
alry in Pursuit — Battle of Rome, Georgia — Great Charge
of Lieutenant Fisk — Rebel Battery Captured — Division
Dismounted — Close of the Campaign.
" To arms ! the voice of Freedom calls,
Nor calls in vain ;
Up from the fields, the shops, the halls,
The busy street, the city walls
Rush martial men!"
— Anon.
Sketch of the Military Career of Brevet Major Eli
Long, U. S. V.
(Furnished for publication by a friend of the general.)
ENERAL Long graduated at military school,
near Frankfort, Kentucky, (in charge of Colo
nel E. W. Morgan, a distinguished graduate
of the military academy at West Point, in the class of
General Benham,) in the month of June, 1855. In July,
same year, after graduating, he went to Washington city,
and secured employment in the Treasury Department, in
the Bureau of Construction, under charge of Colonel A.
H. Bowman, United States Engineer, where he remained
until he was appointed second lieutenant, in the First
United States cavalry, at the instance of Hon. James
Guthrie, of Kentucky. Joining his regiment immediate
ly at Lecompton, Kansas, he did duty at that place about
six weeks, when he was ordered on recruiting service,
(366)

ELI LONG,
Brig. General U. S. V. Brevet Maj. Gen'l U. S. V.

General Eli Long. 367
and stationed at New Albany, Indiana, where he re
mained during the winter of 1856-7. Rejoining his regi
ment in April, 1857, he accompanied it on the Cheyenne
expedition that summer, and while commanding Gen
eral Sumner' s body guard, was engaged in a fight with
the Indians during the campaign.
During the winter of 1857-8, he was stationed at Forts
Leavenworth and Riley ; while at these forts, escorted a
mail by the Santa Fe road, from Fort Riley to the cross
ing of the Arkansas river and back, leaving Fort Riley
in December, 1857, and returning in March of '58, mak
ing a march of over five hundred miles. Lieutenant
Long was sick when he started on this trip, and after two
days' marching, was attacked with serious illness, and
compelled to remain in his ambulance a great part of the
time. The suffering and anxiety of the lieutenant and
his squad of forty men were excessive, marching through
a bleak and desert country infested by bands of hostile
Indians, of much more than sufficient strength to have
exterminated the party, with the weather so excessively
cold that one night six mules tied to the wagon were
frozen to death.
In May, 1858, he started to Utah with two companies
of his regiment, under the command of then Major Sedg
wick; but after proceeding to the Devil's Gate, about
two hundred miles from Salt Lake City, the orders were
countermanded and the squadron returned to Fort Riley ;
when soon after he was called upon by the Ordnance De
partment for a report on the Burnside carbine, used by
his company on the march. He submitted his report, and
received through the department commander a letter
from the chief of ordnance, United States army, express
ing thanks for his complete and intelligent report and
stating that the contractors for manufacturing Burnside

368 Minty and the Cavalry.
carbines had been instructed to make new carbines, with
the improvements suggested by Lieutenant Long on them,
which was done, and these improvements appear upon
the ones now in use by the Government.
Remaining at Fort Riley during the winter of 1858-59,
he, in January, 1859, made a march of over two hundred
miles. The weather being intensely cold, many men of his
command and himself were severely frosted. During the
summer of 1859, was with his command in a permanent
camp on the Arkansas river, for the protection of the
road to New Mexico. In October, of the same year, es
corted two mail trains to and from the crossing of the
Arkansas, through the c'ountry of the Kiowas and Ca-
manches, who had just commenced hostilities, having
already murdered some fifteen persons ; these victims he
and his party buried. During this trip, they marched
twenty-five miles a day, for five consecutive days, losing
but one horse out of forty, though the animals had no
food but grass. During the winter of '59 and '60, he
had leave of absence for five months.
In the summer of 1860, was on the Kiowa and Caman-
che expedition, under Major Sedgwick, and went with his
command to Fort Lyon. In the fall of the same year, as
sisted in building this post, which was consummated with
such dispatch and perfection as to call forth high com
mendation to Major Sedgwick and his command from
prominent European papers. Remained at Fort Lyon
until December, 1861. In August, 1861, he prevented
serious loss and damage to the Government by surprising
and capturing, near Fort Lyon, without firing a shot, a
well armed and equipped company of thirty-eight men
and fifty or sixty animals, enroute from Denver city to
join Price in Missouri. On this trip Lieutenant Long,
with fifty-eight horses, marched one hundred and twenty

General Eli Long — In Missouri and Kentucky. 369
miles in thirty-two hours, with the loss of only one horse.
Lieutenant Long was promoted in his regiment- to first
lieutenant, March 21, and to captain, May 24, 1861.
Captain Long, with one squadron of his regiment,
moved from Fort Lyon to Fort Leavenworth, in Decem
ber, 1861. In February, 1862, he reported with the same
squadron, the regiment having been by act of Congress
designated the Fourth United States cavalry, for duty to
General Buell, at Louisville, Kentucky, and being placed
on escort duty, remained with General Buell until he was
relieved by General Rosecrans. Captain Long was brisk
ly engaged with the enemy at Tuscumbia creek, near
Corinth, Mississippi, on the retreat of the enemy, and
was complimented for his behavior on this occasion by
his commander, Lieutenant Colonel James Oakes. Par
ticipated in the battle of Chaplain Hills, near Perryville,
Kentucky, holding the picket line with his command of
thirty men against several hundred, not more than one •
hundred and fifty yards distant, although over three
miles distant from the nearest support.
The regiment continued as escort to General Rosecrans
until the battle of Stone's river. In this battle Captain
Long was wounded by a ball through the left shoulder,
while leading his company in the charge on December
31. Soon after the battle, he was, on the recommenda
tions of Generals Rosecrans and Stanley, appointed colo
nel of the Fourth Ohio volunteers, and soon brought the
regiment to an improved condition of efficiency.
In less than two weeks after he assumed command, he
led the regiment in a charge against the enemy, in which
he captured fifty prisoners, and many men, horses, and
equipments. On the 9th of June, 1863, he was appointed
to the command of the Second brigade, Second division,
consisting of the First, Third, Fourth and Tenth Ohio
24

370 Minty and the Cavalry.
and Second Kentucky cavalry regiments. He participated
in many of the cavalry engagements near Murfreesboro' ,
and was invariably commended by his commanding offi
cers. He commanded the brigade in the advance on Tul
lahoma, and in the pursuit south, had a severe engage
ment with the rebels at Elk river. He participated in
the operations of the cavalry from that time till the bat
tle of Chickamauga, where his brigade was used very
roughly, losing one hundred and thirty-four officers and
men out of nine hundred, in killed, wounded, and miss
ing. Although he was in the immediate command of the
brigade, it was disposed of by superior officers in a man
ner that Colonel Long disapproved of, and which relieved
him in a measure from the responsibility of its defeat. It
was, however, very annoying, as it' was the only serious
defeat his command ever met. When Wheeler broke
through the lines after the battle, and started on his raid
against the railroad connections in rear of Chattanooga,
Colonel Long, with his brigade, followed in rapid pur
suit, moving with General Crooks' command. He com
manded and led his brigade in the attacks and dash
ing charges at McMinnville and Farmington, inflict
ing on the enemy at both places serious defeats, Wheeler
losing on the trip three pieces of artillery captured at
Farmington, and over one thousand prisoners. Colonel
Long's horse was shot at McMinnville, and himself and
horse shot at Farmington. He was highly complimented
in the official reports for his personal gallantry on these
occasions. During the battle of Mission Ridge,. Colonel Long com
manded fifteen hundred cavalry, composed of parts of
the First, Second, and Third brigades, Second division,
and some regiments of the First division; marched to
Cleveland, Tennessee, destroying thirty miles of the rail-

General Eli Long — In Tennessee and Georgia. 371
road, burning the copper factory and rolling-mill at
Cleveland, capturing eighty wagons, two hundred and
twenty-three prisoners, and returned to Chattanooga
within three days. For -this expedition he was favorably
mentioned in General Grant's report of Mission Ridge.
He soon after, with the same command, reported to Gen
eral Sherman, and marched, two days in advance of his
infantry column, into Knoxville, thence pursued the en
emy into western North Carolina, and thence, sweeping
down through northern Georgia, after a march of four
hundred and sixty -three miles in seventeen days, return
ed to Chattanooga. In this march, he had a sharp en
gagement at Loudon, and on the day preceding his ar
rival at Knoxville, marched forty-five miles and forded
two large streams. Colonel Long was complimented by
General Sherman, in an autograph letter, now in his pos
session, for his services during this time. A few days
after, he returned to Calhoun and engaged Wheeler,
completely routing his command, capturing five hundred
stand of small arms and one hundred and twenty-seven
prisoners, including five officers, and this while having
but one hundred and fifty men in his column when he
made the charge. General Thomas mentions him favor
ably in his reports for this affair.
In February, 1864, he participated, with his command,
in a reconnoissance on Dalton, having seven sharp engage
ments, and was favorably mentioned in the reports of his
superior officers. He moved his command thence to Cleve
land, Tennessee, and thence to Ringgold, Georgia. In
March, 1864, he obtained a leave of absence for a month,
and rejoined the brigade at Columbia, Tennessee, where
it had been ordered to refit and remount. After the
brigade had obtained its outfit, he joined the Seventeenth
army corps, in May, at Decatur, Alabama, and marching

372 Minty and the Cavalry.
thence with it, under command of General Blair, to
Kingston, Georgia, meeting on the way and badly defeat
ing General Roddy and his division at Moulton, Ala
bama. At Kingston, his command joined the main army
of General Sherman, and participated, from that time, in
nearly all of the operations of the army up to the 20th of
August, when he was wounded in the right leg and arm,
and his horse killed under him. This was in the great
encounter at Lovejoy station, already noted. He was ap
pointed brigadier general of volunteers August 18, 1864.
and on account of his severe wounds received a leave of
absence. He rejoined the command at Nashville, Tennes
see, in November, 1864, and was assigned to the command of
the Second division of cavalry. He immediately moved
his division to Louisville, Kentucky, for a remount of
horses, which he procured, and, on the 28th of Decem
ber, left that place with the best mounted and equipped
body of cavalry ever moved from the city. Moving di
rectly to Gravelly Spring, Alabama, he rested until,
under command of Major General Wilson, he moved with
his division, twelve hundred and fifty strong, and on the
2d of April, 1865, captured the intrenchments and city
of Selma, Alabama, with thirty pieces of artillery, be
tween three and four thousand prisoners, and over two
hundred pieces of artillery in the works and arsenals.
This was the grandest exploit of the cavalry during the
whole war, and the successful issue of the attack was
largely due to the prompt action of General Long in at
tacking at the time and manner he did. This is conceded
in General Wilson's official report. The works were
taken in twenty-five minutes after the advance was sound
ed, but with a loss of. three hundred and twenty officers
and men out of less than twelve hundred engaged. General
Long was wounded by a bullet on the top and right side

General Long — Residence, dec. — Capture of Atlanta. 373
of the head, producing a severe concussion of the brain,
and paralyzing the tongue, right side of the face, and
right arm. He suffers from his wounds, but is yet living,
an honored citizen of New York city."
The portrait of this distinguished officer appears on
page 366.

Resuming, in brief, a summary of the operations of
the army, from the point to which it was brought up in
a previous chapter : After the decisive defeat of Hood
on the right, the investment of Atlanta was vigorously
pushed, by a constant extension of the right wing and a
gradual closing in and pushing up of the lines of encir
cling earthworks, until, particularly on the north, Sher
man had so completely commanded the rebel works as to
render an assault not only practicable, but reasonably
certain of success.
Ever desirous, however, of avoiding unnecessary loss
and the useless slaughter of his men, he determined to
gain Atlanta by defeating Hood in the open field, or, if
the wage of battle was refused, to complete the invest
ment by closing in on the south as well, and compelling
his ultimate surrender.
Sherman accordingly, on the 27th of August, deter
mined to take advantage of the results of Kilpatrick's
great raid, by moving the right wing and center to the
south, and planting the bulk of his army firmly on the
Macon road, thus compelling Hood to draw out of his in
trenchments and fight in the open field, the advantage
of the Kilpatrick raid referred to being that he knew
that Hood had, in order to save his communications, al
ready dispatched Hardee, with over ten thousand men,
to Jonesboro'.
Sherman reached Jonesboro' on the 29th, and on the

374 Minty and the Cavalry.
30th and 31st fought a great battle at that place, utterly
defeating Hardee, and driving him, with the loss of more
than half his artillery and army, in disastrous rout south
ward toward McDonough. There, on the 1st, facing
northward toward Atlanta, completed the entire destruc
tion of the railroad. Meanwhile, during the night, Hood,
blowing up his magazines, destroying his stores and de
pots, burning the railroad buildings, twenty-nine loco
motives and several hundred cars, together with nearly
one third of the best part of the city, spiked his heavy
guns, and in haste, disorder, and the most absolute dis
organization of his army, abandoned the city, fleeing, at
a double-quick, south toward McDonough. So rapid
was this night flight of Hood that his army traversed
the whole distance from Atlanta to McDonough, thirty-
seven miles, in thirteen hours.
Sherman, on the 2d of September, faced his army south
ward and advanced toward Lovejoy, where skirmishing
had been going on the day before, and Hood, continuing
his forced march, joined Hardee at that place on the even
ing of the same day. On the 3d, 4th, and 5th, a great
battle raged from three miles north to seven miles south
of Lovejoy, when Hood retreated, during the night, from
the field, with but a skeleton — not twenty thousand in all
— of the grand army of eighty thousand which Johnston
had turned over to him a little more than a month be
fore. And thus fell Atlanta— the "Gate City" of the Con
federacy — the last stronghold of the last interior lines of
defense to the rebellion; and with it fell, not only the last
hope of the Confederacy to establish a separate national
ity, but, likewise, the last hope of the rebels being able
to make a successful defense at any point in the West
against the certain advance of our army, or even so to

Comments. 375
prolong the war as, by making terms of submission, they
might be able to save from the wreck of their blighted
hopes, and ruined political prospects, any part of their
estates, or vestige of their so dearly-cherished institu
tion of human slavery.
Madness ruled supreme in the councils of their chiefs;
and while the great body of the people, like the bulk of
the rebel army, were, and had for months been, really
and even anxiously willing to yield a quiet submission to
the Federal Government, yet they manifested their dis
sent from a further prosecution of a hopeless struggle by
simply withdrawing from active participation, in either
civil councils or military operations, leaving the crazied
"last ditch" men in untrammeled control, under the
personal appeals and influence of Jefferson Davis, the
arch-traitor of the age — the man who proved himself
alike faithless to his often-taken oath of allegiance to the
United States of America, and to the trust reposed in
him by his own particular people of the Southern States
— to seek their best interests. Hood, with about fifteen
thousand of these deluded men, moved now from Sher
man' s front, insanely bent on a search for the "last
ditch." The ghost of every man, Union or rebel, who
fell in this most unholy prolongation of the war, from
the date of the capture of Atlanta until the entire subju
gation of the rebels, must now shake " its gory locks ' '
at Jefferson Davis, and proclaim to him the awful accusa
tion, "Thou art my murderer."
Hood hurled his army on Sherman's line of communi
cation north of Atlanta, foolishly imagining that what he
could not do with a large, well-equipped army behind in
trenchments he might now accomplish with a half-starved,
ragged, unequipped, and poorly-armed little band, as a
raiding party. His first attempt was in throwing his

376 Minty and the Cavalry.
fifteen thousand men against Alatona, defended by three
thousand men under General Corse, who hurled him from
their front with -awf ul slaughter. He retreated into north
Alabama, foolishly thinking to buzz Sherman out of Geor
gia. But Sherman was not of that kind. Leaving Thomas,
with the tail* of the army, to brush Hood's flies away, he
started on his little picnic "through Georgia to the sea."
Leaving now Hood to find his " last ditch," and Sher
man to enjoy his picnic, we resume the history of the
brigade. Although the campaign was not yet over, a brief sum
mary of the work done may not here be out of place.
We started May 1, and during
May, marched 363 miles, had 9 fights.
June, " 103 " " 8 "
July, " 269 " " 9 "
August, " 160 " " 5
September, to 2d, " 30 " "0 "

Marched 925 miles, had 31 battles,
besides almost constant skirmishing, and doing duty as
infantry, under fire, day and night for fourteen days, in
the trenches.
We started from Columbia, Tennessee, with seventy-
one officers, twenty-four hundred and forty -four men,
twenty-two hundred and seventy-nine serviceable horses,
and two thousand and one carbines. We now had, at the
front, forty-nine officers and six hundred and eighty-
seven men for duty, eight hundred and eleven serviceable
horses, (ten officers and seventy men at head-quarters,)
and one thousand and one carbines.
As before stated, during the campaign, as the men be
came dismounted, from the loss or breaking down of their
horses, they were sent, together with the sick and disabled,

Skirmishes near Atlanta. 377
to Columbia, Tennessee, and from there detailed as
guards to the various block-houses and stations along the
railroad from Decatur, Alabama, to Franklin, Tennessee.
In this way the larger part of the brigade had been sent,
with their arms, &c. , to the rear.
The time of service of all who had not reenlisted was
now about expiring ; hence many changes occurred in the
regimental organizations. Reserving for the appendix of
this work a detailed statement of these changes, it will
suffice to here note that Captain C. C. McCormick be
came colonel of the Seventh Pennsylvania, and Major
Pritchard, lieutenant colonel commanding the Fourth
Michigan. From the 17th of September to the 22d of
October, Colonel Minty having been allowed a leave of
absence, Major Jennings, Seventh Pennsylvania, had
command of the brigade, with head-quarters at Blake' s
mills, Georgia, up to the 1st of October, when it was
moved to Sandtown, and started in pursuit of Hood's
army, Major Andress, commanding the Seventh Penn
sylvania, Major Eldridge, the Fourth Michigan, and Cap
tain Mclntire, Fourth United States.
On the 2d and 3d of October, it engaged the rebel rear
in a lively skirmish on the Sweet Water creek, driving
them constantly before it, with but slight loss ; on the
4th of October, joined the division at Marietta. Mov
ing out on the 5th, while the battle of Alatona Pass
was going on, the division attacked the rebel rear guard,
crushed it in, and captured over one hundred prisoners.
On the 6th, the division overtook the rebel army return
ing from Alatona, and by a vigorous charge of the
Fourth Michigan and Fourth United States, cut to pieces
a whole brigade, capturing the brigadier general com
manding a division, and over five hundred prisoners.
Hood retreated to Dallas and occupied his old works

378 Minty and the Cavalry.
near that place. The division here assailed him the next
day and drove him out, capturing one piece of artillery.
Following the rear of Hood, it again assailed his army at
the river. On the 12th, the command crossed the Oste
naula river and attacked the rebel forces, driving them
several miles, but not deeming it wise to remain over
night in their exposed condition, was withdrawn. On the
13th, the pursuit was renewed, the rebel rear again cut to
pieces by the Seventh Pennsylvania, the charge being led
by Lieutenant Fisk, company F, in a most fearless and
gallant manner ; twenty-five of the enemy killed, fifty-
nine wounded, and over one hundred prisoners and two
pieces of artillery captured.
The following letter and extracts from the diary of
Colonel R. Burns are here inserted as covering this pur
suit in detail : Kalamazoo, Michigan, March 15th, 1883.
My Dear Vale: — In looking up our little affairs at Rome, I find it
easier to make a copy of my diary written at that time than to attempt any
thing in the descriptive line. From it you can gather some of the main
facts. No reports were ever made. Major Jennings, of your regiment, com
manded the brigade then ; Colonel Minty having gone to Michigan on leave
of absence, September 17th. We did not see him again until we arrived at
Louisville, November 14th, and Jennings, you know, was not made a report
er. The Rome fight was one of the most gallant affairs the brigade ever
participated in. There were not more than three or four hundred men in it,
we having passed through a long and weary campaign. We were very
much complimented at the time ; among others by General J. D. Cox, com
manding the Third corps, who was present and saw the charge. Lieutenant
Fisk, of your regiment, was the man who led the small advance guard, which
captured the guns, and I believe they were all Seventh Pennsylvania men.
Jennings, Andress, and Dartt could tell you all about it. When I returned
and told General Gerrard that we, Captain Greeno and I, had been to the
place where Hood and his rebels had crossed the Coosa, had seen their
"trail," and knew what we were talking about, he was immensely tick-
eled, and immediately signaled back to General Sherman, at Rome, that
" one of his staff officers had been to the point below Coosaville, where
Hood crossed. " This was the first positive information Sherman (or at least
Generals Gerrard and Cox) had, when and where the rebels crossed." * *
1 Yours, R. Burns.

Extracts from Colonel Burns'1 Diary. 379
{Extracts from Diary October, 186^,.')
October 7th. — Near Lost mountain, at 6£, a. m,, again on the move, our
brigade leading, Fourth United States in advance. Marched to near Good
Hope church. About l£, p. m., struck the rebel pickets, driving them along
before us until they got in their barricades and entrenchments. Near them,
Lieutenant Webel, Fourth United States, with the advance, captured Briga
dier General Young, of Texas, and Colonel Camp, of the Fourteenth Texas
Infantry. They were wounded at Alatona yesterday, and were pushing
southward in an ambulance. We skirmished awhile with the rebels, when
Wilder's brigade came up, dismounted, and with a yell and f'usilade drove
the rebels flying from their works. We encamped there during the night.
We had skirmished with Armstrong's brigade of cavalry.
There was one point in the road it was dangerous to pass during the skir
mishing. I was shot three times in passing backwards and forwards there.
Joe Randelbroke (Fourth cavalry,) had his horse shot there. How he
swore ! Callahan, Fourth United States, there lost his stallion.
October 8th. — Near New Hope church. Lay still all day. Seventh
Pennsylvania went on reconnoissance toward Van Wert. The enemy ap
peared to be concentrating there.
We are encamped on the battle-field of New Hope church. The engage
ment took place the 26th of last May, between Hooker's corps, and the
enemy. Between the two lines of works, the firing was the hottest and most
destructive I ever saw'; for nearly every tree is killed by bullets alone. In
one tree, I counted one hundred and fifty -seven bullet holes ; in another,
one hundred and thirty-three, and in a third one hundred and one ; in the
first tree one hundred and thirty holes were within six feet of the ground.
From some small trees, every branch is swept, and the trunk remaining,
looks about like a broom. Bullets and grape shot can be picked up by the
handful. October 9th. — Did not move. The Fourth Michigan went to within two
miles of Van Wert. Two regiments of rebel cavalry were there. The
main army has gone to Cedartown.
October 10th. — At 6£, A. M., our division moved; the First brigade in
rear. Our destination is said to be Stilesboro'. Passed through Burnt
Hickory, and had commenced to go into camp about three miles from Stiles
boro', when we received orders from General Sherman, at Cartersville, to
move on to Rome, along the south side of the Etowah, and see what we
could there.
We bivouacked between the Raccoon and another small creek until 10
o'clock p. M., when we started Romeward. Marched for the remainder of
the ni"ht, and about 6, A. M., when within nine miles of Rome, ran on to
the rebel pickets. Distance marched thirty miles ; skirmished and drove
them back. One of Wilder's men killed. The whole rebel army is report
ed to be south of Rome, near it.
After remaining quiet for an hour or two, General Gerrard determined to'
go to Rome by a road near the river. At 12 we started; marched- about

380 Minty and the Cavalry.
fourteen miles, when a little before dark reached Rome. The road we trav
eled ran through ravines and by-ways, and had we been attacked at some
places by five hundred men, we would have been badly routed and ruined.
We all breathed freer when we came into the open country near Rome.
Bivouacked on the south side of the Etowah.
October 12th. — Near Rome. Received orders to march at 8.30, A. M.
Moved out. It was intended that our division should go to Farmer's
bridge, over the Armuchee creek, where Wheeler is reported to be with his
cavalry, but we had just passed through Rome, having crossed the Etowah
and Ostanaula rivers, and were forming on the west bank of the latter when
the rebels attacked our pickets on the Coosaville road, about a quarter of a
mile from where we were. Their scouts, too, could be seen on the hills
watching us. Our brigade, having the advance, was sent to see who they
were and drive them back. Out we went, and found they were too strong
for us to attack them mounted, they being in their old breast- works. Our
line was first formed, Fourth United States on right, Fourth Michigan, cen
ter, Seventh Pennsylvania, left.
We dismounted in the same order and commenced skirmishing. The reb
els were in numbers at least four to our one, we having not more than three
hundred men. Their line extended clear beyond our flanks. We sent word
to that effect back to General Gerrard, and he, not being informed how few
we were, said ' ' he would send forward some men who would fight. ' ' This
our men heard of, and they started forward and drove out of the works two
rebel brigades — Harrison's and Armestead's. On we went over the hill, the
field before us was filled with dismounted cavalry and horses in confusion.
We had set them flying. Had we been mounted then and charged, we could
have captured many horses and prisoners.
Shortly after, Long's brigade mounted, and Wilder's dismounted, came up
and charged. In a moment the rebels opened with artillery. We expected
to see the Second (Long's) brigade, bring it back with them, but they re
turned without it.
The-command was then formed in the breast-works, (having been re
called,) and the Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth Michigan sent out to
see where the rebels had gone to. We pushed out about two and a half
miles, where we found them strongly posted on a hill, behind rail barri
cades. We exchanged a few shots and the rebels fired a half dozen shells
at us without any damage. I returned to General Gerrard and reported the
condition of affairs. It then being so late, he concluded to do "nothino-
more that night. We returned and went into camp on the Summerville
road. All night were disturbed by rebels firing on our pickets.
At 6£, a. m., Thursday, October 13th, we went out again, leaving all
wagons and pack-mules behind; the Second brigade in advance, Wilder's
next, and ours last. The enemy were found where we left them last night.
Long's and Wilder's men were dismounted and drove them out of their
rail barricades. Soon word was sent back for us to come to the front and
prepare for a charge. We trotted out, and arriving there, found Wilder's

Battle of Rome. 381
men in line on the right, with a regiment of them on the left of the road.
Long's men were on the left of Wilder's. About twenty mounted men
were on each flank.
All then moved forward, we in column of fours in tne center. As we
arrived at the top of the hill in sight of the rebels, they opened on us with
their artillery. Their fire was directed at the line on the right of the road.
We moved at a walk about one third of a mile, when we were ordered to
charge I Away we went with the most infernal yelling and cheering, the
Seventh Pennsylvania in the advance, Lieutenant Fisk commanding the
advance guard. Before we started, the artillery had fired at us a half dozen
times. It blazed away once more, when Fisk and his men rode on to the
battery and had it in their possession ; having cut down and captured the
gunners. I, with a party of about one hundred and fifty men from all the regi
ments, had turned into a field in pursuit of a crowd of rebels — the field ap
peared to be filled with them — we shot and cut I We drove them into the
woods on the opposite side of the field and kept on after them. They
scattered, and so did we. Captain Van Antwerp, Lieutenant Bedtelyon,
(Fourth Michigan,) and I, with about a dozen men from their regiments,
then struck to the left for the purpose of reaching the river road. After
riding about a mile, we arrived at it and found ourselves just in the rear of
the rebel column. They were on the full run. We gave another whoop
and started for them, which had the effect of accelerating their speed. We
chased them about a mile and a half, shooting into their rear, and cutting
them down with sabers. I used a pistol only. They were badly demor
alized. There must have been four hundred that we could see in the road
in front of us. About every one of our men pulled his prisoner out of the
crowd. We did not think it prudent to go any further, so halted, as if they
had turned they could have captured our little squad very easily. We did
not know where we were, or how far from our command.
It afterwards turned out that we were two and a half miles in front of
any of them. We turned around and were riding slowly back, when we
met Captain Dartt, with about seventy of the Seventh Pennsylvania com
ing forward (Van Antwerp having gone back to General Gerrard and told
him that we wanted more men.) We then moved forward again and found
that the rebels were where we had left them. We again made a charge
and ran them through Crossville about three miles ; there, we having be
come very much scattered, they turned on us and drove us back across a
small creek. (Majors Jennings and Andress, Seventh Pennsylvania, had
come up before making the last charge.) On a slight elevation, we, then
numbering about sixteen, had very suddenly to form a line and receive
them. We did so, and when they made their appearance at the creek,
gave them such a volley that they were effectually checked. In a few
minutes Captain Eldridge, with some thirty of the Fourth Michigan, came
up and in we went again. On we went over the hill on the opposite side
of the creek ; the rebels gave us a blizzard and turned tail, Among others,

382 Minty and the Cavalry.
Captain Potter's horse was shot in the forehead and fell dead. We chased
them to the place where the road forks, one branch, or line, going down
the river bank, and the other to Millville. The most of the rebels went
down the latter road. Eldridge remained at the fork to prevent the rebs
coming back on us, while Captain Greeno and I, and about a dozen men,
went down the road over three miles, having learned that a wagon train
had gone that way. Couldn't find it, only a few wagons had passed an
hour before. Found a few of the rebels there, whom we sent flying.
Near Missionary station turned back, the horses being nearly used up.
On our return, Greeno and I went to the place where the rebels crossed the
Coosa, Tuesday, on their pontoons. It was about three fourths of a mile
below Coosaville. Pontoons all gone. They had taken them with them.
At the forks of the road, found Andress with more men. All then re
turned to camp of last night.
We had done well. We had totally routed and scattered two brigades
of rebel cavalry, (sixteen hundred men, the prisoners say,) captured two
pieces of artillery, about seventy prisoners, (which provost marshal turned
in,) must have killed one hundred and twenty-five, if not more ; destroyed
over two hundred stand of small arms. One stand of colors was picked
up by Wilder's men. The ground was covered for miles with hats, coats,
blankets, guns, &c, &c. I myself charged at least twelve miles. The
Fourth regulars nearly all struck a road running to the right and drove the
rebels in confusion about twelve miles. We lost only one Seventh Penn
sylvania killed and two wounded, Captain Mauck, and one Fourth United
States wounded.
Friday, October Ify. — At 6.30, a. m., again started with everything.
Crossed the Ostenaula, passed through Rome, and started for Resaca. The
Twenty- third corps was just moving out, and the road being filled with in
fantry and trains, we were obliged to go by by-ways. The Fourth and
Fourteenth corps had passed on during the night. The rebel army reported
to be at Resaca. Our loss yesterday is reported : Fourth United States,
one officer, two men, wounded. Seventh Pennsylvania, one man killed,
four wounded, and twenty-seven horses killed." * * *
In explanation of any discrepancies between the text
and the extracts from Colonel Burns' s diary, it will be
remembered that the former is made up from statements
of the officers and men of the regments, while the latter
is the movements, positions, and doings of the brigade
head-quarters. The division followed the rebel army closely, hugging
its rear and making daily captures of men and wagons ;
marching through Kingston, Adairsville, and Resaca, then

Close of the Campaign. 383
to Summerville, as far as Galesville, Alabama. Near that
place, on Little creek, on the 20th of October, the Fourth
Michigan engaged Wheeler, drove him five miles, killing
some twelve or fifteen men and two lieutenants.
The pursuit of Hood' s army here stopped, and the brig
ade remained until the 26th, when the Fourth United
States proceeded, under orders, to report to Ceneral Wil
son at Nashville, Tennessee. The Seventh Pennsylvania
and Fourth Michigan turned their horses over to Wilder's
brigade, and the old First brigade, Second cavalry divi
sion, was broken up.
At Rome, Georgia, on the 31st of October, the whole
division turned their horses over to Kilpatrick' s division,
and proceeded by rail to Louisville, Kentucky, for a re
mount, while Kilpatrick, with his and the First division,
reporting to General Sherman, started on the great march
to the sea. Good-by to our brave, fighting, little hot-spur
Kilpatrick ; for, though you used up our horses and men
rapidly, we always liked to be with you better than we
did with our own more cautious, but equally brave, gen
eral. Your name, carved where you wrote it with your
saber' s point on the pages of your country' s history, will
ever be revered by all who love the daring, the brave, and
dashing in the field of conflict.

iMr^^fiM

CHAPTER XXIY.
1864,
The Dismounted Men — Colonel Sipes in Command at Columbia, Tennes
see — Building Stockades — Doing Garrison Duty — Guarding Railroads
— Forrest's Raid — Wheeler's Raid — Battle and Capture of Athens,
Alabama — Hood's Advance — Forrest Captures Sulphur Springs — Sur
render or Lieutenant Nixon — Gallant Defense of Captain Long —
Fearless Conduct of Corporal Charles Beckford, Fourth Michigan
Cavalry. " Rally, men and brothers, rally I
'Tis the time for you and me ;
We will stand by one another
'Round the standard of the free.'' — Anon.
BRIEF account of the services of the dis
mounted men, who, in the progress of the
campaign, had been sent back to Columbia,
Tennessee, is now proper.
On the 1st of June, Colonel Sipes, of the Seventh Penn
sylvania, was, by orders of General Sherman, directed to
proceed to Columbia, Tennessee, and take command of all
the dismounted men belonging to the division. The men
having retained their arms — carbines and pistols— were by
Colonel Sipes placed on duty, building forts and stock
ades, and doing garrison duty in the numerous block
houses, erected for the protection of the railroad from
Decatur, Alabama, to Franklin, Tennessee. Colonel
Sipes established his head-quarters at Columbia, Tennes
see. During the summer, the duty of the guards and de
tachments was very light, and some degree of carelessness
becoming apparent, in the capture of a defense near
(384)

Gallant Conduct of Corporal Beckford. 385
Athens, Alabama, very stringent orders were issued, and
a notice, printed by the order of the general commanding
the district, was posted up in every fort and block-house,
to the effect that the position, men, or arms was not to
be surrendered in any case, under penalty of the officer
in command being dishonorably and summarily dismissed
the military service of the United States, with the loss of
all pay and allowance due.
On the 14th of September, General Wheeler directed
that the scattered rebel detachments and out-posts in
north Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi be gathered
into one body, to operate against Sherman' s lines of com
munications in Tennessee. Accordingly, a force of several
thousand moved against and captured several block
houses on the Huntsville road. In one of the block
houses attacked by this force, twenty-three men of the
Fourth Michigan, only seventeen of whom were armed
with Spencer carbines, under the command of Corporal
Charles Beckford, was stationed. The rebels^ advancing
on the 14th, suddenly surrounded the position ; and, re
sorting to their usual tactics of "bluff," sent a flag of
truce to the corporal, demanding the surrender of the
house and garrison, under penalty of a general massacre
if the demand was not acceded to, and stating that "Gen
eral Wheeler is present with eight thousand men and three
pieces of artillery. ' ' The brave corporal refused to sur
render, or hold any further parley. Whereupon, they
opened on him with their artillery, and for five hours and
a half continued to shell the position. They at one time
ran their guns up to within ten rods of the works, but
were forced to retire. By careful and accurate firing, this
little band compelled the rebel gunners to change the
position of their guns seven different times, and finally
forced them to retreat, with the loss of eight men killed
25

386 Minty and the Cavalry.
and sixty wounded, and without getting possession of the
works. The gallant corporal was honorably mentioned by
name in "general orders," and promoted to a full lieu-
tenantcy " for especial gallantry in the field."
Following the Wheeler demonstration, Forrest, who was
commander-in-chief of all the rebel cavalry in the Depart
ment of the Mississippi, crossed the Tennessee river at
Bainbridge and Florence, Alabama, about the 21st of
September, and concentrating all the scattered detach
ments of Wheeler, Rhodny, and other of the rebel preda
tory bands, moved against the Union forces at Athens,
Alabama, and, after a short skirmish, induced the com
mander, Colonel Campbell, to surrender, with several
pieces of artillery and one thousand nine hundred men,
and all his small arms and ammunition. Thus equipped
with excellent arms, and his offensive power augmented
by six pieces of artillery, all which he gained in the sur
render of Athens, Forrest moved northward towards
Columbia and Franklin.
Avoiding the more strongly garrisoned positions of
Pulaski and Columbia, Forrest made a wide circuit by
way of Lewisburg, after capturing the Sulphur Spring
fort and block-houses, and crossing Duck river, on the
1st of October, swooped down on the Columbia and Nash
ville railroad, captured twenty-five men, with a lieutenant,
of the Seventh Pennsylvania, on duty at the wood-yard
and saw-mill, who, being unprotected by works of any
kind, could not make any effective resistance. After
burning the wood-yard and saw -mill, Forrest moved to
attack the bridge and trestle, about three miles to the
south. The two bridges and long trestle works were de
fended by six strong block-houses, so located that while
fully commanding the bridges and approaches, they could
not be reached by artillery, without the guns being

Surrender of Lieutenant Nixon. 387
brought within musket or carbine range of the defenders.
The position, being deemed one of the most important
along the road, was held by a detachment over two hun
dred strong, and two commissioned officers from the
Seventh Pennsylvania. Lieutenant Edward F. Nixon, of
company E, was in command of the whole force, with
head- quarters at the south end of the long trestle, with
Lieutenant Jones F. Long at the north end, about a mile
distant, while a detachment of sixty -four men, commanded
by a sergeant of company E, defended the most northern
of the series of bridges.
Forrest first struck the position held by the sergeant,
and, after a little skirmishing, sent in a demand for the
immediate surrender of the block-houses and garrisons.
The sergeant refused, but while negotiations were in pro
gress, Forrest worked two pieces of artillery up a ravine
until they commanded the work. The sergeant saw what
he was about, and quietly detailing the proper number of
men for the duty, placed them on the side next the artil
lery, with orders to take deliberate aim and bring down
every man at the guns the moment the truce ended and
the gunners made any attempt to fire. For a short time
after the "flag" returned, the rebels kept up a noisy
skirmishing all around, for the purpose of rendering the
effect of their artillery fire the greater. The sergeant,
now seeing them ready to use their guns, ordered the de
tail to fire. The surprise was on the other side, as every
man at the pieces was brought down at the first volley.
Forrest made repeated efforts to get the guns away, but
his men were shot down as fast as they appeared. The
sergeant and twenty-five men had not only repulsed the
whole of Forrest's command, but had fairly gotten two
of his guns !
Forrest now moved southward to the south end of the

388 Minty and the Cavalry.
trestle, and, surrounding Lieutenant Nixon, skirmished
for over an hour, but was easily repulsed and kept at
bay. Finding himself foiled, he determined to play on
Nixon the same trick he had, a few days before, worked
so successfully on Colonel Campbell, at Athens. Send
ing in a flag of truce, with a demand for the immediate
surrender of the works and garrison, he added a threat
that in the event of his having to storm the works the
fate of the garrison of Fort Pillow would be theirs. He
also stated that he had a force of infantry, cavalry, and
artillery, aggregating ten thousand men; that all the
block-houses from Franklin to that point were in his pos
session; in short, that he was present with an army of
occupancy, and not a mere raiding party. Nixon re
fused to surrender, but was evidently too much impressed
with the responsibility of his position. The men under
his command were largely his neighbors, relatives, and
intimate friends at home — many of them with - families
dependent on them — and it seemed to him much like
signing their death warrant to refuse quarter and expose
them to ruthless butchery in case the position was car
ried. He was particularly impressed, too, with the state
ment made, that all the other block-houses were captured.
After a time, he sent out a flag, asking to be convinced of
the latter fact by being shown some of the captured of
ficers. Forrest sent the lieutenant who had been cap
tured at the saw-mill, but Nixon knew the lieutenant
was not in command of a block-house, and so stated.
Forrest ordered the lieutenant to repeat a statement to
the effect that all the houses had surrendered, which he
refused to do, but agreed to state that the rebels had
boasted in his presence that they had so captured them,
&c. Forrest now invited Nixon to come out, and, by ac
tual observation, convince himself of the overwhelming

Surrender of Lieutenant Nixon. 389
force at hand. This Nixon agreed to do, and, entering
the rebel lines, was actually furnished by Forrest with a
horse, saddled and bridled, with which to make a review
of the rebel force. What then occurred is thus de
scribed by the historian of " Forrest and His Cavalry : "
' ' Forrest, in anticipation of this visit, had dismounted
a part of his command, formed them as infantry, and di
recting them to so maneuver that Nixon, in passing along
the line, would ' review ' the same men many times, thus
impressing him with their formidable numbers; then
mounting them, and passing them in a circuit around
some hills, convince him of the large number of cavalry.
After which Forrest and the Federal officer rode to an
other part of the field to 'see the artillery.' This he
adroitly shifted from one position to another, until he
made his two guns do duty for two full batteries, and the
'review' was completed. Forrest, besides this, urged
that he had the means of reducing the position and de
stroying the garrison without using any of these formid
able forces, and calling for an officer, bade him bring from
his ordnance stores a bottle of ' Greek fire. ' This being
brought, Forrest threw it over a green stump near by,
and taking fire, appeared instantly to envelop the whole
in flames ! The men now began cheering the ' Greek fire, '
when Forrest, not wishing the officer to scan too closely
the effect, remarked that they had better be going, as his
men were becoming restless, and if the lieutenant delayed
too long inside his lines he might not be able to control
them, and would not be answerable for the consequences!"
Nixon returned to the block-house, and, after confer
ring with his men and subordinate officers, finally hoisted
the white flag and surrendered, not only his own garrison,
but all the block-houses and forces under his direct and
indirect command. This, of course, included the ser-

390 Minty and the Cavalry.
geant and garrison at the northern bridge who had made
so successful a defense a few hours before. When in
formed by Forrest that he had been surrendered, he re
fused to believe it — refused to be bound by the surren
der of Nixon, even when convinced of the fact, and
not until the lieutenant came forward with Forrest, and
ordered him .peremptorily out of the block-house, would
this brave subaltern submit, and even then declaring that
if he knew he dare disobey orders he would not surren
der, nor could he be taken.
The result of this unfortunate affair was the surrender
of three commissioned officers and one hundred and six
ty-five men; the destruction of three bridges and nearly
a mile of trestle work, badly crippling the road, and plac
ing all the forces between that point and the Tennessee
river in jeopardy.
The extreme penalty prescribed in the ' ' orders ' ' of the
department commander was visited on the unfortunate
Nixon. He was, while yet a prisoner, and without trial,
or notice of the proceedings being had, and without being
able or having any opportunity of making any defense
or statement in extenuation, summarily dishonorably dis
missed the service of the United States, with the loss of
all pay and allowances due, even though that covered
pay for over a year of previous honorable and faithful ser
vices. The action was harsh and unjust, but all efforts
made during his life-time to have the injustice remedied
and obtain a fair trial failed, and he died a few years ago
with the stigma upon him. The author was not person
ally acquainted with this unfortunate young man and
hence cannot be thought to have any bias in his favor,
but from a full investigation of the facts, and particular
ly from the rebel statements made, believes that there
was no element of personal cowardice in the case, but

Long's Defense. 391
that the young man, only then about twenty-two years of
age, allowed the responsibility of deciding the possible
fate of a large number of his friends and neighbors to
have undue weight, and led him into the fatal mistake of
visiting Forrest's lines. The united statement of all
Nixon's comrades is that he was personally a brave man.
Forrest next moved on Long' s two garrisons, with a
demand for their surrender, and a statement that he was
included in the surrender of Nixon. But Long not only
refused to surrender, or hold any parley with, or visit
Forrest' s lines, but threatened, and actually did fire on
his flag of truce, under cover of which Forrest was trying
to gain a position of advantage. The enemy, however,
succeeded during the night in setting fire to the bridge,
but the fire was extinguished without doing much dam
age. Forrest withdrew from the vicinity, swearing
roundly at the ' ' Dutchman ' ' who did not know enough
to obey the orders of his superior officer ! After playing
some more ' ' tricks ' ' on officers and men of other com
mands along the line, he retreated across the Tennessee
about the 7th of October.
On the 25th of October, the detachments from Colum
bia and other points were relieved, and proceeding to
Nashville, met the other portions of the division, and with
them proceeded to Louisville for a "remount." The
list of casualties in the series of encounters will be found
in the general appendix.
The following letter, from Major Joseph Hedges, of the
Fourth United States, commanding that regiment, while
on duty at General Wilson' s head-quarters, was received
too late to be incorporated in the text, and is, therefore,
here inserted as written :

392 Minty and the Cavalry.
History of the Fourth United States Cavalry in the
Battle of Nashville — Pursuit of Hood, &c.
Now, to come down to the battle of Nashville, which took place about
the 15th of December, 1864. Our regiment was acting singly, reporting
directly to General J. H. Wilson, chief of cavalry before the battle. We
first were encamped on the river above the city. Then, a day or two before
the battle commenced, we moved to the west side of the city, and all the
cavalry were on the right flank of our army. We moved out with the rest
of the line early in the morning of the first day's fight, but did not get en
gaged that day, but in the evening we took a part in capturing a redoubt,
Or little fortification, on a hill, by getting around in the rear of it. Our
Bimple part in the engagement was after the enemy had all started on re
treat. I think it was the evening of the first day. When near Frank
lin, we came up on the brow of a hill, and General Wilson, being out
on the skirmish line, with our regiment just behind him, discovered in front
what appeared to be a line of troops, and supposing them to be our own
men (General Richard W. Johnson's division), which had advanced by an
other road, gave me an order (I being in command of the Fourth cavalry)
to take the regiment and go down the pike, and see who they were, lust
as I received the order, a battery of artillery opened on our column stand
ing on the pike in fours, and the general and his staff on the hill at the left
of the pike. I was satisfied that it was not our men, as our friends did not
often salute us in that way. So, to make the mark less conspicuous, and
save my men as much as possible, I placed the column in line of battle on
the right side of the pike, and had no sooner got them in line, when General
Wilson shouted to me to take my regiment, and go down the pike, and
charge the line, which was then formed, supporting the battery. I moved
out of the field by fours into the pike, and started at a gallop, with drawn
sabers and revolvers — the first company sabers, and the balance revolvers.
We rode right into their lines. The guns were limbered up, and started
about the time we reached them. We killed a good many of their gunners
and horses, and for a few moments it was a very hot place. The enemy
had two lines of infantry, about two hundred yards apart, extending on
both sides of the pike, and the guns, four, on the pike. There were, per
haps, not over forty of our men who got inside of their first line. The in
fantry fire went over the heads of the front of the column, but the rear
caught it and was .repulsed. I was asked by a mounted officer to surren
der, and being almost alone, and surrounded by scores of the enemy, I threw
down my saber on the ground, but just then one of my men placed the
muzzle of his revolver at the head of the officer, who had demanded my
surrender. His attention was withdrawn from me, and I saw a gap in the
fence, spurred my horse over into the field, and riding out pretty rapidly,
soon arrived at the extreme end of their flankers. I passed some of the
skirmishers of the enemy, and sang out to them to fall back, as the Yanks
were advancing, and this they proceeded to do, while I rode out beyond

Fourth U. S— Battle of Nashville. 393
their lines and into ours safely. Two or three of my men followed me.
The evening was very dark and wet, about sundown, when the charge
was made, and we all had on talmas, and I lost my hat in the charge, and
was covered with mud. We lost (killed, wounded, and missing) about
thirty. Lieutenant Fitzgerald's horse fell with him, and he was hurt on the
knee, either from the shell of the enemy, or from the falling of his horse,
and died in a short time from the effects of the injury. Some fifteen or
twenty of the men were captured, and marched all the way to the Ten
nessee on foot, and were not exchanged until the war closed.
When we had passed through Pulaski, following the enemy retreating,
we had another engagement, in which our regiment took a part. We were
going through a narrow defile, and were marching along in column, with
but a very thin skirmish line along in front, and flanks on the top of the
hills on either side of the road, when the enemy opened a, gun upon the
head of our column from an ambush, not over one hundred yards in front
of us; the first shell took off the doctor's leg, who was the surgeon of Lieu
tenant Smith's regular battery. I don't know his name, but I can dis
tinctly see him now as he fell off his horse, and hobbled across the road to
a little log cabin, and crawled under it to get in a place of safety. He was
not over ten feet from me when the shell struck him. It came so suddenly
and unexpectedly that it threw the general's staff into confusion, and as it
was no place for the cavalry to operate mounted, I gave the command to
dismount to fight, and by the time we got dismounted, the enemy charged
down the hill, and took one of Lieutenant Smith's guns, which had been out
beyond the support. The enemy were then in our rear. So we fell back,
getting our lead horses over the hill, and, I think, did not loose any of our
men, or horses, but waited until more of the cavalry came up, when the
enemy evacuated their strong position and continued the retreat to the Ten
nessee river, where we followed them, but did not overtake them again.
Just before they made their last stand, we were pressing them so hard that
they abandoned some twenty-five wagons of ammunition, and set fire to
them. I forgot to say that we got the four guns which we charged
near Franklin. The guns and horses were so disabled that they left
them, as it was then dark, and they had crossed the creek. I suppose
they intended to go back after them, as they kept up firing for a long time
after dark, but we went over the creek and got them, General Hatch using
some of his artillery horses to haul them back. There are many anecdotes
and incidents that happened, if I had time, I might relate. One which
seemed very funny at the time I will tell you. It was at Rosswell,
Georgia, when we forded the Chattahoochee river, you will recollect
about daylight, one July morning, on foot, leaving our horses on this side.
We went a little out from the river, and to the right of the road, and com
menced piling up rails, forming a kind of a breast-work, to protect ourselves
in case we were attacked in force. Our quartermaster, Lieutenant Johu
Lee, came over soon after, on his horse, to see what we were doing, but
riding out on the road, he missed us, and going out some mile or more, and

394 Minty and the Cavalry.
not finding us, he thought it prudent to inquire at a house if any Fed
eral troops had passed, and getting an answer that no Federal, but some
Confederates, had, he started on a gallop back towards the river, when he
soon met a trooper, coming at a gallop, going in the opposite direction, who
proved to be a Confederate, but both were so surprised at the situation that
each one, as they met and passed, ejaculated " hallo," and galloped on, each
in the opposite direction. Lee related the incident, and it was so amusing
then and there that he was never allowed to forget it ever afterwards. As
he was quartermaster, and a non-combatant, it was certainly a good joke
on him. A lieutenant*, who had just been promoted from first sergeant of
"L" company, was killed on a midnight raid we made out of Murfreesboro,'
under General Turchin, where we charged into a rebel camp just as reveille
was sounding. I can't think of the lieutenant's name, but he was a brave
and gallant fellow, and the incidents and circumstance of his death should
be mentioned.
I forgot to mention that Mclntyre went on leave after the battle of Look
out mountain, and hence Bowman became commander during the Oklooma
raid. Lohomuden died at Pulaski about New Year's day, 1864, and was
buried there. Healy was killed. Fitzgerald was killed. Sullivan was so
badly wounded in the raid around Atlanta that he never joined the regi
ment afterwards. Truly yours, Jos. S. Hedges,
Late Captain Fourth Cavalry and Brevet Major.
?Lieutenant F. C. Wood (?). See appendix.
Re-organization of the Cavalry.
On the 16th of November, 1864, while at Louisville,
Kentucky, the cavalry in the department of the Missis
sippi was organized for the ensuing campaign, with Major
General Joseph Wilson in chief command. Our division
was now designated the "Second Division Cavalry Corps,
Military Division of the Mississippi," Brigadier General
Eli Long, commanding. The First brigade, (Wilder's
old brigade,) commanded by Colonel A. O. Miller, con
sisting of the Seventeenth Indiana, Seventy-second Indi
ana, Ninety-eighth Illinois, and the One Hundred and
Twenty-third Illinois. The Second brigade, commanded
by Colonel R. H. G. Minty, consisting of the Seventh
Pennsylvania, the Fourth Michigan, and First, Second,

Summary of the Campaign. 395
Third, and Fourth Ohio. The field and staff of this bri
gade included the following officers :
Colonel R. H. G. Minty, Fourth Michigan, command
ing. Major Robert Burns, Fourth Michigan, Acting Assist
ant Adjutant General.
Captain R. M. McCormick, Seventh Pennsylvania, In
spector. Captain B. Fish, Third Ohio, Provost Marshal.
Major J. L. Sherk, Seventh Pennsylvania, Surgeon.
Lieutenant G. M. Landon, Fourth Michigan, Acting
Commissary Subsistance.
Lieutenant J. S. Pugsley, Fourth Michigan, Acting
Assistant Quartermaster.
Lieutenant William G. Sander, First Ohio, Aid-de-
Camp. Lieutenant H. S. Heywood, Fourth Michigan, Topo
graphical Engineer.
The campaign of 1864, now closed, had thrown Minty's
brigade from Nashville, Tennessee, to McDonough, Geor
gia, thence on its return by way of Gladson, Alabama, to
Little river ; making a mounted march of the brigade
head-quarters of over one thousand eight hundred miles,
while the various movements of the regiments compelled
each to march from two thousand three hundred to two
thousand five hundred miles ! It had captured ten pieces
of artillery, and taken and turned in over nine thousand
prisoners ! Had killed of the enemy, in the field, nine
hundred and forty-five, or nearly two hundred more than
its effective force ! Had inflicted a loss to the enemy in
killed, wounded, and captured of twelve thousand, and
had been engaged in fifty-two battles, besides almost daily
skirmishes. Two of its regiments had twice charged
mounted, and with the saber alone captured hostile bat-

396 Minty and the Cavalry.
teries, by riding in column directly into the teeth of the
guns ; and each of its regiments had three times rode,
saber in hand, upon the bayonets of serried lines of in
fantry, broken them to atoms, and cut them to pieces !
It now saw the campaign of 1865 opening with a de
termination of, in one short decisive sweep through the
yet unoccupied portions of the rebel States, driving finally
from the field the last of the broken fragments of the
much vaunted rebel forces.
The division being at Louisville, Kentucky, for the
purpose of receiving a remount of horses, the advance of
Hood's army to Nashville created such a demand for
animals, and increased the urgency for it to take the field,
to such a degree that it was deemed unwise to await the
circumlocution of contractors, disbursing officers, quar
termasters' requisitions and vouchers; and, as the manner
in which ' ' red tape ' ' was cut by it, forms a striking in
stance of how, "in the presence of war the laws are
silent." the narrative of
How we Got our Horses
is inserted in the graphic language of a participant:
"Don't forget," wrote the officer to the author, "to no
tice the impressment of horses which took place in Louis
ville, and which, if it had happened earlier in the war,
would have driven Kentucky into rebellion."
"During the evening of December 7, 1864, we received
orders from General Long to pen and seize all the horses
in the city of Louisville. Very early on the morning of
the 8th, the Fourth Michigan was sent out to picket every
road leading into the city, with orders to allow all horses
and wagons to pass through into town, but to permit not
one to go out. The Third Ohio and Seventh Pennsylvania
were then ordered into the city, with directions to seize

Impressment of Horses in Louisville. 397
every serviceable horse they could lay their hands on,
and bring them to our camp.
"When the citizens found out what was going on, they
were ' in a piece of mind ' about it, and attempted to hide
all the good horses they could. Horses were taken out
of stables, street-cars, wagons, and busses ; and in the af
ternoon they were found in cellars, parlors, garrets, and
all sorts of out-of-the-way places, where the owners had
hidden them. When they attempted to run them out of
town, they were stopped by the Fourth Michigan. The
impressment was kept up during the 8th and 9th.
' ' One naughty Seventh Pennsylvania sergeant seized the
beautiful carriage horses of a well-known resident of
Green street — one whose name during the war was as
well known in Louisville as that of General Grant or
General Rosecrans — but, yielding to her tears and en
treaties, and the persuasive power of one hundred dol
lars in greenbacks, paid in hand, he left them where he
found them — in her parlor. Shortly afterward, meeting
a sergeant of the Third Ohio, on similar business intent,
he informed him where the horses were concealed, and
the hard-hearted Ohioan soon gathered them in ! I recol
lect the adjutant of the Third Ohio used to ride one of
them on our march through Kentucky and Tennessee.
When the impressment was completed, we had some of
the most valuable horses in Kentucky tied to our picket
lines. " For the first day or two, the owners used to come to
brigade head-quarters with all sorts of reasons for re
turning the animals to them, but it could not be done.
Then they sent their wives and daughters, who besought
us, with tears, to return the horse, ' which had been in
the family for fifteen years ! The one which poor papa
gave me when I was a little girl, and which is good for

398 Minty and the Cavalry.
nothing except for a lady !' &c. Colonel Minty gener
ally referred them to Dixon or to me, and we had to steel
our hearts in order to prevent their stealing them back."
A large number of recruits were sent to the different
regiments, and arrived during this time. The Seventh
Pennsylvania, being in great favor, was filled to the max
imum, and had nearly two hundred men surplus, who
were carried on the rolls as ' ' unassigned. ' ' Among these
recruits of this regiment was a sort of polished rough
from Philadelphia, who was continually ' ' pulled in " by
the provost guard. He was sometimes discovered dressed
as a citizen, sometimes as a private, and again as an of
ficer. One night, or rather morning, he was discovered
down town as a full-fledged lieutenant colonel. Being
brought, the next morning, before Lieutenant Colonel
Seibert, then commanding the regiment, he (Seibert)
asked him where he got that coat. " I bought it in Phil-
delphia," was answered. "Guard," called out Seibert,
' ' take that coat from him and lay it on that fire, ' ' point
ing to a fire in front of his quarters. The guard did so,
and a smell of burning woolen was soon wafted over the
camp. At the hour of "dress parade," Lieutenant Col
onel Seibert went to his tent to get his dress coat, but no
dress coat was there. It then dawned on his mind that a
fifty-dollar lieutenant colonel' s dress coat, shoulder-straps,
and all, had that morning been burned, by his order, in
front of his quarters. The colonel swore, and the field
and staff laughed at him for months.

DOUGLASS ALEX. MURRAY,

Lt. Colonel Third Ohio Cavalry.

s

CHAPTER XXV.
THE SECOND BRIGADE.
Organization of the Fourth Ohio — Capture op Bowling Green — Sur
render of Nashville — Wild Chase after Morgan — Capture of
Huntsville, Alabama — Reports of Colonel Kennett, First Ohio
Cavalry — Lebanon, Kentucky — Fort Donaldson —Pittsburg Landing
— Corinth, Mississippi — Third Ohio Cavalry — Advance on Savannah
— Fight at Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.
" One foot in the stirrup,
One hand on the mane,
One glance at the flag floating there ;
Then firm in the saddle,
And loosen' d the rein,
And the sword-blade gleams bare."
j HE following summary of the operations of the
Second brigade, Second Cavalry division, com
manded by Colonel Eli Long, not being in
cluded and covering periods while it was operating inde
pendently 01 the division, is here inserted, in order that
the history may be brought up to the close of the cam
paign. The author only regrets that the narrative is not
as full as the services of these gallant men deserve.
Every effort was made to procure the full name and rank
of the officers and men engaging in the arduous services
here so briefly summarized, but owing to the impossibili
ty of obtaining full copies of Colonel Long's reports in
time for insertion, he had to content himself with the
material furnished.
The Fourth Ohio Cavalry.
The Fourth Ohio cavalry was organized at Camp Gau-
ley, Cincinnati, Ohio, under Colonel John Kennett, in
(399)

400 Minty and the Cavalry
August, 1861, upon authority of General Fremont, com-
, manding the department. In this camp it was equipped,
mounted, drilled, and armed with indifferent revolvers
and sabers, one company (C) receiving, in addition, Colt' s
revolving rifles.
On the 23d of November, it moved to Camp De unison,
with one thousand and seventy men. On the 6th of De
cember, it embarked, by river, for Jeff ersonville, Indiana,
and on the 27th, crossed into Kentucky and marched to
Bacon creek, as part of the Third division, commanded
by General 0. M. Mitchell. With Loomis' battery, it
led the advance of Mitchell' s division on Bowling Green,
Kentucky, capturing, at that place, a train with a large
amount of supplies. Continuing at the head of the col
umn, it led the advance on Nashville, Tennessee, and on
the 23d of February, 1862, received from the mayor the
surrender of the city. It was immediately ordered to
the front, and went into camp on the Murfreesboro' pike,
eight miles beyond the outpost.
On the 8th of March, the regimental supply train was
captured, between the camp and the city, by John Mor
gan. The report of this mishap was received by an or
derly from General Mitchell's head -quarters, who rode
into camp about 3, p. m., just as the colonel was getting
a company ready to start out to hunt up a body of rebels
supposed to be in the neighborhood. The orderly re
ported, with considerable excitement, that John Morgan
had captured the wagon train, loaded with supplies;
burned the wagons, and taken off teamsters, horses, and
mules. And this only a mile from camp ! Colonel Ken
nett immediately ordered, "Company C, turn out with
your rifles. " This seemed to the ' ' boys ' ' to mean ' ' busi
ness," so they turned out unanimously. With four
other companies— company C, with the "rifles," leading

Fourth Ohio — Fight near Nashville. 401
— they rushed up the pike, and coming to the ruins of
the wagon train, still burning, verified the truth of the
report. The attacking party were Lieutenant Colonel
Wood, with a body of Mississippi cavalry and John
Morgan' s command. They had first quietly taken in the
pickets, and then, by a dash from the woods, captured
the train, and with it Captain Braiden, an aid to General
Dumont. General Mitchell passed a few moments be
fore, and, escaping capture, was close enough by to no
tice the force and send the notice of the attack to us. A
halt was called, and the road examined to ascertain which
way the enemy had gone. The trace was found leading
east through the woods. One company was sent back to
get re-inforcements, and, with them, to strike into the
timber from the regimental camp, to try and intercept
the raiders. The original party, headed by Colonel Ken
nett, dashed into the woods, and then occurred a chase,
the parallel to which has seldom been seen, and which is
thus described by Captain William E. Crane, who com
manded company C on the occasion, in a paper read be
fore the " Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion," and
published by order of that body, entitled "Bugle Blasts :"
" 'Forward,' was the word, and forward it was. The
woods became a thicket, sometimes, apparently, impassa
ble, but the horses, spurred by their riders, dashed at
headlong speed through the trees, through the under
brush, under the branches, thorns scratching the face and
hands, projecting limbs tearing clothes and bruising
bodies. Down hill and uphill, through marsh and bog,
over logs and across streams, leaping obstacles, shouting,
yelling, screaming, and hurrahing, away we went — mud
and leaves flying, and dead limbs cracking beneath horses'
feet. Now the trail is lost, and there is a halt to look for
footprints. How much of a start the raiders have we cannot
26

402 Minty and the Cavalry.
know, but the trail must be fresh. Soon it is found, and
the horses gallop on, as full of spirit as their wildly-ex
cited riders. When the tracks disappear in the forest
leaves, the rebel course is now marked by plunder lost or
cast aside — overcoats, canteens, saddles, blankets — the
woods full of them. Now and then an abandoned horse
was seen. Finally, we strike a narrow pike [Jefferson
pike % ], follow it a mile or so, and learn that Morgan and
Wood have divided their force, only the smaller part
having taken the course we are pursuing. We were after
Morgan and the main body, so turned back. It was pre
cious time lost, but the trail was again struck, where they
had crossed the pike, and once more a plunge was made
for the timber and cedars.
' ' For miles the trees were so thick, and the foliage so
dense, that it became impossible to ride other than single
file, but, retarded as was our speed, the chase became hot
ter and more exciting than ever. The Yankee blood of
the hunters was at fever heat, and they determined to
run the game to cover. The sign of an abandoned horse
(and the hard-pressed enemy was now leaving his own as
well as our animals) was the signal for a yell that the
pursued might have heard and trembled at miles away.
Then spurs were clapped into horses' flanks to urge them
still faster on, and thus the column — if column that could
be called which column was none — swept, dashed, plunged
onward. Occasionally a trooper was dismounted by a
projecting limb, and, as he clambered out of the way, the
sympathetic cry was wafted back from some comrade ;
' Say, what infantry regiment does you'ns belong to ?'
"Now the colonel's voice rings shrilly through the
forest, with the same old talismanic, 'Forward!' The
refrain is taken up, sent back along the column, until the
rearmost rider hears and shouts a returning echo. ' We

The Pursuit. 403
are coming, Father Abraham !' No cowardice there. No
lagging behind from choice. Every man was straining
nerve and muscle to get ahead. We were fast gaining on
the enemy, and they knew it, trembling at every shout
wafted to their ears. They grew desperate, dug the rowels
into their horses, cursed their prisoners, threatened them,
shot at them to make them keep up, and wounded one
poor fellow to the death. These facts were gleaned after
ward. ' ' We had gained rapidly, and thought them almost
within grasp. But ' the best laid plans of mice and men, '
etc. Desperation nerved them, and they flew down the
pike, scattering the stones behind. But we ran them into
the net prepared. The detachment that had gone out
later from camp struck the pike opportunely, and received
the enemy warmly as we drove him into their arms. A
brisk engagement followed, partly hand to hand. The
fight was soon over, the enemy being routed, scattered,
and driven in every direction. At the onset Morgan, with
his staff and a lot of blooded horses, broke away and es
caped across Stone river. Our command being united
and ready to move, an inventory of affairs and effects was
taken. The enemy left four dead on the field, and four
sound and two wounded captives in our hands. Of
ninety -four horses taken, we recaptured seventy -five ; of
the forty-eight teamsters, thirty-one, and also Captain
Braiden. A number of rebels were wounded, but not
seriously, and escaped. One of the two wounded pris
oners, Warfield by name, was related to one of the most
prominent and wealthy families of Cincinnati. .The other
was a Mississippian, by the name of Love. The writer
visited the two in the regimental hospital that night.
Love had a terrible wound, and knew it was mortal, but
his last breath was expended in cursing and execrating

404 Minty and the Cavalry.
the 'Yankees' in the most horrible and vile language
tongue could utter.
' ' The chase being over, the command returned — all ex
cept the company with the rifles, who were to continue
the pursuit. Pushing on again, we struck the Murfrees
boro' pike, near Lavergne, and got on the heels of one
detachment, but these, knowing the country, broke for
the cedars and escaped. We saw no more of them, and
returned to camp at 8, p. m., after a ride of about thirty
miles, part of this on a keen run. ' '
The regiment lay near Nashville for about ten days,
then moving with the advance of General Mitchell' s com
mand, occupied Murfreesboro', from which point expe
ditions were sent out in every direction, the Fourth being
actively and constantly employed. At this place it was
fully armed with Smith' s carbines, two companies retain
ing the Colt repeating rifles. .It, in less than a week, had
driven the enemy beyond the Elk river, eastward, and
advancing to the north-east, as far as McMinnville, de
stroyed at that place a large powder mill. From Mur
freesboro' it marched to Shelbyville, Tennessee, occupy
ing that town about the last of March. After a few days'
rest, to bring up supplies, General Mitchell moved rap
idly on Fayetteville, which was occupied by the Fourth,
on the evening of April 8th. Passing through the town,
it crossed the Elk river, on the stone bridge, and encamped
for the night on the spot General Jackson had camped
fifty years before, in the war of 1812.
The following graphic descriptipn of the capture of
Huntsville, Alabama, is from the pen of Captain Crane :
" Leaving camp at Fayetteville at 12, m., the 10th, amid
great enthusiasm over the news of the victory at 'Pittsburg
Landing.' we set out for Huntsville, Alabama, the cavalry,
Fourth Ohio, leading. Our route lay along a circuitous

Capture of Huntsville, Alabama. 405
dirt road, and through a mountainous country. Twelve
miles brought us to the State line, marked by a high pole
bearing the tattered remnants of a rebel flag.
' ' Now we are in Alabama ! The plantations stretch out
in beautiful landscapes, and, as the innumerable negroes
grin at as from every field and fence, we are forcibly re
minded that we are 'in the land of cotton.' Halting at
sundown to feed and await the remainder of the division,
the cavalry again moved on rapidly, and went into bivouac
at 10, p. m. At 2, a. m., a detail of picked men, com
manded by  , was made to ride across the
country and tear up the track of the Memphis and Charles
ton railroad, leading east from Huntsville. Pickets were
also thrown out to intercept all travel to and from the
town. At 4, A. M., of the 11th, the artillery and cavalry
were in motion for Huntsville, eight miles away. Near-
ing the town, the battery galloped on to the front, Colonel
Kennett, with the Fourth, following close. It was a mat
ter of all importance that the place should be reached be
fore any trains should leave ; and when two miles off the
whistle of a locomotive sounded on our ears, everything
was excitement, and every horse put to its speed. Such a
clatter never before awoke the echoes among those Ala
bama hills. Yonder curls the smoke, and here comes the
engine with but a single car, steaming eastward across the
plain. Simonson, commanding the battery, wheels a gun,
lets fly a solid shot, and the engineer slackens speed,
hesitates, (as if to ask the meaning of all this, ) and puffs
quickly on. A shell speeds after it, but fails in its intent.
However, the train cannot escape altogether, if our rail
road wreckers have safely reached their trysting place.
The locomotive maybe ditched, and lost to us for service,
but will hardly carry the news to Leadbetter, at Bridge
port, that the Yankees have come.

406 Minty and the Cavalry.
" Company A has orders, and in an instant a dozen troop
ers have dismounted, thrown down the stake-and-rider
fence, and away goes the company across the plain in hot
pursuit, horse-flesh vieing with steam ! But the iron
limbed courser has the best bottom, and whirled along
amid a shower of bullets— escaping for a time, but only
to become a prey to the detachment up the road. Another
whistle sounds and another train comes in sight. Simon-
son' s bull-dog again barks — again ineffectually. A re
peated effort is more successful, and a shell crashes
through the cab. The cavalry company is on hand this
time, and bang ! bang ! crack ! crack ! go the carbines
and revolvers, and the balls whistle about the engineer' s
head and rattle against the cars. The train stops and the
passengers, rebel soldiers and officers, leap to the ground
and endeavor to escape. A few succeed, but the majority
are taken. The train is boarded and brought back.
Meanwhile, the column dashes onward and goes whirling
into Huntsville. At the station is another train just leav
ing, with troops, who are going ' on to Richmond.' A
cocked pistol held at the engineer' s head has the effect
of shutting off steam, and the train is placed under
guard. The regiment gallops up the street and through
the town. Pickets are thrown out on all the roads.
" Black faces were at every door and window, blacks
were at the gates, and blacks were on the streets, but the
' Chivalry ' had evidently deserted the place, except the
few who viciously peered at us through the blinds, robed
in white. Perhaps it was too early for white folks, and
our call was untimely on that bright April morning— the
clock had not yet struck six— and perhaps they were too
high-toned to suffer Yankees to look upon their faces.
After reconnoitering the streets and gathering in a few

Capture of Huntsville — Official Report of. 407
wearers of the gray, the regiment was apportioned to var
ious duties.
' ' Another train had just pulled in, all unconscious of the
reception awaiting. This, too, was filled with soldiery,
from below, bound for Richmond, four officers and one
hundred and eighty privates. At one of the hotels, a
major and three captains were taken, and others at other
points in town. The full result of the early morning' s
work was eight hundred prisoners, seventeen locomotives,
and a large number of cars. The locomotives themselves
were of incalculable value, and more than paid for the
expedition, if there had been no other fruits ; for they
enabled General Mitchell to push his troops rapidly in
every direction and hurry forward supplies. Without
them many of the results which soon followed could not
have been accomplished. ' '
The following is General Mitchell's official report of the
capture of this most important place, giving the full
credit to Colonel Kennett : Head-Quarters Third Division,
Huntsville, Ala., April 11, 1862.
Sir : After a forced march of incredible difficulty, leaving Fayetteville
yesterday at 12, m., my advance guard, consisting of Turchin's brigade,
Kennett's cavalry, and Simonson's battery, entered Huntsville this morning
at 6 o'clock.
The city was taken completely by surprise, no one having considered the
march practicable in the time. We have captured about two hundred
prisoners, fifteen locomotives, a large amount of passenger, box, and plat
form cars, the telegraphic apparatus, and officers, and two Southern mails.
We have, at length, succeeded in cutting the great artery of railway inter
communication between the Southern States.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
0. M. Mitchell,
Brigadier General Commanding.
Captain J. B. Fry,
Assistant Adjutant General.
The regiment occupied Huntsville, and extended its
lines to Decatur and Athens, and eastwardly along the

408 Minty and the Cavalry.
Memphis and Charleston railroad to Bridgeport, at the
latter place driving off the rebel guards and preventing
the destruction of the great bridge over the Tennessee
river, after it had been fired by the enemy. At Athens,
Scott' s rebel cavalry was encountered and driven across
the Tennessee river, their rear guard and a quantity of
wagons, arms, and camp equipage being captured. Four
companies were detached during this time, and with a
part of the Tenth Wisconsin and the Thirty-third Ohio
infantry to Bellefonte, and were there on the 27th of
April, joined by General Mitchell and the remainder of
the two infantry regiments, moving with this command
on the 29th to Bridgeport, as before noted. In this ad
vance many prisoners were taken. The detachment
served on this flank until late in August, when it guard
ed the rear of General Lytle's division to Murfreesboro',
where it rejoined the regiment.
On Bragg' s invasion of Kentucky, the regiment was
detailed to guard Buell' s wagon train, which it did, suc
cessfully bringing eighteen hundred wagons safely to
Salt river. From this point, the regiment took the ad
vance of the army, marching by way of Danville, Ken
tucky, to Nashville, Tennessee, reaching there after six
ty-nine consecutive days of marching, with but little food,
less water, and almost constant skirmishing with the
enemy. At Nashville, in November, 1862, the Fourth, in
the re-organization of the cavalry, was assigned to the
Second brigade, Second division of cavalry. Associated
with it was the First and Third Ohio cavalry, and Colonel
Eli Long, of the Fourth Ohio, was assigned to command
of the brigade.
The following extracts, from the official reports of Colo
nel John Kennett, give the details of the operations of

Official Report of Colonel Kennett. 409
the regiment during the five days of remarkable activity
from March 24th to 29th :
Head-Quarters Fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cavalry,
Camp Van Buren, Tenn., March 28, 1862.
Dear Sir : On the 24th instant, your order was received, directing the
Fourth to make a tour of reconnoissance in force, leaving the detail to the
commanding officer. * * On the 25th, the Fourth took the advance, fol
lowed by eighty artillerists, Colonel Mihalotzy, of the Twenty-fourth Illinois,
in command of part of the Twenty-fourth and Thirty-seventh Illinois, two
brass rifled six-pounders, of Simonson's battery. We marched fifteen
miles, and bivouacked in a cedar grove, about 12, midnight. The night was
windy, cold, and the ground wet. The horses were tied to trees, and in
that condition the entire force slept on their arms, ready for any emergency.
At 5, a. m., the reveille was sounded, and after a cup of coffee — tin cup —
by 5.30, the command resumed its march, exhibiting an unusual degree of
vigor, fired by the report that we were likely to measure arms in the glorious
cause that animated our breasts. We marched ahead of the infantry some
three miles, where we found a Mr. Houston, who willingly sold us some
corn and fodder for our horses. We halted, and fed there, and were ready
for the march when the infantry came up.
We resumed the march at 7.30, a. m., marching five miles to Shelbyville.
We were greeted by a population, who evinced by their cheers, waving of
handkerchiefs, and other demonstrations of joy, pictured on their counte
nances, great relief and satisfaction at the approach of their deliverers from
military despotism. A Mrs. Graham, eighty years of age, with tears in her
eyes, welcomed us with a blessing, "God bless your souls." Her husband
fought in the revolutionary war She venerated the old flag. She would
not, and could not, live under any other government, nor should any other
flag wave over her head. She, with her own hands, tore down from the
court-house the first secession flag at Shelbyville. Her son-in-law was
killed for his Union sentiments. * * * Many flags were waved from
the doors and windows. * * * The infantry and artillery halted ai
Shelbyville, guarding the city, and taking all military measures to render
them secure from attack. * *
The Fourth left Shelbyville at 11 o'clock, and marched to Tullahoma,
being eighteen miles, over the most abominable road it was ever our lot to
travel, mostly over solid and detached rock, miry lanes, and miry woods,
the horses sinking knee deep in the mud. When within eight miles, our
advance guard, commanded by Captain H. C. Rogers, who was ordered
ahead to feel the way, and obtain the news and forage, sent Dr. T. Mc-
Millen to the reserve, saying that Morgan and his men had gone down to
Wartrace to burn bridges. We galloped the entire eight miles in hopes we
could reahze the object of our pursuit, and the full expectation of seizing
a locomotive and bagging the command of the enemy ; but, much to our
chagrin, the enemy had received intelligence, * * and we reached Tulla-

410 Minty and the Cavalry.
homa three quarters of an hour too late. * * * * At Tullahoma, a
force, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel H. W. Burdsal, was or
dered to Manchester to meet Captain Robie, of company A, who was or
dered to leave four hours in advance, on his way to McMinnville. *
* * Lieutenant Colonel Burdsal, with twenty -seven men, reached Man
chester at 10, r. m., on the 26th, where he captured four rebel soldiers,
burned the powder mill, and returned to Tullahoma. * * * Captain
Robie executed his order faithfully, reaching Manchester at the hour desig
nated. * * * While he was bivouacking, five miles this side of Mc
Minnville, he received intelligence that McXairy's two hundred cavalry in
tended to surround him that night, and attack him. The captain posted his
pickets so as to receive the alarm in time. He disposed of his force, secreted
behind a fence. Moving away from the spot, he was seen to encamp at
dark, and some few rods away from his horses, at the foot of a hill. At 3,
a. m., his command was lying in ambush, when one of the pickets brought
in the news that the enemy was approaching. The other picket remained,
and was fired at, which was the signal that the rebels were close by. * *
On came McNairy's cavalrv, thundering down with his two hundred strong,
thinking he could catch our gallant captain ami his brave boys asleep, and
swallow them up, but as soon as he reached the ambush, a volley from the
carbines dispersed their dream of conquest, and brought down one man
dead and ten or eleven wounded. * * * Their defeat was so complete
that the next intelligence we had of them was that those surviving were
on their way to Winchester, and never offered a fight afterwards. * * *
We took seven prisoners. We reached camp at 5.30 to-day. * * * *
(Signed) John Kennett,
Colonel Commanding.
0. M. Mitchell,
Brigadier General,
The First Ohio Cavalry.
This most efficient regiment was organized and equipped
for the service during the fall of 1861, and, early in De
cember, moved to the extreme front of the Union forces
in Kentucky. The regiment, commanded by Colonel T.
C. H. Smith, reached and camped near Lebanon, Ken
tucky, early in January, 1862. While here, on the 29th,
a party of rebels were reported on the pike, twelve miles
below. Colonel Smith, with two companies of the First
started, and, soon routing, pursued them to Vaughn's
ferry, a distance of twenty-four miles, reaching that
point about midnight. Colonel Smith here found that

First Ohio— in 1862. 411
they had crossed the river about two hours before, setting
the ferry boat adrift. Leaving Captain Eggleston, of
company E, with orders to remain until daylight, and if
any means could be procured to cross the river, to do so
at that point, he marched with the other company, B,
commanded by Captain Laughlin, to Greensboro1, in the
hope of being able to there find means to cross. Not
being successful in crossing in time to reach the enemy,
and having marched thirty-four miles, he abandoned fur
ther pursuit, and, directing Captain Eggleston likewise
to return, reached camp without casualty.
Being now assigned to General George H. Thomas' di
vision, it participated in the advance on Mill Spring and
the important series of operations which led to the defeat
and death of the rebel General Zollicoffer at that place,
and, on the 23d of February, proceeded, under orders of
General Buell, to Louisville, Kentucky, and embarked,
by river, to join the great expedition of General Grant
against Fort Donaldson. The services of the regiment
in this important field of operations having already been
give in detail while tracing the operations of the Fourth
United States, the reader is referred thereto, in order to
avoid repetition, it being borne in mind that Colonel
Smith had command of all the cavalry there operating.
The official report of General Granger, previously given,
covers, in detail, the operations of this regiment during the
siege and capture of Corinth, Mississippi. It remained in
the District of the Mississippi, intimately associated with
the Fourth United States. It entered the Department of
the Cumberland about the time the cavalry was re-organ
ized, and was assigned to the Second brigade, Second di
vision.

412 Minty and the Cavalry.
The Third Ohio Cavalry.
Following the plan of organization at that time prevalent
in the department, the Third Ohio cavalry, commanded,
while in the field, by Lieutenant Colonel Douglass Alex.
Murray, was, shortly after reporting to the department, as
signed to the division of General Wood, and with that di
vision advanced to Nashville. On the advance of General
Buell' s army, the regiment marched in advance of Has-
call's brigade, reaching the neighborhood of Lawrence-
burg, Tennessee, on the 4th of April, 1862. This place
was about fourteen miles from the line of march, but in
formation to the effect that a considerable rebel force was
stationed there led General Hascall to diverge, in order
to attack the enemy.
General Hascall, taking his own brigade and the Third
Ohio, proceeded cautiously toward the place, through a
heavy rain, until arriving within about two miles of the
town, when he learned that the whole rebel force did not
number more than fifty to seventy-five men. Colonel
Murray was then sent forward, and, arriving within a
quarter of a mile, ordered a charge, "which," says Gen
eral Hascall, in his official report, ' ' was splendidly ex
ecuted by Colonel Murray at the head of his own men. ' '
The enemy fled rapidly in the direction of Florence and
Mount Pleasant, and were rapidly pursued for eight miles,
but their animals were fresh, and easily outran the fagged
animals of the pursuers, so that they escaped. The re
sult of this expedition was the breaking up of the rebel
rendezvous at the place, and the capture of four thou
sand pounds of bacon and other supplies. Major Foster
was dispatched to continue the pursuit, scouting the
country as far as Mount Pleasant, with instructions to
rejoin the regiment at Savannah, which duty he faithful
ly performed. The regiment, commanded by Lewis Zahm,

At Pittsburg Landing and Corinth. 413
with Wood' s division, participated actively in the great
battle of the 7th of April, at Pittsburg Landing. On the
4th of May, it made a reconnoissance on the Farmington
road, several miles in advance of the position of the army,
immediately after which it was assigned to duty with
General Granger, and its operations are embraced in his
report, heretofore given. In the operations in front of
Corinth, and subsequent pursuit of the enemy, the regi
ment received the most flattering notices and commenda
tions, not only from General Granger, but as well from
General Rosecrans, commanding that wing. On the or
ganization of the cavalry in the Army of the Cumberland,
it became a part of Long' s brigade.
The Brigade.
After the battle of Stone's river, in which the brigade
took a prominent part, being engaged on the left flank of
the army, where, on the 2d of January, fighting dis
mounted, it assisted in the final repulse of the enemy
under Breckenridge, it moved in pursuit of Bragg' s army,
following the Shelbyville pike. After continuing the
pursuit until the enemy was driven into Guy's gap, it
returned to Murfreesboro' and went into camp. During
the battle and pursuit, it captured and turned in over one
hundred prisoners. It participated in the defeat of Mor
gan at Snow Hill, and, as before noted, rendered magnifi
cent service in the expedition against McMinnville. On
the 22d of May, it attacked and captured the rebel camp
at Middleton, routing the enemy and capturing a number
of prisoners.
In the advance of the army on Tullahoma, the Second
brigade moved with the left wing, capturing Wood's gap,
and, marching by way of Manchester, turned the right

414 Minty and the Cavalry.
flank of the enemy, after which its grand dash across the
Elk river and into Decherd has been noted.
In the advance of the army on Chattanooga, it operated
with the right wing, penetrating almost to Lafayette,
Georgia. On September 19, it was heavily engaged at
Crawfish spring, on the bloody field of Chickamauga, and
lost heavily in killed and wounded.
During the battle of Missonary Ridge, it marched to the
relief of Knoxville, Tennessee, and on the retreat of the
enemy captured the wagon train of the division of General
Marcus Wright, with all the horses, mules, teamsters,
and guards, and official papers of great value. The brigade
then marched to Calhoun, Tennessee, on the Hiawassee,
where it was engaged in out-post duty, keeping open the
communications between Chattanooga and Knoxville.
At this place the regiments reenlisted and received a
veteran furlough, returning to Nashville at the expiration
of the leave, March 13, 1864. Not being able to procure
horses for a remount, the brigade marched from Nashville
to Columbia, Tennessee, on foot, and when the First and
Third brigades moved to the front, remained for some
time doing garrison duty at Columbia and other points
along the railroad. In the latter part of May, Colonel
Long, having secured horses, moved southward, and tak
ing the advance of the Seventeenth army corps, marched
for the front by way of Decatur, Alabama. At Moulton,
Alabama, Colonel Long encountered the rebel division of
General Roddy, and, after a stubborn fight of over two
hours, routed him utterly, driving him in confusion from
the field, and entirely clear of the line of march. March
ing through Somerville and Kingston, Georgia, Colonel
Long rejoined the division at Ackworth, or rather near
Alatona pass. Its subsequent history is fully set forth
in the history of the division.

Eg n a i.r n ir-Tmrr- rr g n a ht

j ¦' ¦! " »¦ ¦¦ ¦¦ ¦¦ ¦¦ »¦ 11 a 11 i» ^

CHAPTER XXVI.

FROM DECEMBER 28, 1864, TO FEBRUARY 15, 1865.
The Division Moves from Louisville, Kentucky — General Eli Long
in Command — Camp at Bardstown — Murder of Dr. Sherk and Cap
tain Robert McCormick — March to Nashville — To Columbia — To
Gravelly Springs, Alabama — In Camp — Incidents.
0 traitorous band
Of slave-cursed land,
To fill your cup of infamy to overflowing!
You ne'er would rest,
The bravest and best,
In open manly fight to kill and slaughter !
With fiendish hate,
You'd lay in wait,
To murder one, on mercy's errand going!
Your rebel crew,
Would murder do,
In the arms of either mother, wife, or daughter I
SHE boys of the Second division left Louisville,
Kentucky, on the morning of December 28th,
at 7, a. m., in high spirits, and bright antici
pations of dealing the now tottering rebellion its finish
ing blows, and an early return to their longed-for homes
and firesides. It was to many their third departure from
the banks of the Ohio southward, and all felt that when
they next returned, it would be in the complete fruition
of their long cherished hopes of seeing the banner of the
republic waving in triumph over a re-united nation, and
in the lofty consciousness of having been a part of the
grand band of citizen-soldiery, who had triumphantly
maintained that nation' s territorial integrity.
All held their division commander, Brigadier General
(415)

416 Minty and the Cavalry.
Eli Long, in high esteem, and felt the fullest confidence
in his indomitable courage, energy, and well-known
prudence. He had been associated with the men of both
brigades, most intimately, during both the preceding
campaigns, and, while the men of Minty's old brigade
would have been much gratified had he been their di
vision commander, yet, in their joy at retaining him at
the head of their brigade, they forgot any chagrin they
might have felt at the promotion of the commander of
their rival.
Glancing briefly at the condition and operations of the
rebel forces in the field of the war, we notice the situation.
After withdrawing from the line of Sherman' s communi
cations, Hood, as ever was his wont, on failing in an un
dertaking of minor importance, to fly to another still
more dangerous and hazardous — defeated at Alatona
Pass, driven from Resaca and Dalton ; had crossed the
Tennessee at Florence and continued his raid to Nash
ville, which he was now approaching with an army of
about thirty -two thousand men of all arms ; consisting
of all the scattered detachments from the States of
Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, so poorly equipped
as to be fitly described by a prominent rebel staff officer
as the " desperate adventure of desperate men."
General Thomas had, in anticipation of a move of this
kind, been dispatched from Atlanta to Nashville with
the Army of the Cumberland, and was now gathering
his forces to crush the raid. He, however, allowed Hood,
after giving him a foretaste of what was in store, at
Franklin, to approach the city ; and wishing to make the
blow, when struck, as effective as possible, had directed
the concentration of the cavalry at Nashville ; hence the
means resorted to, as related in a previous chapter, to
procure a remount for the division.

Murder of Dr. Sherk and Ca,pt. R. M. McCormick. 417
The division was in the saddle and on the move again
at 7, A. m. , on the 29th, and marching two miles beyond
Bardstown to the camp of the Third' Ohio, which had re
mained at that place, bivouacked for the night. The day
was very cold and many of the officers and men preferred
to march on foot, leading their horses. Just before going
into camp, when near Bardstown, Dr. J. L. Sherk,
Seventh Pennsylvania, surgeon of Minty's brigade, and
Captain R. M. McCormick, company G, Seventh Penn
sylvania and brigade inspector, obtained permission of
Colonel Minty to go about a mile to the left, and call on
Mrs. Wm. B. Grigsby, who had been very kind in caring
for the officers and men of the Seventh Pennsylvania
while sick, during their first march through Kentucky in
the winter of '61-62. The two officers rode on accom
panied by one orderly.
In about an hour, the orderly came up, just as we were
going into camp, and reported that McCormick and Sherk
were killed, they having been attacked, while in the
house, by guerrillas. A squad of the Third Ohio was
immediately sent out, but failed to catch the murderers.
It appears that Sherk and McCormick had dismounted
and entered the house, leaving their horses under the
care of the orderly. After a short conversation, while
they were sitting in the parlor, and the young daughter
of Mrs. Grigsby was playing on the piano, Captains Ma-
gruder, Davis, and Summerland, with about fifteen guer
rillas, surrounding and entering the house, through the
doors and windows, immediately commenced firing on
them. Dr. Sherk announced to them, while they were
firing, that he was a surgeon, and McCormick offered to
surrender, and asked for quarter. It is also said that the
young lady, then a child of about fourteen years of age,
rushed between the brutal Magruder and one of the of-
27

418 Minty and the Cavalry.
fleers, declaring that he should not be murdered. The
brave little girl was struck by the brute, with either his
hand or pistol, and knocked one side, and paying no at
tention to either the doctor' s announcement of his pacific
character or the repeated offers to surrender, much less
to the prayers, screams, and frantic efforts Mrs. G.
made to save them, the whole band of murderers con
tinued firing. Dr. Sherk was soon killed, by a bullet
through the head — he had previously received one
through the body — when McCormick, seeing that his
dea'th was inevitable, obtained his pistol and defended
himself to the last. He was shot twice through the body
and once through the left arm; his pistol was shot from
his hand while in the act of firing, the marks of bullets
being on the pistol when it was found. The two bodies
were brought to camp after dark, and that night sent to
Louisville, and from thence to their homes in Pennsylva
nia. Thus were two of the brave men of the old Key
stone State deliberately, and in perfect cold-blooded fiend-
ishness, murdered by the boasted ' ' chivalry ' ' of Ken
tucky, for no offense save that of belonging to the army
of the United States, at a time when they were making a
call in testimony of their gratitude for the kindness ex
tended to them and their comrades, by the noble lady at
whose house they met their fate. The author was per
sonally acquainted with Mr. Grigsby. his wife and daugh
ter, as also with a brother of Mrs. Grigsby. who was a
prominent physician of Bardstown. and bears testimony,
from his personal knowledge and experience, that there
never lived a nobler, more humane, or loyal person than
Mrs. Grigsby, and to the fact that she voluntarily made
her house a hospital for the sick of the Seventh Pennsyl
vania, when in camp near by in 1862. It will partially
satisfy the reader's sense of justice to know that the self-

Rebel Account of the Murder. 419
styled Captain Magruder was, on the 20th of October,
1865, hanged by the neck until he was dead, in public, in
Louisville, Kentucky, for this and other murders. The
fate of Davis and Summerland is not known. Possibly
they may be Congressmen from Louisiana or Mississippi
by this time.
The following account of this inhuman affair, from the
quasi rebel source of the Louisville Courier Journal, is
inserted as the ' ' other side. ' ' In speaking of Sue Mun-
day, Quantrell, Magruder, and other guerrillas, the corre
spondent says : ' ' The man among them all who most be
lied his looks was Magruder, who was the most affable
and gentlemanly man in his outward manners that I ever
saw. He was rather tall and slenderly built, with a hand
some, almost effeminate face, light blue eyes and curling
auburn hair. In spite of his gentle face and polished
manners, he was one of the most cold-blooded and cruel
men of the whole band, ranking next to Berry in bru
tality. " One instance alone will suffice to show the kind of a
man he was. A few miles from the rendezvous of the guer
rillas, lived a lady, Mrs. Wm. B. Grigsby, who was a sup
porter of the Federal cause, and the soldiers of the army
Often paid her visits, and were always hospitably received.
On one day Major Sherk and two (?) other Federal officers
came to her house, and were sitting in the parlor talking
to Mrs. G. About half a mile away from the house six
ty thousand (?) soldiers were camped, with guards alert to
detect the slightest movement. Magruder and three (?)
of his companions had been hid, securely watching every
movement, and when the officers entered the house, rode
rapidly up and dismounted. Rushing in the door with
cocked pistols, and without a moment's warning, they
commenced, firing at the officers. Two (?) of them fell

420 Minty and the Cavalry. »
dead, and, coolly putting his pistol close to the other help
less man, fired. Some of the blood splashed out on the
pistol barrel, he placed the weapon to his lips and kissed
the blood off the polished barrel. Mrs. Grigsby remained
in the room almost paralyzed with terror, and, approach
ing her. this outlaw coolly tipped his hat, and, with a po
lite bow, apologized in his polished manner for being
compelled to kill the men in her house. ' We could have
taken them to the woods, but for the soldiers that are
camped close by, who might make it warm for us,' and
after making his apology, all of them withdrew, and,
mounting their horses, galloped off and escaped."
It will strike the general reader, as it did the author,
when he perused the above extract, that the writer of it
stands a self-confessed colleague of the murderers, if
not one of the actual participants in the murder itself, and
aside from its untruthfulness, there is in it a covert sneer
and cold-blooded malignity which marks the rebel fiend
as plainly as though the word -mark of his Satanic Majesty
was branded on his forehead. We wonder to-day whether
or not any of the class to which Magruder and his coad
jutors belonged yet live to blast the earth with their
shadows.
To the Murdered Sherk and McCormick.
" Where hearts like thine have broke and bled,
Though quenched the vital glow,
Their memory lights a flame instead,
Which, e'en from out the narrow bed
Of death its beams shall throw,
Thou art not dead — thou art not dead.'
Without tracing the line of march in detail from Bards
town to Nashville, it being devoid of special note, aside
from the usual vicissitudes of cold, of rain, and of mud ;
marching through New Haven, Elizabethtown, Sonora,
and Mumfordsville, then crossing the Green river, on the

Cavalry Organization for 1865. 421
bridge, and passing through Woodsonville, Cave City,
Bowling Green, and Mitchelville, the division arrived in
Nashville, January 8, 1865.
Meanwhile, the battle of Nashville had been fought, and
Hood routed, his army torn to pieces, and the fragments,
with nothing maintaining a semblance of military organi
zation, except Forrest, with about five thousand cavalry,
who covered the retreat of the demoralized mob, had
fallen back across the Tennessee with less than ten thou
sand men of all arms ! The four or five thousand infan
try yet remaining either dispersed to their homes or
joined Forrest as mounted infantry, and are henceforth
found mainly in his command. This short campaign of
Hood was the most complete destruction of an entire army
witnessed during the war. Hood found his last ditch
at Nashville, December 15 and 16, 1864.
On the 12th of January, the division moved from Nash
ville following the track of Hood' s retreat through Frank
lin, Spring Hill, and Columbia, where it halted from the
13th to the 18th, then moving on the 19th towards the
south-west, reached Gravelly Springs, Alabama, on the
evening of the 25th of January. Designing to remain in
camp until the weather settled sufficiently for active opera
tions, quarters were constructed for the men and stables
for the horses.
On the 11th of February, 1865, the First Ohio was re
lieved from duty with the division, and ordered to report
to General Upton, commanding the Fourth division, and
Minty' s brigade now consisted of
Seventh Pennsylvania, Colonel C. C. McCormick, com
manding. Fourth Michigan, Lieutenant Colonel Pritchard, com
manding.

422 Minty and the Cavalry.
Third Ohio, Lieutenant Colonel H. N. Howland, com
manding. Fourth Ohio, Lieutenant Colonel George W. Dable,
commanding. The brigade, field and staff being :
Colonel R. H. G. Minty, commanding brigade.
Major Robert Burns, Acting Assistant Adjutant Gen
eral. Major C. L. Greeno, Seventh Pennsylvania, Acting As
sistant Inspector General.
Captain George M. Landon, Fourth Michigan, Acting
Commissary. Captain George R. Stone, Fourth Michigan, Acting As
sistant Quartermaster.
Captain T. M. Osburn, Fourth Ohio, Provost Marshal.
For a time after arriving at Gravelly Springs, the ra
tions were short. The railroad south of Nashville had
been pretty well destroyed, first, by Forrest, and again
by Hood, and the thirty days' rations of hard bread, and
sixty days' of coffee, sugar, and salt, with which the
command left Louisville, were soon exhausted, and a half
ration of parched corn substituted. With, however, the
energy which characterized all the operations of the war
after Grant became general-in-chief , the road was rapidly
repaired, and, by the middle of February, supplies were
not only plenty, but began to be accumulated for the ad
vance South.

Captain ROBT. BURNS,
4TH MICHIGAN CAVALRY. A. A. G. 1ST BRIGADE, 20 CAVALRY DIVISION.
Brevet Lieut. Col. U. S. Vols.
(AS IN 1B63. )

ROBT. BURNS, Esq.

CHAPTER XXVII.

FROM MARCH I TO APRIL 21, 1865,
Military Situation — Department of the Mississippi — Union Forces —
Wilson's Cavalry Organized — General Canby's Army at Mobile —
Rebel Armies in the Department — Forrest in Supreme Command —
Numbers and Dispositions of Rebel Armies — Wilson Moves against
Selma, Alabama — Captures Monte Vallo — Battle of Plantersville —
Grand Tactics of Wilson — Great Battle of Selma — Captures the
City by Assault — Capture of Mobile by General Canby — Wilson
Captures Columbus, Georgia — Battle of Macon — Surrender of Gen
eral Howell Cobb — Capture of Macon, Georgia.
Daybreak.
" From each Southern vale and hamlet
Tuneful murmers gently roll,
Then gushes forth in tender pathos
The sweetest music of the soul ;
The hearts that beat 'neath dusky bosoms
Thrill as the brightening morn they see,
And sing, like sound of rippling waters,
' De Lord hab made His people free !'
Thus the glad refrain shall ever onward
Reverberate from sea to sea,
And every nation, land, and people
Join the exultant jubilee,
'Glory to God, for He is mighty,
Peace and' good-will to man shall be,
And evermore, while time endureth,
Our God shall keep His people free!' " — Anonymous.
OLLOWING the general plan of this work, we
now glance hastily over the field of the im
pending operations. Gathered on the north
bank of the Tennessee river, at Gravelly Springs, Ala
bama, on the morning of March 12, 1865, stood ten thou
sand cavalry, fully mounted, armed, and equipped ; the
(423)

424 Minty and the Cavalry.
most powerful and efficient body of men ever marshaled
around the cavalry standards on this continent ; together
with an organized body of two thousand dismounted cav
alry from all the regiments of the corps. With this corps
was a park of some twenty pieces of artillery, a pontoon
train of fifty wagons, and a train of one hundred and fifty
wagons of ammunition and supplies, the whole under
the command of Major General James Wilson, a graduate
of West Point, and a natural cavalry leader. Each man
had five days' rations in his haversack, and oil his horse
two days' forage. With each regiment was transported
on pack-mules ten days' rations of hard bread and meat,
and sixty days' rations of coffee, sugar, and salt.
Down on the Gulf of Mexico, lining the shores of Mobile
bay, was also gathered an army of thirty thousand well
equipped veterans, under Major General Canby, designed
to assay the task of capturing the city of Mobile ; which
being done, the forces from the North and South uniting,
would, moving along the Alabama river, open that navi
gable stream to Montgomery ; then, with that as a base,
sweep eastward to the Savannah river, capturing and de
stroying all the insurgent forces in the States traversed,
and finally re-establish the National authority.
The war had now become one of conquest ! Not of ter
ritory or of peacefully disposed citizens, nor yet of States,
in the sense in which States exist within the legitimate
sphere prescribed in the Constitution of the United States;
but a complete conquest and subjugation of the insurgent
power in arms in the field, and the entire overthrow and
destruction of the political or civic machinery or govern
ment by which the rebel armed forces in the field were
maintained in hostility to the Nation. Opposed to Gen
eral Canby, and in occupancy of Mobile and the intrench
ments environing it, was a rebel army of about ten thou-

The Rebel Forces. 425
sand men, composed mainly of the tottering aged and
beardless young, together with such of the garrisons of
forts and coast defenses as had escaped capture in former
engagements, and a single division of Hood's veterans.
This last division was composed of men from many regi
ments, who had been driven in front of Forrest, and by
him actually guarded with as much vigilance, to prevent
desertion, as though they had been hostile captives, from
the Tennessee river to Tupello, Mississippi, and thence
transported by rail, under guard, to Mobile.
The only really efficient rebel force of formidable pro
portions was that commanded by Forrest himself ; who,
now promoted to the high rank of lieutenant general,
was assigned to the supreme command of all the rebel
cavalry in the department, which was made to include the
whole country between the Mississippi and Savannah
rivers, and extending from the Tennessee to the gulf.
The power granted to this man exceeded anything ever
witnessed in modern civilization, being a full and com
plete surrender, by the rebel chiefs, into his hands, of all
the functions of government. He was vested with abso
lute and purely despotic authority over the lives and
property of all the people resident within his lines of oc
cupancy ; and no Mogul Kahn, at the head of a Tartarian
horde, ever exercised these extraordinary powers in a more
ruthless and despotic manner.
Impressing every horse and mule, seizing every bushel
of corn and bundle of fodder, laying every dollar of
money under contribution, together with every dollar's
worth of property ; and, by a universal and unsparing
conscription of every white man able to sit a horse or
pull a trigger ; for he had been, before the war, so long a
slave-trader that he regarded negroes as mere chattels,
more valuable, indeed, but far less worthy of considera-

426 Minty and the Cavalry.
tion than the mule before the plow, and hence would not
think of arming the black man ; he had gathered an army
aggregating twelve thousand armed effectives in the field,
and about fifteen thousand nondescripts, called "militia,"
in various detachments, where he could most readily con
centrate them with his main active force. His effective
force was organized into three divisions, commanded by
men whose only claim to the distinction, aside from their
personal bravery, arose from the commission of deeds
which should, and in any community except the South
ern slave-holding States during the rebellion, would have
secured their outlawry and eternal infamy ; who ranked
as major and brigadier generals. He ordered that in all
active operations, the "militia" should be placed in the
front ranks of battle, under the close surveilance of his
' ' regulars ' ' and their cut-throat officers, and ' ' be kept
up to the work."
Lest, in these ' ' piping days of peace, ' ' when it has be
come the fashion to ' ' conciliate ' ' our late most vindic
tive foes, even to the extent of not only pardoning and
forgetting their heinous crime of treason, but even of
extenuating and denying their ferocious, cold-blooded
atrocities, and exulting and lauding them, while belit
tling, and even falsifying, the services of the patriotic de
fenders of the Nation' s honor and flag ; lest we say the
picture of the character of Forrest and his comrades,
for "like chief, like men," here given be now deemed by
any harsh and unjust, a single incident, narrated by his
own chosen eulogist and historian, is given : ' ' Twenty-
seven of these men," says he, "who had been gleaned
from the country," — by a remorseless conscription,
and who, under the laws of the Confederacy itself, were
exempt from military duty — " having refused to do
duty and left their stations, Forrest ordered the whole

Wilson's Task. 427
number to be shot the next morning." "Efforts were
made by the friends, the wives and daughters, appealing
on their knees, to spare their lives, — but deeming an ex
ample necessary for the safety of his command, he re
fused !" It is true the account goes on to state that For
rest relented afterwards and directed the men to be hid
in the regular regimental organizations, so that the im
pression might prevail that they had been executed ; but
those who knew the man will recollect, it was far more
characteristic of him to make a statement of this kind af
terwards than to be deterred from a present purpose. The
men thus seized and condemned were holding official po
sitions in the civic government, as judges, sheriffs, clerks
of courts, and even members of the State legislatures !
From this review of the situation, it will be seen that
the task imposed on General Wilson, involving, as it
did, the destruction of the forces under Forrest, by attack
ing them in their chosen positions, whether in field, in
swamp, or intrenchments ; and the capture of the strong
ly fortified cities of Selma and Montgomery, was of no
ordinary moment, and attended with no ordinary hazzard.
Three times before, during the preceding year, had strong
Union armies, under able and experienced officers, been
sent against the same force, only to be driven back in dis
comfiture and rout from their front ; one, that of Gen
eral Sturgis, from Memphis, into north Mississippi with
the loss of all its artillery, seventeen pieces, and the prac
tical annihilation of sixteen thousand men !
On the 12th of March, the division, under Brigadier
General Long, broke camp and marched to Waterloo.
Crossing the Tennessee river, it marched to Eastport,
Mississippi, where it halted until the 22d, when, resum
ing its march southward, building roads over the swamps
and cutting routes through the forests and over the mount-

428 Minty and the Cavalry.
ains, reached the Black Warrior river, which was crossed
on the 29th by swimming the horses. In this crossing,
the Fourth Michigan lost one man and forty horses
drowned. That night the march was resumed, and by
morning the whole division had crossed the Locust river,
swimming it likewise. On the 31st, the command crossed
Shad' s creek and the Catawba river ; moving across the
latter, on the railroad bridge, after having taken up the
track, and making a narrow way by laying railroad ties
cross-wise on the stringers, and encamped ten miles north
of Monte Vallo.
The celerity of the movement had prevented any ma
terial concentration of the rebel forces, and although
Chalmers, with six thousand four hundred " effectives,"
was, as early as the 17th of March, in active operation on
that front, Wilson, by moving in two columns, within
easy supporting distance, covering the whole country
with a cloud of skirmishers and foragers, and carefully
suppressing all means by which information of his defi
nite line of march might reach the enemy, completely
out-generaled him, and was able by the 30th to interpose
his army between the divisions of Forrest' s corps, so that
Chalmers was left on the right, Forrest' s immediate com
mand in the immediate front, and Jackson, with Roddy
and Adams, eastward at Monte Vallo.
On the 30th, General Upton' s division moved rapidly
eastward, and attacking Adams and Roddy at Monte
Vallo, drove them from the town, although re-inforced by
Crossland' s brigade and animated by the personal pres
ence of Forrest himself. In an engagement near ' ' Six
Mile creek," Crossland' s rebel brigade was destroyed!
Upton, after destroying the works and extensive ord
nance foundries at Monte Vallo, encamped that night at
Randolph. Minty' s brigade, in advance of the division,

Before Selma. 429
marched from the camp ten miles north of Monte Vallo,
on the morning of April 1st, and that night reached
Plantersville, having traversed forty-five miles of difficult
country. On nearing the town, the advance was stub
bornly resisted, but, after over two hours of active fighting,
the enemy was totally routed and driven from the field
by the Third and Fourth Ohio, fighting dismounted.
' On the morning of April 2d, Minty took the advance of
the division, marching at 6 o' clock, on the main road to
Selma, the Third Ohio, under Lieutenant Colonel How-
land, being the advance regiment. Heavy skirmishing
began soon after the column moved, but the Ohio boys
drove the rebels back at a good pace, without delaying the
march of the column. On arriving at a cross-road about
six miles from Selma, Minty turned to the right and
moved over to the Summerville road, where, pressing vig
orously forward, he arrived in front of the rebel works at
3, P. M.
Selma was defended by works of the most elaborate
and formidable character. In the immediate front, for
over four hundred yards, extended an abatis of timber,
felled outwards, with each limb trimmed to a sharp point,
rising to the height of about seven feet ; then came a
cleared space of about two hundred yards, thickly strewn
with chevaux-de-frise, interwoven with wire, and planted
with torpedoes. Back of this was a palisade, about nine
feet high, with a slight ditch in front, composed of logs,
set endwise, mortised into a log buried about two and a
half feet under ground, the top of the palisades being
fastened together by stringers and interwoven wires. On
the inside of the palisades, about two feet from the
ground, was a platform, on which the first line of forces
was stationed. The whole palisade was furnished with
loop-holes, properly constructed for commanding the ap-

430 Minty and the Cavalry
proaches. In rear of the line of palisades was a ditch
about five feet deep, and from the scarp of the ditch rose
the line of earthworks, to the height of from six to eight
feet. At regular intervals along the intrenchments, and
commanding every angle, strong star-shaped forts, with
heavy bomb-proofs and embrasures, were constructed,
and mounted with from two to six heavy siege guns.
The whole line of intrenchments was garnished with field
and siege guns, varying from the light six to the monster
sixty-four-pounder. These elaborate fortifications ex
tended entirely around the city, except on the river
front. Minty, having dismounted his command, except the
Third Ohio, sent it (the Third) to the right and rear to
cover the horses and pack-mules, now formed his men in
line, about half a mile from the rebel works, on the Sum
merville road. A strong skirmish line was pushed for
ward about two hundred yards, and became immediately
actively engaged. The line was now advanced, forcing
its way through the abatis until the rebel first line was
driven from the platform inside the palisades, into the
main line of intrenchments, and our skirmishers com
manded the palisades themselves, almost silencing the
fire of the rebel skirmishers yet occupying the platform.
The pioneers rushed forward, under the cover of the skir
mish fire, and, with their axes, cut the palisades in sev
eral places, making sufficient breaches for the passage of
assaulting columns.
This preliminary work — all done under the heaviest fire
the rebels could deliver — consumed about an hour of
time. General Long now went forward to Minty's skir
mish line, (by this time holding the entire palisades,) and
General Wilson also came forward, and, after examining
the ground for a few moments, ordered an assault. At

The Assault. 431
this moment, while preparing for the assault, General
Long moved the First brigade to the right of Minty,
when the rebels, seeing an opportunity, made a sortie on
that part of the line, driving back the right of Minty's
skirmish line, and throwing the moving column of the
First brigade into momentary confusion, by attacking it
in flank. Simultaneously with the rebel sortie came an
attack on the Third Ohio, which, as before stated, was in
the rear, guarding the horses. It was Chalmers, with a
full division, trying to force his way into the beleaguered
city and join its defenders ! The Fourth Michigan and
the Chicago Board of Trade battery were sent immediate
ly to the support of the Third Ohio. The object of the
sortie was now manifest. Chalmers had been cut off by
the rapid advance of Wilson, and they sought to open
communication with him. The First brigade quickly
formed line, and, advancing, the rebels were again driven,
with great slaughter, inside their works, the skirmish
line reestablished, and, in the rear, Chalmers driven back
with heavy punishment. These operations also consumed
considerable time, and it was not until a few minutes be
fore 5, P. m. , that Minty ordered his two remaining regi
ments — the Fourth Ohio and the Seventh Pennsylvania,
numbering, in all, thirty-three officers and six hundred
and seventy-one men — to advance to the assault, the
First brigade (Wilder's) moving at the same time, num
bering eight hundred and forty-nine officers and men.
Opposed to this little band, and sheltered by their for
midable intrenchments, stood the rebel line, numbering,
in all, nearly eight thousand men, and extending over a
mile on each flank. [Now, reader, do not understand the
author as asserting that six hundred and seventy-one men
moved to the assault of eight thousand directly gathered
in their front, but that the rebels were, in that number, oc-

432 Minty and the Cavalry.
cupying an extensive line in the works before described.]
The men of Ohio and Pennsylvania rushed forward with
great enthusiasm, in perfect line, until, after passing the
palisades, the left struck a swamp in front of the intrench
ments in which they sank knee deep. This retarded them
some, and threw the right of the line considerably in ad
vance. The First brigade advanced in like manner at
the same time, but its left also struck a swamp, and,
being retarded, the movement took the appearance of an
advance en echelon in each brigade. The rebels opened
, from all the artillery and small arms they could bring to
bear on the assaulting columns, but as soon as our boys
got the range of the works, they poured such an accurate
and continuous sheet of lead from their "seven shooters"
over the parapet of the works as soon struck down so
large a number that the few remaining rebels crouched
down, appalled and paralyzed with terror, behind their
breast-works, and their guns were silenced ! The heavy
guns in a fort, both to the right and left of the portion
of the works assaulted, however, still blazed away, pour
ing canister, apparently by the bushel, into the Union
ranks ! On, on, rushed the assailants, into the ditch, up
the steep sides of the earthworks, and, gaining the crest,
either leaped into the works, or halting at the top, re
ceived the surrender of the enemy crouching at their feet.
Corporal Booth, of company A, Fourth Ohio, was the first
man inside the works. He was almost instantly killed by a
shot through the head. A stupor of fear and appalled
astonishment, at the unparalleled fatality of the Union fire,
held Wharton's division in dismayed inactivity close
under the shelter of the works at our feet, and remembering
the horrors of Shelbyville, in '63, the uninjured, with the
slightly wounded, first by scores, then by hundreds, and, in
a few moments, by regiments, threw down their arms, and

Capture of Selma. 433
amid loud cries of, " We surrender !" "Don' t fire any more !"
"We are conscripts!" "For God's sake, Yanks, don't
butcher us all!" etc., they surrendered where they lay,
but few attempting to escape. A wild panic now spread
from right and left along the enemy's whole line, and all
not killed or captured, except those occupying the forts,
throwing down their. arms, rushed, in a maddened, tu
multuous, disorganized mob of frightened fugitives, into
the city. Upton' s division now entered the works, mount
ed, charging into the midst of the throng, following, in
their midst, into the city, and capturing them almost to
a man, while Minty, wheeling his line to the left, swept
down the line of intrenchments in that direction — the
forts along which were not yet abandoned — capturing the
heavy bastions in succession, until he reached the Plant
ersville road. At the fort near the cotton-gin, three pieces
of heavy siege guns were captured, and in the works on
the Plantersville road, five like pieces — one of them a
thirty -pounder Parrott gun — were taken. Besides, eleven
pieces of field artillery were captured when the intrench
ments were first stormed, and two full batteries taken
during the sweep along the line of the works.
Thus was consummated, in the capture of Selma, an
achievement unexampled in the history of the war, and
never excelled, under all the adverse conditions, on any
field in the world ! The two regiments which, as organ
ized bodies, first entered the rebel works were the Fourth
Ohio and One Hundred and Twenty-third Illinois, each
holding the right of their respective brigades, to wit :
Fourth Ohio of Minty's, and One Hundred and Twenty-
third Illinois of Wilder's.
Of the thirty-three officers and six hundred and seventy-
one men of Minty's brigade which made the assault, nine
officers and one hundred and fourteen men were killed
28

434 Minty and the Cavalry.
and wounded. Lieutenant Colonel Dable, commanding
the Fourth Ohio, was killed; General Long, commanding
the division, was dangerously wounded; Colonel C. C.
McCormick, shot through the leg and severely wounded,
and scarcely a man of either the Seventh Pennsylvania or
Fourth Ohio but was either wounded or received bullet
holes through his clothing. More than two hundred car
bines were struck by the enemy's missiles and shattered
to pieces in the hands of the men. The Seventh Pennsyl-
nia lost twenty-five per cent, in killed and wounded of the
officers and men, and the Fourth Ohio a little over twenty-
one per cent, of those engaged in the assault. After a
short halt at the works on the Plantersville road, to let
Upton's command go through, for Long's division had
stormed the works and cleared the line from the Summer
ville to the Plantersville road before Upton charged, all
the command not required for guarding the prisoners ad
vanced rapidly into the city, where the battle was raging
from street to street. Major Greeno, Seventh Pennsylva
nia, taking command of about fifty men, made the final
attack on and captured the last defense of the rebels, a
line of cotton-bale breast-works at the railroad depot,
after dark. While this terrific assault was being delivered,
and the enemy thus being routed and torn to atoms
around and in the city, a tremendous battle was raging in
the rear, out along the Summerville and Plantersville
roads. Chalmers, Forrest's best division commander,
with a splendid division, numbering nearly four thousand
men, after having been cut off, as before noted, received,
during the day, an order from Forrest to hasten to Selma
and cut his way, if necessary, into the city. He arrived
at the outer line of the works at the moment the order for
the assault was first given, and, although his horses were
blown and his men wearied to the point of exhaustion by

Defeat of Chalmers 435
over fifty hours of incessant exertion, he hurled his com
mand in repeated, continued, determined assaults on the
Fourth Michigan, Third Ohio, and the battery guarding
the rear. The narrow frontage of the line was, however,
a circumstance in favor of the Union forces, and fully
counteracted the numerical superiority of the rebel force.
On this account Chalmers was not able to use more than
two or three regiments at a time, and though he replaced
his defeated front lines with fresh troops, he only suc
ceeded in subjecting his whole command to a useless and
prolonged slaughter. The consuming Spencers of the
Third Ohio and Fourth Michigan, with the gastric dis
charges of canister hurled in double-shotted charges from
the four guns of the battery, mowed down his lines as
fast as he pushed them to the assault ; and after night
had settled on the scene, and the deep pall of silence
closed around, announcing the cessation of the conflict in,
and consequent fall of, the city, he abandoned the contest,
and, leaving his dead and wounded, retreated rapidly
from the field. The effect of this battle was so great on
his men that, from desertion and the casualties of the
engagement, he joined Forrest the next day with less than
one thousand men.
The following brief account of the assault on Selma is
given from the stand-point of the writer.
Reid has given a brief, but interesting account of this
action in the following words: "On arriving within
six hundred yards of the works, the troops dismounted
and established a skirmish line. Wilder's brigade occu
pied the right of the Fourth Ohio. The entire charging
force only amounted to fifteen hundred men, as one
fourth of the original number were holding the horses,
when the word ' forward !' was given. The rebels had
already opened with shell, and, when the attacking party

436 Minty and the Cavalry.
appeared in full view, it was met with a shower of grape
and canister, while small arms poured in their still more
destructive fire. Five hundred yards of open ground
were passed over before the works were reached. The
men pulled up or pushed aside the palisades, jumped into
the ditch, and mounted the works. The rebels fled and
our men pursued, crossing a swamp and capturing a two-
gun lunette. Pressing forward, they advanced across a
cotton-field as level as a floor, and captured another lu
nette, mounting five guns. Here the line halted, all op
position having ceased. Fifty men of the Fourth, killed
and wounded, lay near the enemy' s works, with scores of
bleeding, dying heroes of other regiments. The dead
were buried with military honors. The arsenal and navy-
yard were destroyed."
The following special and honorable mention of officers
and men is taken from Colonel Minty' s official reports :
; ' Both officer and soldier performed his duty so well and
so nobly that it is difficult for me to make special men
tion of any, but when one distinguishes himself above
his fellows, he is justly to be regarded as the brave among
the brave !"
" The gallant Corporal Booth, of the Fourth Ohio, was
the first man in the enemy's works, but he fell in the mo
ment of victory, shot through the head."
"Captains Moore and Richardson, of the Fourth Ohio,
were amongst the first to enter the works, and acted
throughout with conspicuous gallantry."
" Major R. Burns, Fourth Michigan, my acting assis
tant adjutant general, and Major Greeno, Seventh Penn
sylvania, my acting assistant inspector general, were also
among the first to enter the works, and acted in their
usual gallant manner throughout the entire action. I

Honorably Mentioned. 437
strongly and earnestly recommend the four above-named
officers for brevet. ' '
Again, as commander of the division to which Minty
now succeeded, as General Long was so severely wounded
as to be unable to keep the field, he says, in his report of
May 14, 1865 :
' ' Major Burns, Fourth Michigan, acting assistant ad
jutant general, formed and brought forward the Seventh
Pennsylvania to the assault, was amongst the first to en
ter the works, and afterwards took part in the charge
made by the Fourth United States cavalry, under the di
rection of the major general commanding. ' '
' ' Major Charles L. Greeno, Seventh Pennsylvania, act
ing assistant inspector general, was amongst the first to
enter the enemy' s works. At about 7 o' clock, with about
fifty men, he drove a considerable force of the enemy
from, and took possession of, the railroad buildings, and
the cotton-bale defenses surrounding them. Both these
officers have been under my immediate command for
nearly three years, and have universally performed their
duty with energy and zeal, and have distinguished them
selves in battle on many occasions."
' ' Captains Wm. B. Richardson and Isaac H. Moore,
Fourth Ohio cavalry, were amongst the first in entering
the enemy's works, and were conspicuous for their gal
lantry throughout the engagement."
The author regrets that a lack of space prevents the
insertion here of the full list of those named specially in
the regimental division and the commanding general's
official reports, but embracing as the list does almost
every officer and man of the regiments, it is impossible.
Every officer of the Seventh Pennsylvania and Fourth
Ohio regiments was so complimented by name, and re
ceived a subsequent "brevet " of rank "for distinguished

438 Minty and the Cavalry.
services in the battle and capture of Selma, Alabama,
April 2d, 1865."
On the 7th of April, 1865, Major General Wilson issued
a complimentary order to the Second division, in which
he says: "Selma lay before you surrounded by two
lines of entrenchments, the outer one continuous, flanked
by impassable swamps, covered by stockades and defend
ed by seven thousand troops, commanded by Lieutenant
General Forrest. Like an avalanche, the intrepid sol
diers of the Second division swept over the defenses on
the Summerville road, while the Fourth division carried
those on the Plantersville road. The enemy, astonished
and disheartened, broke from their strong works and Sel
ma was fairly won. The enemy, under Chalmers, at
tempted to drive in the Second division picket lines dur
ing the battle, and go to the rescue of the rebel garrison,
but their efforts were futile, and they were compelled to
retreat rapidly beyond the Catawba." * * *
' ' Soldiers, you have been called upon to perform long
marches and endure privations, but your general relied
upon you and believed in your capacity and courage to
undergo every task imposed upon you. Trusting in your
valor, discipline, and armament, he did not hesitate to
attack entrenchments believed by the rebel leaders to be
impregnable, and which might well have caused double
your numbers of veteran infantry to hesitate. Your
achievements will always be considered among the most
remarkable in the annals of cavalry."
In explanation of the apparent discrepancy between the
text and that part of the above extract which refers to the
capture of the entrenchments on the Plantersville road, it
is proper to state that the fort spoken of in the text as
captured by the men of the Second division was on the
right of that road, while the "intrenchments" referred

Reports, &c. 439
to by General Wilson as carried by the Fourth division
were on the left of it. The Fourth division entered these
works almost simultaneously with the capture of the right-
hand fort by Minty. In support of the text, the follow
ing extract from Minty's official report, as commander of
the brigade, is inserted:
"After entering the works, we pushed up the line to the
left, clearing the rebels out of the bastions, in which we
captured a considerable amount of artillery, until we ar
rived opposite the fort, near the cotton-gin, which formed
a portion of the inner line of works. This was immedi
ately assaulted and carried. Three field-pieces were cap
tured in this work. Here we again turned to the left and
attacked and carried the work on the Plantersville road,
capturing five pieces of artillery, one of which was a
thirty-pounder Parrott. ' '
Major General Wilson, in his official report, says : "I
directed General Long to assault the enemy's works by
moving diagonally across the road upon which his troops
were posted. * * * Fearing this affair (the attack
of Chalmers on the rear) might compromise our assault
upon the main position, General Long, with admirable
judgment, determined to make the assault at once, and
without waiting the signal, gave the order to advance.
The troops (dismounted) sprang forward with confident
alacrity, and in less than fifteen minutes, without stop
ping, wavering, or faltering, had swept over the works,
and driven the rebels in confusion towards the city." *
* * "The distance which the troops charged, ex
posed to the enemy's fire of musketry and artillery, was six
hundred yards." * * * * "The portion
of the line assaulted was manned by Armstrong' s brigade,
(of Wheeler's division,) regarded as the best in Forrest's
corps, and reported by him at more than one thousand

440 Minty and the Cavalry.
five hundred men." "The loss in Long's division was
forty killed, two hundred and sixty wounded, and seven
missing." (Long's whole force was one thousand five
hundred and fifty officers and men, the loss in the divi
sion being thus twenty per cent, of the whole force.)
" General Long was wounded in the head, Colonels Miller
and McCormick in the leg, and Colonel Briggs in the
breast. I doubt if the history of this, or any other war,
will show another instance in which a line of works as
strongly constructed and as well defended as this, by
musketry and artillery, has been stormed and carried by
a single line of men without support."
As showing how completely Forrest was out-generaled
by Wilson in these movements, the following extracts
from Jordan and Pry or' s "Campaigns of General For
rest" is inserted: "We must now turn to the move
ments, meanwhile, of the divisions of Chalmers and Jack
son, so far, at least, as may shed light upon the causes
which hindered a timely concentration of all Confederate
defensive resources across the path of Wilson. Arm
strong's brigade moved on the 26th of March, two days
ahead of Chalmers' division; but he was overtaken by
General Chalmers and staff at Greensboro', on the 28th.
At Marion, in consequence of an order from General
Forrest, prescribing concentration, Armstrong halted. The
country is one of great fertility, abounding at the time in
large, highly improved plantations, handsome houses,
with pretty villages, and had never been visited by any
of the material ills of the war. The people * * made
their reception and stay very pleasant; an unwonted
holiday. Stark' s brigade came up on the afternoon of the
30th, and that night was ordered to move at eleven o'clock
on Plantersville." "The Catawba was crossed late in
the afternoon of the 31st, but swamps and wretched roads

Capture of Selma — Rebel Account. 441
made General Chalmers diverge from his" projected line of
march towards Randolph, and seek practicable roads for
his artillery, etc." Observe, that at this time Minty held
the road between Randolph and Plantersville, hence the
divergence of Chalmers; and Long's whole division was
interposed between Chalmers and Armstrong, hence the
latter was "detached." " Jackson' s division, moving on
the road assigned it, encountered Croxton eight miles
north of Scottsville, and, after a sharp fight, dispersed
that brigade (?) but as the bridge over the Catawba, near
Centerville, was burned by McCook, he was unable to pass
that stream in time to throw the weight of his splendid
division into the unequal scales." Observe, Croxton was
not defeated, but, on the contrary, drove Jackson back,
and held the bridge; nor was the bridge burned by Mc
Cook, for Long passed over it that day. Jackson was
simply beaten and driven out of ' his course.
The following graphic description of the assault by
Minty, and the scenes inside the rebel lines and city dur
ing the assault and capture, from the same authority and
work, is of great interest :
"As we have mentioned, the Confederate artillery was
not provided with proper ammunition, and despite all the
fire that was opened upon their adversaries, the advanc
ing Federal lines moved up steadily and handsomely to
their work. They were armed with Spencer rifles (re
peaters) and breech-loaders, and from their massive " ! !
[oh! Lordy, thirty -three officers and six hundred and
seventy-one men, remember,] "lines poured out an un
ceasing stream of leaden hail, to which the return fire of
the attenuated Confederate line was that of a skirmish
to the uproar of a battle at its climax. * * *
Meanwhile, the militia began to falter, and gradually
quit their places behind the breast- works, leaving broad

442 Minty and the Cavalry.
gaps, and Armstrong's right exposed. Roddy was di
rected to move over and fill the breach, but before it could
be effected, the enemy had reached the exposed, deserted
section of the lines, and surmounted it, cutting Roddy
and Armstrong in sunder. Turning leftward, they
opened an enfilading fire upon Armstrong. * * *
At this, Armstrong was forced to withdraw his brigade,
which having to do under a heavy fire, his loss was very
great. "In the meantime, the militia had thrown away their
arms, and were swiftly seeking their horses and divesting
themselves, as they fled, of all that would betray their
late connection with the defense of Selma. The scene,
generally, was one of the wildest confusion. The Con
federates, beaten from the breast-works, were rushing to
ward their horses. In the town, the streets were choked
with horses, soldiers, and citizens, hurrying wildly to and
fro. Clouds of dust rose, and it was difficult to distin
guish friend from foe. From the houses came the wails
and lamentations of terrified women and children, about
to be left to the tender mercies of a storming enemy.
" The Federals still firing upon their routed, fleeing ad
versaries, further resistance, upon a field so utterly lost,
* * * was worse than useless. But
what avenue of escape was there left open? For the
broad Alabama river effectually closed the way in that
quarter, as the enemy did, apparently, on all other sides.
* * Forrest, assembling his staff and
escort, sallied forth on the Montgomery road, upon which,
as yet, no hostile force barred the egress."

c. c. Mccormick,
Colonel 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Brevet Brig. Gen»l U. S. Vols.

Surrender of Macon.
Official List of Casualties.

443

Killed.

Wounded.

Missing.

Total.

Regiments.

gofc.<D O
o

ri

w«
sa
o

d

COft*
0) O
83o

d

COego
sa
o 5

ri CD

Seventh Pennsylvania,
Third Ohio, 

1

i
2

4

47 1
8
44

48

3

1

6

1
3

14

Fourth Ohio, 

2

5

1

49

Total aggregate, ....
3
8
5
100
1
6
9
114
The division moved rapidly from Selma to Montgomery,
capturing that city, with its stores, garrisons, and works;
then, by way of Columbus, Georgia, on the Chattahoo
chee river, where, on the 16th of April, it stormed the
works, capturing an immense park of artillery; thence
to Maeon, Georgia, where, on the 21st, it, after two days'
fighting, received the surrender of General Howell Cobb
and over nine thousand troops, and thirty pieces of ar
tillery, with its garrisons and armament complete.
With the surrender of Macon, closed its days of fight
ing, but not of its important services ; the most impor
tant, and the great closing act in the drama of the re
bellion falling to its lot, and furnishing the subject of
the next chapter.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Capture of Jefferson Davis.
" Weave him a mantle of burning shame,
Stamp on his forehead that dreadful name,
Which deeds like his inscribe in blood,—
A traitor to man ! a traitor to God !
Plait him a crown of the flower that comes
In the ashes that lie o'er burned homes!
Let his scepter be the smoking brand,
Which his fiat sent throughout the land!"

ITH the capture of Macon, the fighting days of
the brigade ended, but the fortunes of war had
reserved for it to enact the last crowning deed
and perform for the Nation the last grand service, by cap
turing the arch traitor, the chief of the original conspira
tors, the President and commander-in-chief of all the
armies and navies of the so-called Confederate. States of
America. When Grant, on that memorable 3d of April, 1865,
pierced the rebel lines at Petersburg, Virginia, and drove
Lee to the march which culminated at Appomattox, Davis
intent only on a selfish provision for his personal safety
and comfort, in the language of Pollard's " Lost Cause," —
"nervously prepared at his house his private baggage,
and he never ventured in the streets, until, under cover of
night, he got, unobserved, on the train that was to convey
him from Richmond. He did. not forget the gold in the
Treasury, amounting to less than forty thousand dollars.
It had been proposed some days before in Congress,
(rebel,) to distribute it as largess to the discontented
(444)

Pursuit of Davis — Capture of the Gold. 445
(rebel) soldiers ; but Mr. Davis had insisted upon reserv
ing it for exigencies, and it was now secured in his bag
gage ." " He did forget his sword. ' '
On the night of the 14th of April, President Lincoln
was murdered in Washington city by a band of rebel
conspirators, and in view of information obtained by the
spies and secret service bureau of the Government, it
was believed that the rebel leaders, and Jefferson Davis
in particular, had been privy to the assassination con
spiracy. The acting President, Andrew Johnson, there
fore, issued a proclamation offering a reward of one hun
dred thousand dollars for the capture of the fugitive
Davis. On the evening of May 7th, Brigadier General Minty,
commanding the division, dispatched Lieutenant Colonel
Pritchard, with Fourth Michigan cavalry, to picket the
Ocmulgee river and to patrol the south bank from seven
ty to one hundred miles, in order to intercept Davis and
his party, if he attempted to cross. On the 6th to 8th,
Lieutenant Colonel Andress, with the Seventh Pennsyl
vania, had been in pursuit of the party, scouting the
country east and south of Macon ; and on the 6th had
overtaken one part of the original party. It will be borne
in mind that the " Southern Confederacy," now repre
sented alone by Davis, the members of his cabinet, Gen
eral Breckenridge, and about one hundred Kentucky
troops, of Morgan's old brigade, had held a "cabinet"
meeting at Washington, Georgia, and the party divided,
Benjamin and Breckenridge, with a part of the soldiers,
moving directly toward the Gulf, while Davis, Reagan,
Duke, . and about forty-five men, proceeded down the
country in the same direction, following the general
course of the Ocmulgee river. There is some conflict of
statement as to what was done with the gold Davis had

446 Minty and the Cavalry.
taken with him. Basil Duke says it was divided among
the soldiers ; others say it was stolen by Morgan's men,
and others, which comports most closely with all the es
tablished facts, that it was divided between the parties ;
Breckenridge and Benjamin' s party receiving about one
third, and Davis and his party retaining the balance ; and
that Benjamin and Breckenridge divided their share with
the soldiers of their company ; while the soldiers with
Davis, abandoning the party on the 5th, took all the gold
they could get along with them. At all events, this is
known, that on the 7th of May, the Seventh Pennsylva
nia struck the trail of Davis and soon after dispersed the
soldiers, capturing a wagon loaded with boxes marked
"ammunition," such as musket cartridges were usually
packed in. Either from accident, or from an intimation
of some of the prisoners, the boys of the Seventh Penn
sylvania found that, instead of lead and powder-charged
cartridges, the boxes were filled with gold, and, consti
tuting themselves each a disbursing officer for the de
funct Confederacy, it did not take them long to make
another division of this portion of the fund, — each man
taking as much as he could stow into his pockets, saddle
bags, haversack, and, in some cases, his boots !
The history of this gold is somewhat peculiar, and in
itself epitomizes the history of the "Confederacy." It
was largely made up of sums deposited by private parties,
Northern and Southern business men, in the banks of
Richmond and Charleston, to the credit of Northern
merchants, in the transaction of ordinary business. The
Southern banks first stole the money from their Northern
creditors by "suspending payment" in 1860, in antici
pation of the rebellion, and as a part of that great con
spiracy of treason, dishonor, and infamy. By various
acts, first of rebel State Legislatures, and afterwards of

Pursuit of Davis. 447
the rebel Congress, it was " sequestrated " from the banks
and ' ' covered ' ' into the ' ' Confederate treasury. " It was
then " taken" by Jefferson Davis from the treasury, and
"reserved" by him for "exigencies," packed into am
munition boxes, and hauled in his train of private baggage
far into Georgia. Morgan' s men thought the ' 'exigency' '
complete on the night of May 5, 1865, and took it under
guard. The private soldiers of the Seventh Pennsylvania
cavalry, without their officers ever suspecting that it was
other than comparatively valueless ammunition, "dis
bursed" it among themselves, after their own fashion.
Some of the soldiers say they generously allowed the
twenty or thirty rebels, who, be'ing already paroled, were
not strictly prisoners, to share in the ' ' disbursement ;' '
and, finally, some days afterwards, the "ammunition"
having disappeared, the suspicions of the commanding
officers were aroused, and a strict search of every man
and horse belonging to the regiment being made suddenly,
while it was on a march, all that could be found was
taken from the boys and duly transferred, by proper re
ceipt and circumlocution, into the treasury of the United
States. In the end the "bondholders" got it, as they
finally did about everything of value owned by the
United States.
Crossing the Ocmulgee, the regiment pushed on after
Davis and his party, making, during the night of the 9th,
a circuit eastward of Irwinville, Georgia, and planted
themselves, on the morning of the 10th, on the road south
ward of that place, intending to intercept Davis and his
party while on the march ; but, while waiting for him to
come along, learned that Davis had been captured that
morning by the Fourth Michigan cavalry, under Colonel
Pritchard.

448 Minty and the Cavalry.
How Jeff, was Captured.
Lieutenant Colonel Pritchard, after patroling the Oc
mulgee, and posting picketing parties, became convinced
that Davis and party had already crossed that river, and,
taking all his force not already placed on duty, moved, all
night of the 7th, in pursuit of what he suspected was
the party, making a march of thirty-six miles, when he
halted at 1, p. m., when, after feeding, he moved fifteen
miles further and encamped near Hawkinsville. At 4,
A. m., of the 9th, he moved in the direction of Abbey-
ville, where he arrived at 3, p. m. It was now learned
that an " emigrant family," with wagons, tents, etc., and
a few soldiers, had crossed the Ocmulgee at Brown's ferry
about midnight before, had stopped at Abbeyville to
feed, and moved on again before daylight in the direction
of Irwinville. Colonel Pritchard, although not ;aware
that Davis had disguised himself, and was seeking to es
cape by traveling under the guise of an ordinary farmer
and representing himself and party as a family of emi
grants moving from the northern to the southern counties
of the State, considered it his duty to interview an ' ' em
igrant who was traveling with twelve wagons, two ambu
lances, tents, and camp equipage, escorted by soldiers,"
and who moved so hastily as only to halt in the middle of
the night long enough to feed !
At Abbeyville he met Colonel Harden, of the First Wis
consin cavalry, who stated that he had a force of seventy
men following the party, and that they were about two
hours in advance. Pritchard, therefore, determined to
continue on down the river. About three miles below,
however, he learned such additional facts as convinced
him that it was some part of the Davis cabinet, and at
once took a route which led through unfrequented ways
and by circuitous roads to Irwinville, thinking that the

Capture of Jeff. Davis. 449
party would be likely to pass from road to road, as they
were evidently trying to baffle pursuit.
Making a detail of seven officers, himself included, and
one hundred and twenty-eight men well mounted, he left
Captain Hathaway, with the rest of the regiment, to
picket the river and scout the country ; and, with the de
tail, moved at 4 o'clock to Wilcox's Mills, thence by blind
roads through the pine woods eighteen miles, reaching
Irwinville about 1 o'clock on the morning of the 10th.
He here represented himself and command as "Confed
erates" and a part of the escort, inquired for " our train,"
etc. By this means he learned that a train and party
such as he described had encamped about dark, the even
ing before, about a mile and a half out of town on the
Abbeyville road. Taking a negro for a guide, he marched
in that direction, and on nearing the camp, halted behind
a hill, and sent Lieutenant Purinton, with twenty- five
dismounted men, to march round the camp without dis
covering himself, if possible, and, gaining the rear, post
his men so as to cut off all escape. It being now after 2
o' clock, and very dark, he concluded to wait until day
light before making the attack, lest some of the party
might escape by hiding in the bushes. Just at dawn he
moved forward and got within four or five rods of the
camp, when, on being challenged by a sentinel, he dashed
forward, and in an instant the whole camp was captured
and a mounted guard thrown around it, and dismounted
sentinels placed at each tent and wagon. The surprise
was complete, and none of the enemy were able to make
the slightest resistance, their weapons being taken from
their sides while many were yet asleep.
A few minutes after Pritchard had thus obtained com
plete possession of the camp, and before the nature and
extent of the capture were ascertained, a sharp fire was
29

450 Minty and the Cavalry.
opened on the dismounted men, under Lieutenant Purin-
ton in rear of the camp on ihe Abbeyville road. Pritchard
collected all his men, except the guards and sentinels, and
moved to the support of the lieutenant, whose men he
found sharply engaged with a party who were firing on
them from behind trees, &c. From the determined char
acter of the attack, and the peculiar reports of the guns
used, he soon began to suspect that he was engaging some
portion of the Union troops, and ordering his men to
cease firing, rode to the front and inquired who they
were. They answered " First Wisconsin !" This unfor
tunate mistake resulted in killing two men and wound
ing one officer of the Fourth Michigan, and three men
severely wounded in the First Wisconsin.
While the colonel and most of the men were thus ab
sent, engaged in the skirmish in rear of the camp, and
amidst the firing, or rather when it commenced, the in
mates of one of the tents, aroused by the skirmish, told
the guard, Andrew Bee, that ' ' they were ladies ' ' in that
tent, and in a few minutes two persons, who, as Bee said,
" looked like women," came out of the tent, one carrying
a tin-pail. Addressing Lieutenant Dickinson, who was
in charge of the guards, the lady said : ' ' Please, lieuten
ant, let me and my grandmother go to the brook to get
water." A white servant-girl also, came out of the tent
and joined the other two, and the three then passed on
toward the brook. After going a short distance, it was
noticed that one of the "women" had cavalry boots on ;
and the guard, calling the lieutenant's attention to that
fact, ran after, and, raising an alarm, the party was sur
rounded by Lieutenant Julian G. Dickinson, Corporal
George M. Munger, and Privates Andrew Bee, James H.
Lynch, and James F. Bullard. A woman, who proved to
be Mrs. Davis, when the alarm was given by Bee, ran out

Jeff. Davis' Disguise. 451
of the tent, and placing her hands over the " old grand
mother's" face said: "Guard, don't shoot," and turn
ing to the others added, "You may not admire Mr.
Davis' principles, but he is a reverend man. ' ' It was then
first known that they had captured Jefferson Davis, and
his identity was thus first announced. Even then Davis
refused to acknowledge that he was the man, and in an
swer to a direct question from Colonel Pritchard, who
soon after came up and joined the group before Davis was
taken back to the tent, he answered, ' ' You may call me
who or what you please !" At the time Andrew Bee
halted Davis, and from the moment he came out of the
tent, and the lady with him represented him as her old
grandmother, up to the time he was halted, ' ' he had on
a black mourning gown, belted at the waist, and reaching
to his ankles, a shawl over his head and shoulders, and
a black cloth under the shawl covering his forehead ; he
walked stooped over, as a very old woman would." De
feated and detected in his effort to escape in this disguise,
and captured by the hated Yankees he had so long tra
duced and villified, he now petulantly broke out into
childish rage and foolish flings at the courage and man
hood of his captors. Addressing the colonel command
ing, a moment after his capture, and soon after he had
thrown off the shawl, he said : "I suppose you consider
it bravery to charge a train of defenseless women and
children, but it is theft, it is vandalism /"
Colonel Pritchard now proceeded to take an inventory
of his captures. First, and of chief importance, Jefferson
Davis, President of the defunct " Confederacy."
Mrs. Davis, his wife, and four children.
John H. Reagan, Postmaster General of the Confed
eracy. Colonels Johnson and Lubbock, Aid-de-Camps to Davis.

452 Minty and the Cavalry.
Burton N. Harrison, Davis' private secretary.
Major Maurand, Captain Moody, and Lieutenant Hatha
way of the rebel army, and Jeff D. Howell, midshipman
in the rebel navy, and thirteen private soldiers.
Miss Maggie Howell, sister of Mrs. Davis, the young
lady who represented Davis as her old "grandmother,"
and accompanied him toward the brook, carrying a pail
the while; two waiting maids, one white the other colored,
and seven servants.
Three ambulances, five wagons, fifteen horses, and
thirty mules, besides all the arms of the party.
After allowing time for the prisoners to breakfast, the
column was formed, and, resuming its march toward Ma
con, it met the brigade at Hawkinsville on the 11th, where
Colonel Pritchard learned first of the assassination of
President Lincoln, and of the reward for the capture of
Davis. The command arrived at Macon at 3, p. m., on
the 13th of May.
The following official list of the officers and men who
were present at the capture of Jefferson Davis is taken
from " Michigan in the War," — all being of Fourth
Michigan cavalry : Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin D.
Pritchard, commanding Fourth Michigan ; Julian O.
Dickinson, adjutant; Perry J. Davis, quartermaster;
Charles T. Hudson, captain company E ; Henry S. Bou-
telle, first lieutenant company C ; Silas J. Stauber, first
lieutenant company G ; Alfred B. Purinton, second lieu
tenant company I ; John Bennett, second lieutenant com
pany B.
Company A.— Sergeants Thomas Davis, Thomas Riley,
George A. Simmons, Rezin Wright. Corporals Darwin
Dunning, Robert L. Reynolds, Lyman J. Russell. Pri
vates William Balon, Daniel C. Blinn, Gilbert Coata,

List of Men Present at the Capture. 453
James Fullerton, Casper Knable, Philo Morse, Charles
W. Nichols, Henry Provost, George Rinkle.
Company B. — Sergeants A. A. Braley, E. A. Ford. Cor
porals B. B. Bennett, William Crow, C. F. Parker, J. F.
Sherbourne, U. B. Tuttle. Privates Augustus Armstrong,
J. A. Boutelle, Frank Crim, John Nichols, A. L. Shep
herd, W. P. Steadman, Wm. V. Wood, L. H. Wilcox.
Company C. — Corporals David J. Curry, George M.
Munger, Reuben Palmerton, Abram Sebring. Privates
James P. Bullard, David Dillon, Frank C. Leach, James
H. Lynch, Stephen B. Munson, (killed,) Rensselaer Riggs,
John Rupert, Harmon Stevens, William J. Smith.
Company D. — Corporal James H. Place. Privates John
Brown, Thomas Hunter, Burt Judson, Horace C. Jenney,
Wm. H. J. Martin, Jacob E. Munn, Wm. Parker, Francis
E. Thompson, Z. H. Wilcox.
Company E. — Sergeants George A. Bullard, David B.
Green. Corporals Dewitt C. Carr, Wm. H. Crittenden,
John Hines, (killed,) Charles W. Tyler. Privates Silas
Bullard, George F. Delmange, Wm. F. Driesman, Henry
Johnson, Robert G. Tripp, John G. Stevens, Peter Lagor-
ney, Oscar E. Tefft.
Company F. — Sergeant John Correnton. Corporals
Dewitt C. Cobb, Wm. F. Trew. Privates Joseph Bellin
ger, Henry Bradock, Dennis Drescoe, Henry Tricky, John
F. Grossman, Ira Harrington, Jr., Homer Hazelton, B.
Franklin Nichols, James Patterson, George Raab, Wm.
Wright. Company G. — Sergeants John Cavanaugh, Jeremiah
H. Craig, Jacob N. Frash, James F. O'Brien, Wm. H.
Palmeteer. Corporals John Ballou, George Myers, Lean-
der B. Shaw, George W. Van Syckle. Privates Daniel
Graham, David Cunningham, Joshua Parks, Cary Reed,
John A. Skinner, Joseph Odrin.

454 Minty and the Cavalry.
Company I. — Sergeants Lester P. Bates, Elias F. Pierce.
Corporals Preston W. Brown, Jerome B. Heath. Privates
George W. Rodwell, Martin L. Brown, George M.
Dutcher, Wm. Dill, Charles Flugger, Daniel E. Krumm,
Patrick McKennedy, Charles W. Middaugh, Hiram Mc-
Collough, Martin R. Pettit, Luke M. Thayer.
Company K. — Sergeant Ansel Adams. Corporal Alonzo
Moe. Privates Thomas Folley, Decatur Jaycox, John H.
Kelch, Edwin Mabie, Smith B. Mills, James R. Norton,
Jacob D. Nevrith, John Nelson, Enoch L. Rhodes, Na
thaniel Root.
Company L. — Sergeants Benjamin K. Coif, Joseph
Hoffmaster. Corporals Charles C. Marsh, William Oliver.
Privates Andrew Bee, Benjamin F. Carpenter, Daniel
Edwards, E. Lane, J. W. Lindsley, William Munn,
William Newkirk, George Noggle, Perry Phelps, Jesse
J. Penfield, Joseph Stewart.
Company M. — First Sergeant Wesley D. Pond. Cor
porals Simeon Huff, Henry Shanahan. Privates Andrew
Anderson, Robert Arnold, Emanuel Beazan, John Van-
tyle. The camp in which Davis and his party were found
was in a thick pine forest, not far from a running brook ;
it was a healthful, retired place, and pleasantly situated.
In it were three wall tents in line, parallel with the road ;
the space between the tents was occupied by the horses.
Near by was a camp of the troop, with the wagons, am
bulances, horses, and cavalry equipments. Opposite the
tent occupied by Davis, was a fine horse, saddled and
bridled, with holsters and a valise, held by a colored man.
This was Davis' well trained and fleetest saddle horse,
held in readiness at the time, and in all probability at
all times, for the escape of the fugitive rebel.
During the march to Macon, no incident of special mo-

Report of Colonel Pritchard. 455
ment occurred, except that a request was made for Davis
to be permitted to sleep in a house one night, which, being
evidently for the purpose of attempting an escape, was
very promptly refused. No indignity was offered and he
was but once spoken to by the men of the guard. The
horse ' ' ready held for flight' ' was captured by a soldier,
who rode him into Macon. One day, the soldier, ap
proaching Davis, said : "Mr. Davis, you won't need this
horse any more, hadn't you better give him to me ?"
When Colonel Johnson, of Davis' staff, being near, in
much passion, said : ' ' How dare you insult the President
in this manner V "President!" said the soldier, with
contempt: "Hell, what's he President of ?" On being
informed that he could not keep the horse, the soldier
got permission to use him one night on picket. The
picket was fired on that night and the horse killed !
It would be a pleasure to the author, as no doubt a sat
isfaction to the reader, to here insert the report of Colonel
Pritchard in full, but it is impossible, in a work of this
kind, to publish all the good things said, as it is an ac
count of all the good things done, hence we content our
selves with the following extracts :
Head-Quarters Fourth Michigan Cavalry Detachment,
Washington, D. C, May 25, 1865.
Hon. E. M. Stanton,
Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. :
Sir: I have the honor to report, that in obedience to orders received from
General R. H. G. Minty, commanding division, I left Macon, Georgia, at 8,
p. M., on the 7th instant, * * * for the purpose of capturing
Jeff Davis and party, who was reported to have left Washington, Georgia,
on the morning of the 4th, traveling southward. * * * *
After movino- to within one and a half miles of their campuI halted, under
cover of a slight eminence, dismounted twenty-five men, and sent them, under
command of Lieutenant Purinton, to make the circuit of the camp and gain a
position in its rear, and thus cut off all possibility of escape, * *
and if an alarm was raised I would immediately charge the camp. * *
I had not decided, at this time, whether to move upon the camp at once or to
wait until daylight ; but, upon further consideration, decided to delay it, as it

456 Minty and the Cavalry.
was now after 2 o'clock in the morning, (of the 10th,) the moon was getting
low, and the deep shadows of the forest were falling heavily, rendering it
easy for persons to escape undiscovered to the woods and swamp in the dark
ness. After waiting an hour or more, and just as the earliest dawn appeared, I
put the column in motion, and was enabled to approach within four or five
rods of the camp undiscovered, when a dash was ordered, and in an instant
the whole camp, with its inmates, was ours. A chain of mounted guards
was immediately thrown around the camp, and dismounted sentries placed at
the tents and wagons. * * *
As soon as the firing ceased, I returned to camp and took an inventory of
our captures, when I ascertained that we had captured Jeff Davis, his wife,
and four children ; John H. Reagan, his Postmaster General ; Colonels John
son and Lubbock, aids-de-camp to Davis ; Burton N. Harrison, his private
secretary ; Major Maurand, Captain Moody, Lieutenant Hathaway, Jeff. D.
Howell, (midshipman in the rebel navy,) and thirteen private soldiers. *
* * * Upon returning to camp, I was accosted by
Davis, from among the prisoners, who asked if I was the officer in command.
Upon assuring him that I was, and asking whom I was to call him, he replied
that I might call him "what or whoever I pleased;" when I replied that I
would call him Mr. Davis, and, after a moment's hesitation, he said that was
his name. He suddenly drew himself up, in true royal dignity, and ex*
claimed: "I suppose that you consider it bravery to charge a train of de
fenseless women and children, but it is theft — it is vandalism!'' * *
Retaining my independent command, I continued my march to Macon,
where I arrived at 3, p. m., on the 13th. While yet on the march, and nine
miles out of town, I received orders, by courier, to provide myself with a
special detail of three officers and twenty men from my regiment, and pre
pare to depart at once for Washington, as special escort for Davis and party.
* * * I left Macon, by special train, at 7 o'clock, on
the evening of the 13th. * * Arriving at Atlanta at
daylight on the 14th, 1 found a train and guard in readiness to convey the
party to Augusta, where we arrived at sunset same day, finding carriages arid
everything in readiness to convey us to the steamer Standish, lying four miles
below the city. We arrived on board at 8 o'clock, when I received Alexan
der H. Stephens and Major General Wheeler and staff, and immediately
sailed for Savannah, where we arrived at 10 o'clock on the 16th. Reported
to General Burge, and at 4 o'clock, A. m., the steamer Emile was ordered
alongside, and the prisoners and guard were transferred on board, when she
immediately steamed for Hilton Head. When opposite Fort Jackson, we
met the steamer Colt, with General Gilmore on board, to whom I reported,
and when we reached Savannah, he telegraphed to Hilton Head for the
steamer Clyde to be got in readiness at once to receive the prisoners and con-
vey them to Washington.
Upon our arrival, we found all things in readiness, and the transfer from
the Emile to the Clyde took place immediately, and at 3, P. M., of the 16th,

Report of Colonel Pritchard. 457
we put to sea, under convoy of the steam sloop-of-war Tuscarora. Arriving
at Fortress Monroe at noon on the 19th, I immediately proceeded to shore,
and telegraphed my arrival to the adjutant general, and received orders, in
reply, to anchor out, and await further orders. * * *
. On the afternoon of the 22d, the prisoners Davis and Clay were transferred,
under orders, to the casemates of Fortress Monroe, and turned over to Brevet
Major General Miles, the Fourth Michigan cavalry acting as special escort,
after which it was temporarily assigned quarters within the fort.
On the afternoon of the 23d, I received orders from the War Department,
through General Miles, directing me to procure the disguise worn by Davis at
the time of his capture, and proceed to Washington, and report to the Secre
tary of War. Accordingly, I went over to the steamer Clyde, and received
from Mrs. Davis a lady's water-proof cloak, or robe, which, Mrs. Davis said,
was worn by Davis as a disguise at the time of his capture, and which was iden
tified by the men who saw it on him at the time. On the morning following,
the balance of the disguise was procured, which consisted of a shawl, which
was identified, and admitted to be the one by Mrs. Davis. These articles I
brought to Washington, and turned them over to the Secretary of War.
******
It is, indeed, hard to individualize when all have done their whole duty,
but still I would make special mention of those assigned to important duties,
and who performed those duties well, among whom are Captain Hathaway,
commanding that part of the regiment picketing the rear ; Captain Charles
T. Hudson, in command of the advance guard of fourteen picked men, and
who led the column into the camp ; Lieutenants Silas J. Stauber and Henry
S. Boutelle, who were commanding fifty men each, in detachments, the latter
of whom was severely wounded, while gallantly leading his men ; Lieutenant
A. B. Purinton, who had charge of dismounted men, making the circuit of
the enemy's camp; Lieutenants Dickinson and Davis, for general duties as
aids, and Bennett, commanding rear-guard. All the above officers are enti
tled to the highest praise, and, in my judgment, deserve promotion. * *
In conclusion, at the request of the adjutant general, that I should state in
my report to whom, in my judgment, the reward offered by the Government
ought to be given, * * * I feel that in no case should the
reward be granted to a less number than the one hundred and twenty-eight
men and eight officers who were actually present at the time of Davis' cap
ture, and I am inclined to the opinion that it should be distributed to the four
hundred and nineteen men and twenty officers comprising the expedition ; and
when I say this, I believe I utter the wishes of a majority of the officers and
men. * * *
With these remarks, the whole is respectfully submitted, and I have the
honor to subscribe myself,
Very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
B. D. Pritchard,
Lieutenant Colonel, Fourth Michigan Cavalry.

45S Minty and the Cavalry.
The following account, with accompanying statements
of the eye-witnesses of the capture, is inserted, taken from
the Allegan (Michigan) Journal of March 30, 1878 :
How They Caught Jeff— General B. D. Pritchard's Account of the Capture
and Disguise — Davis Did Have Women's Clothes On — Some Conversations
Never Before Printed — A Complete Refutation of Certain False Statements-
To the Editors of The Journal.
In response to your requests, I avail myself of the courtesy extended,
granting me space in your columns to place before your readers and the
public a biief summary of the leading facts and incidents connected with
the capture of Jefferson Davis and party, as by so doing I shall be able to
reply in a general way to the scores of letters addressed to me from all
parts of the country, making various inquiries relating to the peculiar cir
cumstances of this capture, and correct, in part, at least, the many erro
neous statements put into circulation by parties who had no actual knowl
edge of the tilings they attempted to describe ; also to meet and refute, I
trust, so far as the facts in the case and historic truth may require, the per
sistent and maliciously false statements of those who seemingly have only
one object in view, and that the relieving of Mr. Davis from that odium
and disgrace which may attach from the fact that he ignominiously sought
personal safety and escape through a disguise as a woman.
But before proceeding further, I deem it but a simple act of justice to
myself to say that I do not thus appear in a newspaper article for the fur
ther discussion of this subject as a matter of personal choice, but only when
to remain silent longer would seem on my part an inexcusable disregard of
duty; to the great number of our people, both North and South, who still
evince, by their earnest inquiry, a deep and continued interest in knowing
the truth connected with this closing event of the rebellion.
It is now nearly thirteen years since my official report of the Davis cap
ture, with accompanying affidavits and statements, was filed in the office of
the Secretary of War, and I have earnestly desired that it should be all
that I might be called upon to say in the matter, and have persistently re
frained from entering into any discussion of the subject through the press,
often at the cost of greatly disappointing, if not displeasing, my friends.
But, during this time, many articles have been written and sown broadcast
by the apparent friends of Mr. Davis, in a spirit and manner strongly in
dicating, if not proving, the existence of a thoroughly concerted plan by the
parties interested, to gradually overshadow and smother out the peculiarly
unpleasant truths connected with the capture, by a continuous cross-fire of
evasive statements and partial denials, tho way being first prepared by an
array of articles published by persons wholly unknown, and who had no
personal knowledge of the facts in the case, making false and extravagant
statements, and finally closing in with a shower of heavy articles, such as
the country has lately been treated to, coming from members of the cabinet,

Statement of Colonel Pitchard. 459
military staff, or household of Mr. Davis. While it is true that none of
these latter parties (excepting, perhaps, one) have been willing to deny ab
solutely that Mr. Davis was disguised in female attire at the time of his
capture, yet it is clearly apparent that their statements are intended to be
so received, and to have the effect of positive proof upon that point with
those who may not have had the opportunity or taken the trouble to ex
amine critically the many lengthy articles published on this subject. But I
defer further comment in this direction until further on, when I shall take
up such of those published statements as deserve notice more in detail.
In the brief description of the movements of the forces under my com
mand, which resulted in the capture, I shall omit everything in my judg
ment not necessary to convey a clear and concise understanding of the con
ditions and circumstances under which the capture was effected, and shall
give no further attention to the question of " good faith " on the part of the
commanders of the Federal forces in pursuing and capturing Mr. Davis and
party, after the surrender of the principal Confederate armies, under Generals
Lee and Johnston, raised by Mr. Reagan, than to say that it was admitted by
Mr. Davis, and those captured with him, that they had not surrendered, but
were putting forth every effort to pass the Union forces in the gulf States,
and join the only rebel army then in the field under Price in Texas,
The orders under which I acted were received from Colonel R. H. G.
Minty, commanding the second division of the cavalry corps, military divis
ion of the Mississippi, and from whom, on the afternoon of Sunday, May
7, 1865, I received direct orders to report immediately to him in person
for instructions. On my arrival, he detailed to me the information received
by General Wilson from his forces in the direction of Augusta, regarding
the movments southward of the principal parties connected with the Confed
erate government, and the desire to effect their capture if possible, directing
me to proceed with my regiment, the Fourth Michigan cavalry, from its
camp near Macon, Georgia, down the southerly side of the Ocmulgee river,
a distance of seventy-five or one hundred miles, to take possession of all
the fords and ferries below Hawkinsville, and to picket the river, and
scout the country north and south of the river as thoroughly as the strength
of my command would permit. Certain places appearing on the maps were
thought to be desirable points for establishing the head-quarters of my
regiment, but that matter was left to my own discretion upon arriving
upon the ground; and, if pursuit became necessary, I was authorized to
disregard all points and communications, and pursue as far as might be
deemed necessary, even to the gulf or the ocean.
In obedience to the orders above stated, which were verbal and strictly
secret, I moved with my command from camp at Macon, at 8 'o'clock the
same evening, pursuing the main highway leading down the south side of
the Ocmulgee river, in the general direction therewith, leaving everything
in camp which might in any way impede our free and rapid movement. As
this article is not intended to describe in detail the incidents of the march,
I will simply say that we pressed forward by rapid forced marches, night

460 Minty and the Cavalry.
and day, only halting long enough to feed and rest our horses, until the 9th
day of May, at 3 o'clock, p. m., when we arrived at Abbyville, seventy-five
miles from Macon, where we first struck the trail of what proved to be the
train of the Davis party, and which had gone on in the direction of Irwins-
ville the night before. Here we also met Lieutenant Colonel Harden,
commanding a detachment of the First Wisconsin cavalry, with whom a
brief consultation was held, when it was decided that we could not plan
any concerted action for the two commands, and that each had better act
independently; and then we separated, Colonel Harden, with his com
mand, pursuing the train on the direct road to Irwinsville, with the an
nounced intention on his part of pressing through to that place that night
before going into camp. I continued my march down the river, after send
ing company H, of my regiment, under Lieutenant Fisk, to take possession
of Brown's ferry, one mile and a half above Abbyville. After moving three
miles further, we met persons who gave us additional information regard
ing the character of the train, and also of the roads. Learning that there
was another road leading into Irwinsville, from a point known as Wilcox's
Mills, about fifteen miles below Abbyville, I decided to press forward by
this road in the direction of Irwinsville, believing that if Mr. Davis was
traveling apart from the train, as he was reported as doing, communicating
with it from time to time, he would be likely to be traveling on the road
which I proposed to take; and if Colonel Harden pressed through to
Irwinsville, as he expected to when we separated, we would place them be
tween us, and thus greatly increase the chances of a capture. I accordingly
ordered a detail of one hundred and fifty of the best mounted men of my
regiment, and seven officers beside myself ; but the full detail of enlisted
men was not filled, owing to the jaded condition of the horses. At four
o'clock I put the column in motion, moving still down the river road a dis
tance of twelve miles, to Wilcox's Mills, where a halt of one hour was made
to feed and cool the horses. From thence we proceeded by a blind woods
road, through an almost unbroken pine forest, for a distance of eighteen miles,
to Irwinsville, where we arrived at about one o'clock, on the morning of
May 10. The roads were first closely examined in all directions, but no
traces could be discovered of the passage of a train or a mounted force, at
which we were much surprised, as we had confidently expected to either
meet Colonel Harden at that point, or fall in rear of his command, and
concluded at first that the train must have taken some other course; but
upon inquiry, and passing ourselves as Confederates, we soon learned that
a considerable party had gone into camp, just at dark the evening before,
about a mile and 'a half out of town, on the Abbyville road. I at first
thought it must be the First Wisconsin, but, upon further inquiry, learned
that they had tents and wagons, which I knew was not the case with
Colonel Harden's command. I at once turned the head of the column m
that direction, impressing a negro for a guide, moving my command up to
within about a half mile of the camp, where I halted under cover of a small
eminence, and dismounted twenty-five men, and sent them, under com-

Statement of Colonel Pritchard. 461
mand of Lieutenant Purinton, with instructions to make the circuit of the
camp, and gain a position on the road in rear of the enemy, to cut off escape
in that direction, to gain the position designated, undiscovered, if possible,
but, if discovered, and an alarm was raised, I would charge the camp from the
front, and he was to move upon the camp from any position he might then
hold ; but, if no alarm was raised, I should take it for granted that he had
successfully executed his orders, where he should remain quiet until I should
assault the camp, as I had not then decided whether I would attack at once,
or delay until the appearance of daylight — but finally determined upon the
latter course, as the moon was getting low, and the deep shadows of the
forest would render it easy for parties to elude us in the darkness. After
waiting in our position about an hour and a half, and until the appearance
of early dawn, I put the column quietly in motion, and was enabled to ap
proach within a few rods of the tents before discovery, when a charge was
ordered, and in an instant the camp, with its inmates, was wholly within
our power without the necessity of firing a shot. The surprise was so com
plete that not the slightest show of resistance was made, the men not even
having time to grasp their weapons, which were lying at their sides. The
camp was located in the thick pine forest, close by a small swamp. A
chain of mounted sentries, composed of a force specially designated for that
duty, swept rapidly around the camp on the instant, when the main force
dashed into it, thus barring all possibility of escape after the completion of
the circuit. This chain of sentries, under the command of an officer, was
to maintain their position until all of the prisoners were gathered in and
placed under guard. Immediately after taking possession of the camp, my
adjutant, Lieutenant Dickinson, notified me that there were ladies in the
tents, when I directed him to station guards at each of the tents, and allow
none of the men to enter them. All of the men with the party, except
Mr. Davis, I believe, were sleeping on their blankets outside of the tents in
different parts of the camp, partially undressed, and as soon as they were
aroused, sprang from their beds, and were immediately placed under guard,
and allowed time to put on the balance of their clothing, which consumed
several minutes, after which the prisoners were gathered together, and
placed under a regular detailed guard.
But before this was fully completed, and before any of the persons occupying
the tents had completed their toilet and come out, or a list of the names of the
captured parties had been made up, a volley was fired down the road, and
across the swamp alluded to, and about eighty or one hundred rods north
of the camp, where the force of dismounted men, under Lieutenant Purin
ton, were stationed. I at once ordered the men to resume their places in
the column. Leaving Adjutant Dickinson with a sufficient force in camp to
gather the rest of the prisoners in and guard them until my return, I, in
person, pushed forward across the swamp with the balance of the command
to the aid of Lieutenant Purinton, whom I supposed to be engaging the
force guarding the train, but which proved to be the First Wisconsin cavalry,
under Colonel Harden, whose men had come upon the force under Lieu-

462 Minty and the Cavalry.
tenant Purinton, and, through a misunderstanding in the challenge and
response, each had taken the other for the enemy, it still being so dark that
they could not distinguish the uniform ; and, as I came up the road in
column, mounted, we received a raking fire from a dismounted force con
cealed behind trees and logs, which killed one man, and severely wounded
Lieutenant Boutelle. This sad mistake was not discovered until two men
were killed in the Fourth Michigan cavalry, and eight or ten men wounded
in the First Wisconsin cavalry.
As soon as the firing ceased, I returned to the camp, and as I recrossed
the swamp, I was met by Lieutenant Dickinson, who, in a hurried way, in
formed me that he had carried out my orders, and who said we had cap
tured an oldish man, whom he beheved was Jeff. Davis, and that he came
out of one of the tents dressed up in woman's clothes, and attempted to
escape as a woman. I got the impression that Mr. Davis had refused to re
veal his name up to that time, but will not be positive on that point. I
rode on up to the point where the prisoners were gathered under guard,
and, as I approached them, I was accosted by this man, who proved to be
Mr. Davis, with the inquiry if I was the officer in command. I replied
that I was, and asked him in return whom I was to call him. He replied
that I might " call him what, or whoever I pleased," when I replied that I
would call him Davis ; and after a moment's hesitation, he said, " That is
my name." He then drew himself up in a very dignified and imposing
manner, and exclaimed, 'T suppose you consider it bravery to charge a
train of defenseless women and children, but it is theft, it is vandalism."
Davis had thrown off the garments constituting his disguise, and was clad
in a suit of Confederate gray at the time of my meeting him. I then pro
ceeded to take an inventory of our capture, when I ascertained that we
had captured Jefferson Davis, wife, and four children ; John H. Reagan, his
Postmaster General; Colonels Johnson and Lubbock, aids-de-camp on
Davis' staff; Burton N. Harrison, his private secretary ; Major Maurand,
Captain Moody, and Lieutenant Hathaway ; Jeff. D. Howell, a brother of
Mrs. Davis, and midshipman in the rebel navy ; thirteen private soldiers,
Miss Maggie Howell, sister of Mrs. Davis, two waiting maids, and several
servants. We also captured five wagons, three ambulances, about fifteen
horses, and twenty-five or thirty mules. The train was principally loaded
with commissary stores and private baggage, with a few arms and a few
boxes of fixed ammunition.
After allowing time for the prisoners to breakfast, we started on our re
turn, taking the direct road back to Abbyville, where we arrived at dark
on the evening of the same day, and encamped for the night. During the
night I called in the remainder of my regiment, which had been left on the
day previous, under command of Captain Hathaway, to picket the line of
the Ocmulgee river, and scout the country, at the same time sending car
riers forward to Macon, announcing the results of our expedition. On the
morning of the 11th, we resumed our march in the direction of Macon, and
on the afternoon of that day, when a few miles below Hawkinsville, we

Statement of Colonel Pritchard. 463
met the rest of our brigade just coming out from Macon, and received from
them the first knowledge we had of President Johnson's proclamation, ac
companied by General Wilson's order offering a reward for the capture of
Davis and others.
Retaining my independent command, I continued my march toward
Macon, halting for the night two or three miles above Hawkinsville. Mov
ing on again early on the morning of the 12th, we arrived within fifteen or
twenty miles of Macon, where we again encamped for the night. At this
place occurred some incidents which I deem sufficiently important to war
rant a full and specific statement. It will be remembered by those ac
quainted with the fact, that the cavalry command, under General Wilson,
had drawn no regular government supplies since leaving camp on the Ten
nessee river, March 22, and had been dependent wholly upon the resources
of the country for subsistence, and my command was expected to subsist
by foraging while on this expedition ; but, as the country through which we
passed was sparsely settled, and a great portion of the land covered with
pine forests, and unproductive, we found it very difficult to gather the nec
essary supplies for our men and horses, and my men were really in a suffer
ing condition for food, and, as there was a surplus of provisions in the train,
I decided to distribute that surplus among my men. After we had got set
tled in camp that evening, I went to Mr. Davis, and informed him of my
purpose, requesting him to have his cook set apart from his supplies a suffi
cient quantity to fully supply his party for a certain number of hours, by
which time we would reach Macon, when they could be amply provided
for. Mr. and Mrs. Davis, who were both present during the conversation,
strenuously objected to the course I proposed, arguing that all the supplies
in their wagons were private property, and that I had no right to take them
in the manner proposed, and Mrs. Davis said she felt certain that when we
got to General Wilson's head- quarters all their property would be returned
to them, and they be permitted to proceed on their journey. After discuss
ing the matter in rather a spirited manner for a little time, I told Mr. Davis
if he did not feel disposed to have his servant set apart the necessary amount
pf supplies, I would direct my commissary to do so, after which I would
distribute the remainder. Mr. Davis became very angry at that, and said
he had never expected to be compelled to suffer such indignities as that,
and if he could have got possession of his arms at the time of his capture,
he would not have been compelled to. To which I replied (perhaps a little
acrimoniously, for I had become somewhat irritated at his course) that I
did not think the garments worn by him on that occasion were particularly
adapted to rapid locomotion, or to the use of fire-arms ; to which Mrs. Davis
retorted, very sharply, saying, " I want you to understand distinctly that
Mr. Davis assumed that disguise at my instance." This admission of Mrs.
Davis, in regard to her husband's disguise, was wholly voluntary, and drawn
out under the circumstances above stated, and was the first conversation
which I had with Mr, and Mrs. Davis in person in regard to the disguise
worn by the husband at the time of the capture ; and is the same conversa-

464 Minty and the Cavalry.
tion referred to by General Wilson in his "Annals of the War " as occur
ring at the time I first met Mr. Davis in camp, immediately after the cap
ture. General Wilson is correct in regard to the substance, but in error as
to time and place.
On the morning of the 13th, we resumed our march, and arrived at Macon
at 3 o'clock, p. m., and received orders from General Wilson to provide my
self with a detail of three officers and twenty men from my regiment, and
prepare to start for Washington, at once, in charge of the Davis party. We
left Macon by special railway train at 7 o'clock, p. m., having turned over
all private soldiers captured with the Davis party, except two, and receiv
ing an accession of Clement C. Clay and wife. Proceeding by the way of
Atlanta, we reached Augusta at sunset, May 14, and there received Alex
ander H. Stephens and General Wheeler and staff, of the rebel army, whom
I also took through as prisoners. We then proceeded by boat, via Savannah
and Hilton Head, to Fortress Monroe, where we arrived at noon on the
19th day of May. Anchoring out in the harbor, I proceeded in person on
shore, and telegraphed the adjutant general notice of my arrival— and re
ceived orders to remain at anchor, off shore, and await further orders.
We remained on board ship until the 22d of May, disposing meanwhile
of all the prisoners excepting Davis, Clay, and families, as per orders from
the Secretary of War. On the afternoon of May 22, Davis and Clay were
transferred to the casemant of Fortress Monroe, and myself and men as
signed to quarters within the fort, Mrs. Davis and children and Mrs. Clay
still remaining on board the steamer Clyde.
On the afternoon of May 23, 1 received orders from the War Department,
through General Miles, commanding at Fortress Monroe, directing me to
procure the disguise worn by Davis at the time of his capture, and proceed
to Washington, and report in person to the Secretary of War. Accordingly,
I went over to the steamer Clyde, and informed Mrs. Davis of my instruc-
ions, and asked her if she had any objections to delivering to me the gar
ments worn by Mr. Davis as a disguise at the time of his capture, and re
ceived this very sharp and pungent reply : " Certainly not, sir, for I do
not think I ever had the opportunity to donate any clothing to Mrs. Stan
ton before ; it is, perhaps, well that my mantle should fall on the shoulders
of Mrs. Stanton." Mrs. Davis then delivered to me in person, with no fur
ther compulsion than a simple request, a lady's water-proof cloak or robe of
a dark color, trimmed with pearl buttons, which she admitted to be the one
worn by her husband as a disguise at the time of his capture. On the morn
ing of the 24th, Captain Hudson went over to the Clyde, and procured the
balance of the garments worn in the disguise, which consisted of a black
woolen shawl with a border. The captain informed me that Mrs. Davis
at first did not like to give up the shawl, saying she needed it for her chil
dren. He then went back to shore and purchased another shawl for her,
replacing the one Mrs. Davis delivered to him. These garments were taken
by me to Washington, and delivered to the Secretary of War, and were
thoroughly identified by the three soldiers who arrested Mr. Davis at the

Statement of George Munger. 465
time he came from the tent, to wit : Corporal George Munger, Privates
James F. Bullard, and Andrew Bee, each of whom made sworn statements
at the War Department of the facts within their knowledge concerning the
disguise, and which were filed in the office of the Secretary of War. I have
not copies of those sworn statements in my possession, but I have a state
ment made by Corporal George Munger in response to a request by Colonel
Robert Burns, and which I here insert : " Schoolcraft, October 29, 1877.
"Dear Sir : — Yours of the 20th, asking for a statement of my participa
tion in the capture of Davis, is at hand. I have had a great many calls for
a statement from almost every State in the Union. I just received one
from the Tribune office last week. I thought I would not say anything
about it. There has been a great deal said by different ones regarding the
•capture of Davis. They all seem to differ more or less. If I should make
a statement, it would not correspond with all.
" Colonel Pritchard's statement is as near right as any I have seen as regards
Davis' disguise. Davis had on a lady's water-proof cloak or dress, and a
red and black, or black and white, shawl thrown over his head and shoul
ders, over a suit of gray clothes, and a pair of cavalry boots. I do not know
if Dickinson ordered Bee to let the women pass or not, only what I heard
the morning of the capture. I believe Bee was on guard at the tent. I did
not see Dickinson until after Davis was taken back to the tent, and had
taken off his disguise. Dickinson might have halted Davis, but not in my
hearing. He certainly did not stop. He was about four rods from the
tent when I first saw him. Bullard and I were changing horses, as we used
to do sometimes when we found better ones. Bullard had just thrown his
saddle on his horse, I was just buckling my girth, when I saw the three
women, as I supposed them to be, which afterward proved to be Davis,
Mrs. Davis, and Miss Howell. I said to Bullard, ' Those women ought not
to be allowed to go out of camp; you go and stop them.' Bullard said:
' You go ; you have your saddle 'on.' I mounted my horse, rode around
in front of the party, and said to them : ' Where are you going ? ' Mrs.
Davis said : ' With my old mother after some water.' Mrs. Davis had a
pail on her arm. I said : ' What is she doing with those boots on ? ' When
I saw his boots, I cocked my gun and laid it across my saddle. Mrs. Davis
put her hand over Mr. Davis' face, and said: 'Don't shoot! You may not
admire Mr. Davis' principles, but he is a reverend man.' That is all that
was said there. As soon as Bullard buckled his saddle, he rode up to where
we were. He heard the most of this conversation. We went back to the
tent with them. There Davis took off his disguise, and said he thought our
government more magnanimous than to be chasing up women and children.
This is as near right as I could state it at this time. " Yours, " George Munger."
This closes my direct recital of the facts and incidents connected with
-the capture and disguise of Mr. Davis. But before closing, I desire to no-
30

466 Minty and the Cavalry.
tiee one or two of the false and malicious statements which have been
written and published by parties who had no personal knowledge of the
facts in the case, and who have shown the most wanton disregard of all
truth. The first communication I desire to notice is the following, purport
ing to have been written by one James H. Parker, and which has been used
as a basis of many of the articles written to disprove that Mr. Davis was
captured in disguise. I insert this communication in full, as it is the source
from which much of the inspiration of those seeking to relieve Mr. Davis
from his unpleasant predicament is drawn :
" I am no admirer of Jeff. Davis. I am a Yankee, born between Sacca-
rappa and Gorham Corner, and full of Yankee prejudices; but I think it
wicked to lie even about him, or, for that matter, about the devil.
"I was with the party that captured Jeff. Davis; saw the whole transac
tion from the beginning. I now say, and hope you will publish, that Jeff.
Davis did not have on, at the time he was taken, any garment such as is
worn by women. He did have over his shoulders a water-proof article of
clothing — something like a 'Havelock.' It was not in the least concealed.
He wore a hat; and did not carry a pail of water on his head, nor carry a
pail or kettle in any way. To the best of my recollection, he carried noth
ing whatever in his hands. His wife did not tell any person that her hus
band might hurt somebody if he got exasperated. She behaved like a lady,
and he as a gentleman, though manifestly he was chagrined at being taken
into custody. Our soldiers behaved like gentlemen, as they were, and our
officers like honorable, brave men ; and the foolish stories that went the
newspaper rounds of the day, telling how wolfishly he deported himself,
were false. I know what I am talking about. I saw Jeff. Davis many
times while he was staying at Portland, several years ago ; and I think I
was the first one who recognized him at the time of his arrest. When it
was known that he was certainly taken, some newspaper correspondent — I
knew his name at the time — fabricated the story about the disguise in an
old woman's dress. I heard the whole matter talked over as a good joke ;
and the officers, who knew better, never took the trouble to deny it. Per
haps the Confederate president deserved all the contempt that could be put
upon him. I think so, too, only I would never perpetrate a falsehood that
by any means would become historic. And, further, I would never slander
a woman who has shown so much devotion as Mrs. Davis has to her hus
band, no matter how wicked he is. or may have been.
"I defy any person to find a single officer or soldier, who was present at
the capture of Jeff. Davis, who will say, upon honor, that he was disguised
in women's clothes, or that his wife acted in. any way unladylike, or un
dignified, on that occasion. I go for trying him for his crimes, and if he is
found guilty, punish him, but I would not lie about him when the truth will
certainly make it bad enough."
Jas. H. Parker.

Colonel Pritchard's Statement Continued. 467
Ellburnville, [Elbinsville] Pa.
It will be noticed that this man Parker claims to be a boiled-down Yankee,
a very pious man, T judge, opposed to all wickedness and falsehood, and
claims to have been personally present with the party that made the capture,
and denies the fact of the disguise, etc. Now, I have only a few words to
say about this article, and these are, first, if any man was present with the
party who made the capture, he was a member of the Fourth Michigan
cavalry ; and I have in my possession the Adjutant .General's report of the
State of Michigan, showing the entire membership of that regiment, from
its organization to its muster-out, and no such name as James H. Parker
appears on its rolls. I also have in my possession a copy of Senate bill No.
485 of the second session of the Thirty-ninth Congress, which contains the
names of all the men of the Fourth Michigan cavalry entitled to share in
the reward for the capture of Davis, and no such name appears in that list;
and I feel justified in pronouncing the whole communication a fraud of the
vilest character, and if the friends of Mr. Davis have received this com
munication as genuine, (and I must presume they have from the prominence
they have given it), then they are the victims of the best Yankee trick of
the age. With the fall of the Parker fraud, must fall many of the articles
written to disprove the disguise.
I shall only call attention to one or two more points in this case as it
stands. One is that in all the articles written by the officers under Mr.
Davis none have denied that Davis, when captured, had on some kind of a
robe beside his regular clothing. Major Walthall says, in the article pre
pared by himself, under the immediate supervision of Mr. Davis, as claimed,
as follows : "As we have said, the president was already fully dressed. He
hastily took leave of his wife, who threw over his shoulders a water-proof
cloak or wrapper, either as a protection from the dampness of the early
morning, or in the hope that it might serve as a partial disguise, or, per
haps with woman's ready and rapid thoughtfulness, of its possible use for
both these purposes." Which, it seems to me, is admitting enough so that
there is a very narrow difference to wrangle over. It has never been denied
that he was dressed in his ordinary clothing at the time of his capture, but it is
claimed that over his ordinary suit was worn articles of female attire, adopted
by him as a disguise, with the purpose of eluding his pursuers by reason of
the immunity from personal arrest and detention usually accorded to
women under whatever circumstances they may be found ; and there can
be no more doubt that Mr. Davis was so disguised than there can be that
he was captured at all, and the story of his disguise is no fabrication or
make-up, as has been claimed, days after the capture, but was related to
me within ten minutes after its occurrence by men whose veracity cannot
be questioned. B. D. Pritchard.
The following letters and statements are inserted, fur
nished by Colonel R. Burns, of Kalamazoo, Michigan,

468 Minty and the Cavalry.
showing the fact and manner in which Davis was disguised
at the time of his capture. The matter is important from
the recent efforts made by the old rebel leaders to contra
dict the history of the event by denying that Davis was
captured ' ' disguised as a woman : ' '
First is a letter written by J. G. Dickinson, late adju
tant Fourth Michigan cavalry, to the Detroit Tribune :
I have read John H. Reagan's letter to Governor Porter in the publica
tion you exhibited to me. It contains severe criticisms upon published
statements of General James H. Wilson, concerning the flight, capture, and
disguise of Jefferson Davis. I remember Mr. Reagan, who was captured
with Davis. I had the honor of being with General Pritchard, as adjutant
of the Fourth Michigan cavalry, at the capture, and personally took part in
the arrest of Davis, while he was attempting to escape disguised in female
attire. There has never been any doubt or denial from any authentic source,
expressed or asserted to my knowledge, respecting the disguise and at
tempted escape of Mr. Davis, until Mr. Reagan's letter appeared, and Mr.
Reagan does not speak regarding the disguise upon his own knowledge.
The facts were well known, and often repeated in our camp to interested
inquirers, by those having personal knowledge of them.
The first report of the capture was made to Major Robert Burns, assist
ant adjutant general of General R. H. G. Minty's staff. I drew the report
immediately after our return to Macon for Captain John C. Hathaway, com
manding the regiment while Colonel Pritchard was absent, in charge of the
prisoners on the way to Washington. I made a full written statement of
the facts for General Wilson, at the request of Major Van Antwerp, his
aid-de-camp, and another statement to General John Robertson, adjutant
general of Michigan. The facts are beyond dispute respecting the female
disguise ; I know all about it, because I saw it, and, assisted by Corporal
Munger and others present, arrested Jefferson Davis when he was in such
female disguise. Mr. Reagan did not then see him, but /there were several
Confederate officers present who did see the arrest, and made no effort to
aid their chief.
The facts concerning the capture and disguise are well remembered by
those present, many of whom are now living in this State. The part I took
in the immediate capture of Jefferson Davis I shall not soon forget. I
think we acted with magnanimity and care toward the fallen chief of the
Confederacy; he could have been detained at the spot, where arrested, for
the gaze of all his officers, family, and escort, but he was permitted to re
tire to his tent, and disrobe from his female disguise.
Jeff. Davis, and all who were captured with him, well know that great
kindness and fair consideration, such as were due to a prisoner of his im
portance, were extended to him by every member of our ccmmand, and

Statement of Captain J. 67. Dickinson. 469
nothing was done or said except what was necessary for his security and
conduct. Though he called us vile names at. first, I think he subsequently
behaved himself.
Immediately upon the charge into the camp, Captain Charles T. Hudson,
leading the advance guard, passed well through the camp, and our colonel
following, swung round, enveloping the entire camp. In this movement I
met, in front of a small fly tent, Colonel Harrison, Davis' private secretary
(as I afterwards learned.) I stopped, and made inquiry as to their force in
camp, and while he was replying, I heard some one calling me. I turned,
and saw Private Andrew Bee, of L company, who, pointing to three per
sons dressed in female apparel, at some distance, and moving away, called
out to me: "Adjutant, there goes a man dressed in woman's clothes." I
started at once after them, calling out, "halt," repeatedly, and reaching
them just as several troopers, in charge of Corporal Munger, dashed up,
bringing their carbines ready for use. The fugitives halted; Mrs. Davis
threw her arms around her husband's shoulders, and the lady close to him
formed a shield, which was respected. I noticed several Confederate offi
cers near ; one, a tall fellow, was apparently very excited.
Davis had on a black dress, and though it did not fit fairly at the neck, it
covered his form to the boots ; the boots betrayed his disguise. A black
shawl covered his head and shoulders. His identity was confirmed by the
removal of the shawl from his face. I promptly directed him to retire to
his quarters, and ordered Corporal Munger to place the men with him, and
keep careful guard.
I then started to report to Colonel Pritchard, but Mrs. Davis called to me,
and I dismounted a moment to hear her. She asked me what we were
coing to' do with Mr. Davis, and whether she and the escort would be taken
with him. I replied that Colonel Pritchard would see to the disposal of the
party. She then made some other requests relative to the preservation of
her baggage. I think Lieutenant Perry J. Davis, our quartermaster, then
came up, and I mounted and left her with him.
I reported to Colonel Pritchard as promptly as I could the circumstance of
the capture, and what I had done as to the guard. In the meantime, Davis
had disrobed and come out, the guard retaining him in custody, and when
Colonel Pritchard and staff approached, he called to him. I was near to
him, but do not remember the exact language used, further than that Davis
characterized our command as "a set of thieves and vandals for attacking a
train of women and children." I know the colonel spoke quite sharply to
him, but his exact language I will not attempt to state, as the colonel will
answer for that. I know he had been informed of the disguise by me.
I have the names of several of the men of our regiment who were pres
ent at the capture, and I think Lieutenant James Vernor, of Detroit, has their
address. J. G. Dickinson.
Late Adjutant Fourth Michigan Cavalry.

470 Minty and the Cavalry.
Next, letter from Andrew Bee to Colonel Burns :
October 19, 1877.
On the morning of May 10, 1865, I was one of the fourteen men under
Lieutenant J. G. Dickinson, who were dismounted by order of Lieutenant
Colonel Pritchard, and directed to enter and guard the camp, in which
Jefferson Davis and party were supposed to be. I was the first man who
entered it, and immediately went to the first of three tents standing on the
right-hand side of the road, and raised the flap to enter it. Mrs. Davis,
from the inside of the tent, requested me to go back, "as there were ladies
in there who were not dressed." This I could see for myself, she being in
her night-gown, barefooted, and bareheaded. I stepped back to the outside,
and waited there a few minutes. Very soon two persons, who looked like
women, but who really were Jefferson Davis and his sister-in-law (Miss
Howell), appeared from the tent, Miss Howell carrying a tin pall. In the
meantime, the firing between the First Wisconsin and Fourth Michigan
could be heard, and the bullets were flying over the camp. Lieutenant
Dickinson was walking up and down in front of the three tents, very much
excited, with a white blanket over his arm, listening to the firing. Just as
Miss Howell and Mr. Davis appeared, he was approaching the first tent,
from which they came, and she said to him : " Please, lieutenant, let me and
my grandmother go to the brook to get ourselves washed." Dickinson im
mediately turned to me and said : " Never mind them women folks, Andrew
Bee; come here and guard them officers," referring to some rebel officers,
among whom were Private Secretary Johnson (he doubtless meant Har
rison), and General Reagan, who had just come out of the second tent.
Just then a white servant girl came out of the first tent, Mrs. Davis remain
ing in to dress or attend the children, of whom there were three.
The three "women" (Mr. Davis, Miss Howell, and the servant girl) then
started for the brook, Mr. Davis stooping over as a very old woman would,
so that his head was not on a level with Miss Howell's, but was lower.
Mr. Davis had on a black morning gown, belted at the waist, and reaching
to his ankles, a shawl over his head, beard, and shoulders, and a black cloth
under the shawl covering his forehead. They had got about six or eight
rods from the tent when I, who had been watching them all the time, saw
that the old woman had on boots. I at once said to Dickinson: "See!
That is Jeff, himself! That is no woman ! That is old Jeff. Davis! " and started
on the run after them. As I got up to them, I exclaimed: "Halt! Damn
you, you can't get any further this time!" Mrs. Davis, at that moment,
came running out of the tent, and when she reached Mr. Davis, she put her
arms around his neck, and said: "Guard! Do not kill him ! " At the same
instant Corporal Munger, of company C, mounted, came from another direc
tion, and headed Davis. I said to him: "Never mind, Munger, I will take
care of that old gentleman myself." Lynch and Bullard were quite near at
the time. Munger was the second man who saw and recognized Davis.
Next to Munger was Lynch, who had been foraging around near the second

Letters from Bullard and Stedman. 471
tent, and who had already secured Mr. Davis' bay horse, with the pistol
holsters filled with gold coin.
The only portion of the face of Mr. Davis, which could be seen when he
was disguised, were the eyes and the nose, he covering the moustache,
mouth, and beard with the shawl, held closed in one hand. After Mr.
Davis was halted, he did not attempt any further disguise, but soon returned
to his tent.
Andrew Bee.
Also, the following letters from the men who were pres
ent:
Paw Paw, October 15, 1877.
Dear Sir : Your letter of September 28 came to hand in due time, but I
have neglected to answer it until now. You wanted a full statement of
the capture of Jeff. Davis, as I remember it to be. It has been some time
since the capture, but I will give you as full an account of the matter as I
can. I don't know as I can give you the conversation of Davis just as it
was, but think I can give you the substance. It was between twelve and
one o'clock on the morning of May 10, 1865, and as soon as we got within
a few rods of the camp, the regiment was halted, and a portion was dis
mounted, and advanced partly around the camp, and there waited for day,
and as soon as it commenced to get light, the dismounted men charged on
the camp, and the mounted men followed after. I was among the mounted
men, and as we came into camp, I saw a horse that I thought was better
than my own, and I stopped to exchange, Corporal George Munger stop
ping with me. I dismounted to change the saddle from my horse to the
other. As I was about to buckle the girth, I saw what I supposed to be
some women leaving camp, and spoke to Munger, and told him they ought
to be stopped, and he rode out and halted them. I followed after as soon
as I could mount. When Munger overtook them, Mrs. Davis turned and
said: "We are going to the spring after water." Munger told her she
would have to go back, and at the same time rode around in front of them.
Davis saw that he was caught, and threw off his shawl and water-proof.
Mrs. Davis threw her arms around his neck, and said: "Don't shoot him!"
Davis said : "Let them shoot ! I might as well die here as anywhere 1 " I think
he asked if "there was a man among us." About this time Adjutant Dick
inson and some others came up, and took him in charge. In regard to what
he had on, as near as I can recollect, it was a water-proof skirt and a dark
shawl over his head and shoulders. He was about twenty-five rods from
camp when stopped. I was one of the guards that went to Fortress Mon
roe with Davis, and from there we were ordered to Washington, where a
statement of the capture was made before the Secretary of War by George
Munger, Crittenden, Andrew Bee, and myself. You will find that state
ment the same as this, or nearly so. James F. Bullard.

472 Minty and the Cavalry Detroit, December, 1873.
To the Editor of the Tribune : Then, as daylight began to appear, the
advance were sent to capture the camp. We rode into camp without start
ing a person until our men gave a yell that soon made a stir. I halted my
horse near the largest tent. Some of the boys were about to go into it, but
were stopped by the request of a woman inside, saying that there were un
dressed ladies there. Soon after a woman came to the door of the tent,
and asked the men who were near if the servants could not go out after
some water. Consent was given, when there came out of the tent a colored
woman, and a tall person wearing a water-proof dress, and a small shawl
around the head, and carrying a pail on the arm. I was well satisfied that
the tall person was Davis, but I was at the side of the tent, and several of
our men in front, and, as the servants left the tent in front, I supposed that
Davis would be stopped by some of them. But such was not the case, for
the two passed entirely by all of the men. Then I put my horse to a gallop
to overtake them. At the same time I saw two mounted men riding
towards the servants from the Louisville road. The two mounted men
were Munger, of company C, and the other I took for Tibbet, of E com
pany. Davis then halted and turned to go back to the tent.
William P. Stedman,
Company B, Fourth Michigan Cavalry.

Extract from a letter of Captain Charles T. Hudson,
Fourth Michigan cavalry, to Detroit Tribune, July 24,
1875: I was not the first to see our distinguished captive, nor did I see him in
his disguise at all. Several claim that honor, and, I have no doubt, all speak
the truth. On our way back to Macon, however, Mrs. Davis told me, and
I will use her own words: "I put my water-proof cloak and shawl on Mr.
Davis upon the impulse of the moment, not knowing, or having time to
think, what else to do, in hopes he might make his escape in that disguise ;
and I only did what any true woman might have done under similar cir
cumstances.'' This was told me by Mrs. Davis in the course of conversa
tion on our way back to Macon while halting to feed and rest our horses,
she being in the ambulance at the time.' Therefore, although I did not see
Mr. Davis in the disguise of a woman, I had Mrs. Davis' word that she did
disguise him that he might make his escape. If further proof is wanting,
let me add that upon our arrival at Fortress Monroe with our prisoners,
acting under orders of the Secretary of War, I was sent on board of the
Clyde then lying in Hampden Roads, to get the shawl (the water-proof
having been obtained the day previous by Colonel Pritchard) worn by Davis
at the time of his capture. Upon making known my business to Mrs.
Davis, she and Mrs. Clement C. Clay, particularly the latter, flew into a
towering rage, and Mrs. Clay, stamping her foot on the deck of the vessel,
advised Mrs. Davis to "shed her blood before submitting to further out-

Letter from Charles T. Hudson. 473
rages." After telling Mrs. Davis that my orders were imperative, and that
she had better submit gracefully to my demands, she became somewhat
pacified, and said she " had no other wrappings to protect her from the in
clemency of the weather." I then told her I would go ashore and buy her
a shawl, which I did, paying six dollars for it. Upon presenting it to her,
she held it up, and, with scorn and contempt, turned to Mrs. Clay and ex
claimed: "A common nigger's shawl." She then handed me two shawls
very similar in appearance, and told me to take my choice, adding that she
did dress Mr. Davis in her attire, and would not deny it, at the same time
expressing great surprise that the Secretary of War should want her cloth
ing to exhibit, as if she had not already been sufficiently humiliated.
Chas. T. Hudson,
Late Captain Fourth Michigan Cavalry.

81^-1 lw:

CHAPTER XXIX.
Summary of the Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
JN tracing the operations of the division, it is
deemed proper to detail specifically the move
ments of some of themore active regiments,
not only that the ground may be more fully covered, but
also that the commands, whose activity and dash made
up the record of honorable service awarded to it, may
receive that praise which is justly due.
Among the commands which, being on a few special
occasions attached to it, merits by reason of its promi
nent place in the operations of the First, and other divi
sions of cavalry, a more than passing notice, is the Ninth
Pennsylvania cavalry. A more detailed account of its
operations, as also important from the fact that like most
of the regiments which went from the East to the West
ern armies, its record as contained in the popular mind
of to-day is, that it left Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in
November, 1861, bound for the terra incognito — the
"West" — disappeared soon after in the smoke of the
battle clouds lowering over Kentucky — was seen through
occasional rifts in these clouds — down through Tennessee,
Alabama, and Georgia, but was only fully discovered
when it emerged from the battle storm bank at Raleigh
and Hillsboro', North Carolina, in April, 1865. The regi
ment was organized at Camp Cameron, near Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, on the 29th of August, 1861, under au
thority of Hon. Simon Cameron, Secretary of War, with
(474)

Organization. 475
Edward C. Williams, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as
colonel, Thomas C. James, of Philadelphia, as lieuten
ant colonel, and Thomas J. Jordan, of Harrisburg, Penn
sylvania, as major. Twelve companies, recruited princi
pally in the counties of Dauphin, Luzerne, Lancaster,
Huntingdon, Perry, Cumberland, Mifflin, Blair, Wayne,
Chester, Lehigh, Susquehanna, and the city of Philadel
phia, were soon rendezvoused at the camp, and the usual
active preparatory drill and discipline were pressed, until
on the 20th of November, 1861, it was, by order of the
Secretary of War, moved by rail to Pittsburgh, and then,
taking boats, transported to Louisville, Kentucky, where,
reporting to General Buell, it was placed in camp at Jef-
fersonville, Indiana. The regiment was in some respects
the protege of the Secretary of War, being named the
" Lochiel" cavalry, in honor of his Scottish clan and fav
orite suburban residence, and was, at the very outstart,
well mounted, completely armed and equipped. Realizing
that where "much is given, much is required," the offi
cers set diligently to work to prepare themselves and their
Companies for active duty in the field ; mounted drill dur
ing the day and a school for officers in the night being
prescribed as the daily routine, and so perseveringly
persisted in that by the 10th of January, 1862, it was,
after a careful inspection and review, ordered to the front,
and confronted the enemy along the line of the Green
river. The contrast between the strict discipline and sol
dierly deportment of the Ninth and the loose, predatory
habits of many of the native regiments of Kentucky cav
alry was so marked that, on the advance of the army of
General Buell, the Legislature and many of the promi
nent citizens of the State joined in an urgent request that
the regiment be permitted to remain in the State. This
request was complied with, and it was posted, the First

476 Minty and the Cavalry.
battalion, under Colonel Williams, at Grayson Springs;
the Second, under Lieutenant Colonel James, at Calhoun,
in western Kentucky, and the Third, under Major Jor
dan, at Bacon creek, on the Louisville and Nashville
railroad. These respective positions were held until the
5th of March, 1862, when the regiment was ordered into
Tennessee, the First battalion taking post at Spring
field, the Second at Clarksville, and the Third proceeding
to Nashville. Soon after reaching Nashville, the Third
battalion was ordered to Galatin, Tennessee, and from
thence, moving on the 4th of May, it arrived at Lebanon,
Tennessee, on the morning of the 5th, in time to partici
pate in the battle of that day, and by approaching the
place from the direction of Galatin, not only prevented
Morgan from moving on his contemplated raid against
the railroad, but contributed largely to his defeat. The
battalion remained in Lebanon until the 14th of May,
when Major Jordan marched to Livingston, to attack
Morgan, who had gathered the remnant of his command
together near that place, and was camped at Spring
creek. Here Jordan attacked him, and after a sharp en
gagement, broke through his rear guard, capturing Mor
gan' s brigade quartermaster and over one hundred of his
men, and driving the demoralized and disorganized frag
ments of his command along all the roads and by-paths
to the Cumberland mountains at Sparta, when, abandon
ing all pretense of organization, Morgan scattered his
command, and ordered them to retreat as best they could
to East Tennessee, and re-assemble at Chattanooga. The
Third battalion moved on the 3d of June from Lebanon,
Tennessee, to Tompkinsville, Kentucky, near which place,
on the 6th, Captain Hugh McCullough was attacked, at
an outpost on Moore' s Hill, by a large force of the enemy
commanded by Colonel Hamilton. Though the captain

Moore's Hill — Death of Captain McCullough. 477
was largely outnumbered, he deemed the position he held
of such vital importance to the safety of the command at
Tompkinsville that he was impelled to make as strong a
defense as possible. He accordingly formed his men, and
knowing the advantage of delivering an attack, instead
of receiving one, he, after skirmishing long enough to de
velop the strength and position of the enemy, placed
himself at the head of his little band, drew sabers and
rushed down the hill in the midst of the on-pressing foe.
The enemy, amazed at the audacity of the action, after a
brief, though sanguinary contest, broke and fled in every
direction. In this brilliant affair, the regiment and coun
try were called to mourn the loss of the brave Captain
McCollough and ten of his gallant band. The captain
fell just as the enemy were driven from the field, by a
musket ball through the body, which proved fatal in a
few hours. He was a brave and competent officer, and on
this occasion sacrificed himself to save the main body of
the command. By his brilliant action at Moore's Hill, on
the 6th, Morgan's combinations, which contemplated the
surprise and attack of Tompkinsville on that day by a
large force, was deranged, and ample time given to Colonel
Jordan to prepare for the emergency now plainly upon
him. When Captain McCollough fell, the command de
volved on Lieutenant W. H. Longsdorf, who defeated
and scattered the enemy as above stated. On the 9th, Mor
gan, whose force now amounted to over two thousand
men, moved to the attack of Jordan, at Tompkinsville.
Major Jordan had but two hundred men available in
camp, but with these, handled in a most masterly manner,
he maintained the unequal struggle for over ten hours,
having secured the withdrawal of all his camp and garri
son stores and equipage, retreated, when nearly sur
rounded, to Burksville, Kentucky. The rear of the regi-

478 Minty and the Cavalry.
ment was, however, so hardly pressed that, in order to
save the command, Major Jordan, with one squadron,
leading it in person, delivered a saber charge. The charge
was successful in its object, but unfortunately the major's
horse was shot, and being th as dismounted, he, with four
teen of his men, was captured by the enemy. The loss
to the battalion was four killed and fourteen wounded,
all of whom were captured. Among the killed was Lieu
tenant Aaron Sullivan. This action, though a defeat to
the battalion, reflected great credit on the command, the
loss of the enemy being fifty-seven killed and one hun
dred and forty wounded.
Early in August, the regiment was re-united at Leba
non, Kentucky, the First battalion having been moved to
that place from Springfield, and the Second battalion re
called to it from Clarksville, Tennessee. On the 30th of
August, the disastrous battle of Richmond, Kentucky,
was fought, in which General Kirby Smith, with the ad
vance of Bragg' s army, attacked and defeated General
Nelson. After the battle, Nelson retreated, closely fol
lowed by the enemy. The regiment, under Colonel
Williams, with the Ninth Kentucky cavalry, covered this
retreat, and were engaged for over ten days in an almost
incessant battle with the celebrated Scott brigade, of
rebel cavalry, commanded by Generals Scott and Jen
kins, respectively, which force formed the advance guard
of General Smith's force, and was active and exceed
ingly aggressive, attacking incessantly, in the effort to
break the rear guard and strike the retreating column.
At Shelbyville, Kentucky, Colonel Williams, with the
Ninth Pennsylvania, delivered a brilliant counter-attack
on Jenkins' command, cutting it to pieces, and scattering
it all over the country, killing twenty-seven of the enemy
and capturing forty-four. After this defeat, the rebel

Campaign of 1862 — In Kentucky. 479
cavalry contented themselves in marching within easy
support of their infantry and artillery, and in foraging the
country in the rear of their lines of occupancy, and the re
treat to Louisville was not further interrupted. The reg
iment was, however, immediately on arriving at Louis
ville, dispatched toward the Green river, to open up com
munication with General Buell, who was advancing from
Tennessee. This duty was successfully accomplished, and
it returned to the city at the head of General Buell' s
army. After a short halt, the regiment took the extreme
advance of the army, skirmishing almost daily after pass
ing Bardstown, until, by its boldness and the persistency
of its attacks on Bragg' s rear, it brought on the battle of
Perryville, sustaining the brunt of the battle the first
afternoon and evening, until relieved by McCook' s corps.
It lost, in this action, ten killed and twenty- seven wound
ed. It was highly complimented in general orders, Gen
eral Buell stating, in his official report, that ' ' the Ninth
Pennsylvania cavalry behaved most bravely, being at one
time compelled to stand, for three quarters of an hour,
under the concentrated fire of three batteries of the en
emy's artillery, and only retiring when ordered to do so."
Soon after the battle of Perryville, the regiment was
ordered to Louisville, Kentucky, for a remount of horses,
which being obtained, it marched, with the Second Mich
igan cavalry, from that place to Nicholasville, Kentucky,
and there joined the forces, under General Carter, de
signed to penetrate into East Tennessee in a raid against
the rebel railroad communications between Tennessee and
Virginia.
The Carter Raid.
On the 22d of December, 1862, under General Carter,
it left Nicholasville, and soon after, on the second day
out, all the commissary stores and ammunition were dis-

480 Minty and the Cavalry.
tributed to and among the men, the route being through
a country and over paths which were utterly impassable
for wagons of every kind, and it being injudicious to
lengthen the column by the addition of pack-mules.
After leaving a hamlet called Big Hill, the column
plunged into the defiles and deer-paths of the Pine, Cum
berland, and Clinch mountains, where, for the next ten
days, it wandered amid the dark and cheerless thickets,
moving in single file, in long, zigzag, sinuous paths and
water-courses ; up the steep and dangerous face of the
mountain, then winding, in devious ways, its descent into
some deep, dark gorge, where a ray of sunlight scarcely
ever penetrated ; passing for miles beneath the low-hang
ing branches of the interlocking pines and juniper ;
switched in the face by the long, whip-like branches of
the beech and hickory twigs; wet to the skin, day and
night; slipping on the frozen surface of the mountain
side; climbing over boulders and sliding down precipices;
for ten days and ten nights, without cessation, this weari
some way was pressed — swimming rivers, fording streams,
and shut out from all trace of civilization; buried in the
wildest solitude in the country, the horrors of this march
can neither be described or imagined. But on, ever on, the
only command being pressed from the front to the rear,
"close up, close up," in silence and in feelings of gloom,
born as the inevitable result of the surroundings, the
column pressed, for ten weary days and nights, until, in
the night of January 1, 1863, the advance, consisting of
the Ninth Pennsylvania, reached the Virginia and Ten
nessee railroad, at the bridge spanning the Watauga.
The position was defended by about one hundred of the
enemy, from the command of General Humphrey Mar
shall, holding a well-constructed line of intrenchments.
As soon as the position was developed, the regiment was

Capture of Bridges and Destruction of the Railroad. 481
dismounted, and the place carried by assault, the whole
force of the enemy captured, and the great bridge at once
destroyed. It being impossible to transport the prisoners
back to' Kentucky, they were paroled and directed to seek
their camps.
The command then moved promptly down the railroad,
destroying it as they went, for twelve miles, when the
bridge over the Holston river was reached. This bridge
was defended by two hundred and fifty men, also of
Marshall's command, sheltered by strong stockades and
entrenchments. The works were, however, promptly
stormed, by the command moving to the assault dis
mounted, and the entire rebel force captured. The bridge
over the Holston river and over a mile of trestle work be
yond it were thoroughly destroyed, and the road-bed and
railroad track torn up, when, having accomplished all
that could be done with the force under his command,
and being in the midst of a force of over ten thousand of
the enemy, now thoroughly roused by the damage in
flicted, General Carter recrossed the Cumberland moun
tains, at the point chosen for the advance, and returned
to Nicholasville, Kentucky, reaching that place on the
morning of January 14. The regiment lost in the attack
on the fortifications at the Holston bridge six killed and
twenty-five wounded. All the severely wounded were
left with the paroled prisoners, except Sergeant Ellis T.
Hamersly, who, although dangerously shot through the
thigh, refused to remain, and succeeded in keeping his
horse and returned with the column to Kentucky. So
deep was the chagrin of the enemy at this exploit, that
the rebel authorities relieved General Marshall from com
mand, and ultimately reduced him, under the operations
of the conscription laws, to the ranks. He was never
after entrusted with a command. The regiment, although
31

482 Minty and the Cavalry.
for the last hundred miles of its march without food and
forage, and nearly two thirds of the men coming in dis
mounted, returned to Nicholasville in good condition, the
number of captured animals nearly making up for the
number lost and abandoned.
Meanwhile, Colonel Williams, on the 9th of October,
resigned, and Lieutenant Colonel James died on the 15th
of January, 1863. Major Jordan, having been exchanged,
was, on the latter date, promoted to colonel of the regi
ment. Soon after its return from the "Carter raid," the regi
ment was ordered to Louisville, Kentucky, for a remount,
from whence it marched to Nashville, Tennessee, arriving
there on the 6th of February. On the 8th of February,
it proceeded to Franklin, Tennessee, and after a brisk en
gagement drove Forrest from the town, and occupying
the x^osition, became the right of the right wing of the
Army of the Cumberland. The position of the regiment
for the next eighteen days, holding, as it did, with about
three hundred men of the Second Michigan cavalry, this
advanced station, and confronted by nearly twelve thou
sand of the enemy's cavalry, under General Van Dorn,
at Thompson's station, but nine miles distant, was one
of extreme peril. It was only by the boldest of move
ments and constant daily attacks and demonstrations that
Colonel Jordan was able to so deceive the enemy as to
his force as enabled him to prevent the attack and de
struction of his whole command.
On the night of the 3d of March, a division of infantry,
with artillery, arrived at Franklin, and on the morning
of the 4th, a brigade, commanded by Colonel John Coburn,
advanced from Franklin to attack the enemy at Spring
Hill. In this movement Colonel Jordan, with the Ninth,
led the advance during the 4th, and that day had a brisk

At Franklin, Tenn.— Battle of Thompson's Station. 483
engagement, lasting from nine in the morning to three
in the afternoon, with a large part of Forrest's command,
driving the enemy steadily back to the hiUs near Thomp
son's station. In this day the regiment lost twelve killed
and fifty-one wounded. The next morning at daylight,
Colonel Coburn directed Colonel Jordan to move to the
right and clear the hills on that part of the field of the
enemy, there in position in force. Jordan advanced in
the face of a heavy fire, and, nearing the hills, ordered
Lieutenant Colonel Savage, with the First battalion, and
Major Detweiler, with the Second battalion, to charge.
This was done in the most gallant manner, and the posi
tion carried and secured. Colonel Coburn, directing
Jordan to hold his position and guard the trains and ar
tillery, moved his infantry brigade to a direct attack on
the station. Coburn soon became enveloped in the over
whelming force of Van Dorn's whole command, and, be
ing entirely surrounded and unable to deploy, his force
was cut to pieces and captured.
The enemy then advanced, in determined attack, on the
position held by Jordan, but, by stubborn fighting, he
succeeded in safely securing his own and the retreat of all
the artillery and trains, and parts of two regiments of
infantry, bringing in two hundred and twenty prisoners,
and all the wounded contained in the ambulances. For
its heroic conduct on this occasion, the regiment was hon
orably mentioned in special orders by General Rosecrans.
During the Tullahoma and Chickamauga campaigns,
the regiment was attached to the First brigade, First di
vision cavalry, commanded by General Mitchell. The gal
lant part taken by it in the battle of Shelbyville, Tennes
see, on June 27, has been already noted in this work. In
that desperate battle, Captain Gilbert Waters was killed.
Passing the Elk river, after the retreat of Bragg from Tul-

484 Minty and the Cavalry.
lahoma, it attacked his rear guard, on the right of the po
sition of the Second division, and materially assisted in
the successful crossing of General Turchin' s command.
While the Second division moved on Deckerd, the Ninth,
under Colonel Jordan, pushed forward to Cowan, at the
foot of the Cumberland mountains, and there defeated the
rear guard of Bragg" s army, capturing over two hundred
of the enemy.
Moving rapidly on the extreme right of McCook' s corps,
and holding the extreme right of the whole army, the reg
iment penetrated to the valley of the Coosa river, Georgia,
reaching the Ostenaula, near Rome, Georgia, on the 15th
of September; thence, marching on Lafayette, by way of
Summerville, it suddenly, on the 17th of September, ran
into the corps of Lieutenant General Longstreet, while on
the march from Dalton to Lafayette. Though surprised
and astounded at the presence of the enemy in force at
that place, the ground having previously been passed over
by our forces, Jordan, without any hesitation, ordered an
immediate attack and saber charge ! For over three miles,
the men of the Ninth hewed their way through the col
umn of the equally surprised and astonished enemy,
when finding, from prisoners taken, that it was Long-
street's men, from the army of North Virginia, he was en
gaged with, and that Bragg was about to fall, with crush
ing force, upon the scattered parts of Rosecrans' army,
Jordan charged back again, bringing out several huiidred
prisoners, and, by making a rapid march and wide detour,
rejoined McCook in front of Taylor's ridge, thus bringing
to General Rosecrans positive information that a part, at
least, of the rebel army of Virginia was in his immediate
front. During the great battle of Chickamauga — Septem
ber 18, 19, 20, 21— it formed the right of the army; and
on the defeat of McCook' s corps, closed in to the right of

Campaign of 1864 — In Tennessee. 485
General Thomas, defending his flank during the remainder
of the battle. It secured a complimentary notice from
General Thomas for its services on these occasions.
Moving, in the fall of 1863, into east Tennessee, it was
heavily engaged with the enemy in the battles of Dan-
dridge, New Market, Mossy Creek, and Fair Garden, cap
turing at the latter place the artillery of the enemy.
Soon after this engagement, January 1, 1864, it reenlisted
as a veteran organization, and on the expiration of its
veteran furlough, in May, 1864, returned from Pennsyl
vania to Louisville, Kentucky, with its full complement
of one thousand two hundred men. While waiting a re
mount of horses and for arms and equipments at Louis
ville, Kentucky, information was received that Morgan
was advancing on Frankfort, the capital of the State.
Colonel Jordan immediately moved his regiment, imper
fectly armed as it was, to the defense of the place, and
making a march of fifty-four miles in a single day and
night, succeeded in reaching and successfully defending
the place. During the summer of 1864, the regiment was
mainly employed in Kentucky, guarding the lines of com
munication of the army, but early in August it was or
dered to Nashville, and from thence to Chattanooga,
where it arrived on the 2d of September. It here was met
by an order from General Steadman to go in pursuit of
General Wheeler, who was moving over the mountains
into middle Tennessee. Pushing forward at a rapid
gait, it passed through McMinnville and arrived at Mur
freesboro' on the 5t... On the morning of the 6th, Major
D. H. Kimmel, being assigned to the command of the
regiment, moved rapidly twelve miles out the Woodbury
pike and attacked Dibrell' s brigade, of Wheeler's com
mand, with great fury, entirely defeated and routed him,
taking two hundred and ninety-four prisoners, and kill-

486 Minty and the Cavalry.
ing over one hundred, nearly all of whom fell beneath the
saber. Captain W. H. Longsdorf was conspicuous for
his gallantry on this occasion, he having charge of the
advance guard, and with Lieutenant Ewing and a squad
of twenty men, by a most daring counter-charge, defeated
a full regiment, when the enemy turned at bay near the
bridge. " By orders of General Thomas, Colonel Jordan
was now placed in command of all the cavalry in Ten
nessee, and the pursuit of the enemy continued, defeat
ing Wheeler's other brigade, commanded by General
Williams A. Woodbury, at dark on the 6th, and driving
him rapidly, by way of McMinnville, Sparta, and through
east Tennessee, out of the State. For these successful ope
rations Colonel Jordan was officially complimented in gen
eral orders by Generals Van Cleve, Milroy, and Steadman.
Under orders, the regiment marched to Marietta, Georgia,
where it joined General Sherman, and on the 14th of
November, being assigned to the First brigade, Third di
vision of cavalry, started with General Sherman on the
great march to the sea. Before starting on the ' ' great
march," General Sherman reviewed all the cavalry, on the
plains near Marietta, Georgia. On the occasion of the
review, General Sherman paid a handsome compliment to
the Ninth, and particularly to company L of that regi
ment. As this company, commanded by First Lieutenant
H. K. Myers, was passing, the general broke out with en
thusiasm, ' ' There ! there ! that company is perfect, it car
ries its sabers correctly ; the best that has passed yet !"
General Judson Kilpatrick, commanding all the cavalry
moving with the army, threw it in advance of the right
wing, on the roads leading directly toward Macon and
Milledge ville. On the 16th, being in the advance, it en
gaged the enemy's cavalry, under Wheeler, at the old
battle-field of Lovejoy station. After developing the line

March to the Sea — Lovejoy, Georgia. 487
and position, finding the enemy in strong force, the brig
ade was brought up to the support of the advance, and
dismounting, succeeded, after a sharp conflict of about
three hours' duration, in gaining a lodgment on the works,
when the Ninth, executing a left wheel, took the battery
in flank, capturing two guns and three hundred and
twenty prisoners. The guns captured were the same
which had been surrendered by General Stoneman to the
enemy, near Macon, when he made his disastrous raid in
that direction the preceding August ; and were immedi
ately manned by the regiment and retained by it until
the close of the war. The portion of the regiment en ¦
gaged in this gallant affair was commanded by Major
C. A. Appel, who handled the men with conspicuous tact
and judgment.
Approaching Macon on the 21st of November, the bri
gade attacked the defenses of that place, driving out the
enemy, then giving place to the infantry supports, moved
to the left, and taking the advance of Walcott' s brigade,
of Wood's division, moved on Griswold ville. When ar
riving at that place, the regiment suddenly found itself
confronted by Wheeler's whole command. After a severe
battle at Bear creek, the enemy defending his position
with great determination, a saber charge was delivered by
Jordan leading the Ninth with most signal success, en
tirely routing Wheeler's whole force and driving him
from the field ; inflicting such punishment on him, that
he did not venture to dispute the progress of the com
mand for several days, not until he was strongly re-in
forced. In this engagement, the regiment lost ninety-five
men killed and wounded. From Griswoldville, the com
mand moved rapidly on Milledgeville, after passing
through which place, it was thrown to the extreme left
flank of the army, demonstrating in the direction of

488 Minty and the Cavalry.
Augusta, until it reached the great falls of the Ogeechee;
where, crossing that river, it turned south-east, intend
ing to reach Millen, and release the Union prisoners
confined there. The rebel General Wheeler having re
peatedly failed in efforts to delay the march of the
column, or even inflict any appreciable damage on the cav
alry advance, by resistance offered in the day time, now
decided to essay a night attack ; accordingly, when the
column was near Waynesboro' , he made a sudden on
slaught on the camp of the Ninth during the night of
December 5th. The boys of the Ninth were, however,
not caught napping, but, receiving him at the picket line,
inflicted on him a bloody repulse. It being discovered at
Waynesboro' that the prisoners had been removed from
Millen, the regiment moved toward Louisville, Georgia,
in order to forma junction with General Baird's division
of infantry, at the crossing of the Ogeechee. Wheeler,
noticing the isolated position of the Ninth, holding the
rear of the column, made a desperate attack upon it at
Buckhead creek, with his whole force, in the confident
expectation of being able to cut it off, (the crossing was
difficult, and the* main, column some miles in advance at
the time.) Colonel Kimmel, however, knowing how to
deal with the enemy in exigencies of this nature, formed
two battalions of the regiment in charging column, faced
to the rear, and drawing saber, dashed back upon the
enemy, routing and driving him back some miles, when, re
calling his men, returned, and crossed the stream without
further interruption. After waiting two days at Louis
ville, and, being there joined by Baird's command, the
whole force moved again in the direction of Waynesboro' .
At Buckhead church, the cavalry met and defeated Di
brell' s division. When near Waynesboro', the enemy
were found, occupying a strong position behind breast-

Through South and North Carolina. 489
works, with elaborately constructed redans and artillery
in place, to sweep the approaches. The Ninth held the
center, the Ninth Ohio cavalry the right, the Fifth Ohio
cavalry the left; this front line being dismounted, while the
Third and Fifth Kentucky, and the Eighth Indiana were
formed, mounted, in reserve. The attack was made over
a beautiful undulating plain, and in less than half an
hour, the line of dismounted men carried the entrench
ments from one end to the other, and Wheeler, with the
entire rebel force, was routed and hurled in disordered
flight from the town, with the loss of several pieces of
artillery. The pursuit was continued until the enemy
were driven in the direction of Augusta, beyond Brier
creek, when the command faced to the right and moved
toward Savannah, which city it, with the army, occupied
on the 21st of December.
One month after entering the city, the regiment again
took the field, moving, with the brigade, on the left flank
of the army. Crossing the Savannah river at Sister's
ferry, it swept through South Carolina, by way of Rob-
ertsville, Barnwell, and Blackville; struck the Charleston
and Augusta railroad at the latter place, defeating the
enemy; then following the line of and destroying that road
toward Augusta, it encountered and defeated the com
bined forces of Wheeler and Hampton, at Polecat ponds,
near Aiken, and, without halting in its onward sweep,
moved on Columbia, the capital of the State. At Lex
ington, it captured Wheeler's rear guard, and, deflecting
to the right, struck the Columbia and Charlotte railroad
at Black Stakes station, defeating and driving off the
enemy's force there posted. Crossing the Catawba river
at Rocky Mount, it entered North Carolina, and, on the
morning of March 11, occupied Fayetteville.
On the 16th, the brigade encountered McLaws' division

490 Minty and the Cavalry.
of the rebel army at Averysboro', where it was heavily
engaged from six in the morning until two in the after
noon, defeating the hostile force and capturing several
pieces of artillery, a large number of prisoners, with
General Rhett, commanding the First brigade, South
Carolina artillery. In this action, Captain E. A. Han
cock lost a leg and Captain John Boal was killed, while
over ten per cent, of the regiment were either killed or
wounded. Colonel Jordan having been promoted to
brigadier general? and commanding the brigade, Colonel
Kimmel commanded the regiment during this entire cam
paign. On the 19th, the brigade, forming the left flank of the
Twentieth army corps, fought in the battle of Benton-
ville, from whence it marched to Goldsboro' .
On the 9th of April, the cavalry, taking the advance of
the army on Raleigh, was engaged in a sanguinary action
near the Neuse river. Assistant Surgeon James Moore
was here severely wounded through the body. Captain
James Ewing had his horse shot.
On the morning of the 13th, the brigade, General Jor
dan in command, received the surrender of Raleigh— the
capital of North Carolina — and the same day encountered
and defeated Hampton on the Hillsboro' road, driving
him, at a gallop, for ten miles to Morrisville, where Hamp
ton again attempting a stand, Kimmel formed column,
and, sounding the charge, dashed upon his lines, cut them
to pieces, and scattered the enemy, in broken fragments,
in every direction.
The pursuit was renewed the next day, but was brought
to a sudden halt, and the days of battle ended, by a flag
of truce, announcing that the rebel general, Joseph E.
Johnston, with all the insurgent forces east of the Mis
sissippi river, had surrendered to General Sherman.

Mustered out.

491

The war was over, and the regiment returned to Harris
burg, Pa., where it was disbanded, having been mustered
out of service on the 18th of July, 1865, at Lexington,
North Carolina.

CHAPTER XXX.
CONCLUSION
" Flag of the true heart's hope and home,
By loved hands to valor given,
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome,
And all thy hues were born in heaven.
# * * * * *
" Forever float that standard sheet,
Where breathes the foe but falls before us ?
With freedom's soil beneath our feet,
And freedom's banner streaming o'er us."
jHE war of the great rebellion was now over;
the arch-traitor of the age a prisoner; many
of the chief conspirators fugitives and wan
derers in foreign lands; the officers and men late arrayed
in armed hostility to the National authority prisoners of
war; the whole of the formidable armament of great and
small arms, ordnance and ordnance stores, captured and
in the possession of the United States Government. The
entire civic machinery by which the rebellion was inaugu
rated and continued — the so-called ''government of the
Confederate States of America " — entirely and completely
overthrown, destroyed, stamped out of existence. The
local State governments, as component parts of the rebel
"Confederacy," and being administered by active traitors
to the United States, fell with and were involved in the
common ruin of the paramount rebel authority. The en
tire monetary system of the people within the insurgent
territory, resting, as it did, on the laws enacted by the
rebel Congress and rebel State Legislatures, was destroyed,
Every business enterprise, including the field of labor, of
(492)

Results. 493
production, of manufacturing, of transportation, and of
consumption, having been involved in the fatal folds of the
serpent-like monster, Rebellion, was engulfed intheuni
versal wreck ; and the great wrong against humanity, the
heinous crime against every right of man, the " sum of all
villainies ' ' —the institution of American Slavery — having
been made the chief pretext for the conspiracy, and de
clared officially by the chief traitors to be the "corner
stone of their Confederacy," was finally and forever ex
tirpated and annihilated. Freedom to the bondsman, and
Nationality, Liberty, and the Union, one and inseparable,
having been emblazoned on the National standards, and
proclaimed by the official act of the President and com
mander-in-chief of all the National forces, in the face of
the world, was now, by the triumph of the National arms,
an accomplished fact. And the sun which set on the
wide-spread ruin and desolation of the broken pillars and
arches of the Confederate Bastile rose to greet the ac
claims of a redeemed, a disenthralled race, and gilded
with its light the purified, newly-garnished temple of lib
erty, standing, in its newly-completed splendor, a bright
and glorious realization of the fondest dreams of the early
founders of the Republic. The clank of the slave-chain,
the groans of the oppressed, the crack of the slave-driver's
whip, the horrors of the coffile and the barracoon, were
banished— and forever— from the land.
If the world never before saw so great, so powerful, a
rebellion against a national authority, it, in like manner,
never witnessed a triumph so complete, a subjugation so
absolute, a conquest so perfect : nor yet a magnanimity so
universal, a leniency so grand, or a treatment so merciful,
as that extended by the National authorities to its late
traitorous citizens. Not one life was taken as punish
ment for treason; not one cent's worth of property ex-

494 Minty and the Cavalry.
torted by force, and no punishment of imprisonment, or of
any kind, imposed on any on account of his participation
in the monster crime. But, on the contrary, those late in
arms were sent to their homes, their horses and private
property restored to them, horses and mules freely given
to the needy, rations and supplies gratuitously distrib
uted to the destitute ! Even the civic disabilities of the
most active and bitter hostiles were removed, and to-day
the rebel civilian, soldier, or officer — red-dyed though his
hands may be with loyal blood— sits in safety and honor
in the halls of our National Legislature, and frames the
laws by which the Nation's millions are governed and the
interests of those teeming millions conserved !
After the capture of Davis, no further military active
duties were required of the command, the regiments, ex
cept the detail of the Fourth Michigan sent with Davis,
remaining in the vicinity of Macon until the morning of
May 23, when the Fourth Ohio, Fourth Michigan, One
Hundred and Twenty-third Illinois, and Seventy -second
Indiana, left Macon for home, the Seventh Pennsylvania
and Fourth United States escorting them to the trains,
and bidding them ' l good-by, ' ' with cheers, hand-shakes,
and good wishes, but without speeches !
The days of battle, of marching, of the hardships of
campaigning were over, and the division was disbanded ;
the battle flags furled, the arms, so long and so well borne,
turned in, and the trappings of the soldier soon to give
place to the more somber and comfortable garb of the
citizen. The Seventh Pennsylvania was ordered to Eufaula, Ala
bama, where it remained until the 13th of August, when
it, too, was mustered out of service, and returning to Har
risburg, Pennsylvania, was paid off and discharged.
During the last campaign, the brigade had marched

General Wilson's Order. 495
from Louisville, Kentucky, to Macon, Georgia, a dis
tance of seven hundred and seventy-eight miles; had cap
tured the cities of Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, and
Columbus and Macon, Georgia. After a sharp battle at
each of these places, except Montgomery, had been vic
torious in every engagement, and had closed its most ex
traordinary military record by the capture of the rebel
chief. And now, in the proud consciousness of a sacred
duty well performed, it passed from sight and into his
tory. The following is General Wilson's order, disband
ing the division :

General Orders No. 39,
Headquarters Cavalry Corps, M. D. M.,
Macon, Georgia July 2, 1865.
To the Officers and Men of the Cavalry Corps, Military Division of the

Your corps has ceased to exist ! The rebellion has terminated in the re-
establishment of your country upon the basis of nationality and perpetual
unity. Your deeds have contributed a noble part to the glorious result,
they have passed into history and need no recital from me. In the nine
months during which I have commanded you, I have heard no reproach
upon your conduct, — have had no disaster to chronicle I
The glowing memories of Franklin, Nashville, West Harpath, Ebenezer
Church, Selma, Montgomery, Columbus, West Point, and Macon may well
fill your hearts and mine with pride.
You have learned to believe yourselves invincible, and, contemplating
your honorable deeds, may justly cherish that belief. You may be proud
of your splendid discipline, no less than your courage, zeal, and endurance.
The noble impulses which have inspired you in the past will be a source of
enduring honor in the future. "Peace has her victories, no less renowned
than war." Do not forget that clear heads, honest hearts, and stout arms,
guided by pure patriotism, are the surest defense of your country in every
peril. Upon them depend the substantial progress of your race and order
of civilization, as well as the liberty of all mankind.
Let your example in civil life be an incitement to industry, good order,
and enlightenment, while your deeds in war shall live in the grateful re
membrance of your countrymen.
¦• Having discharged every military duty honestly and faithfully, return
to your homes with the noble sentiment of your martyr President deeply

496 Minty and the Cavalry.
impressed upon every heart : " With malice against none and charity for
all, strive to do the right as God gives you to see the right."
(Signed) James H. Wilson,
Brevet Major General.
It is proper, before bidding a final adieu to the South
ern, then rebel country, to give in brief some impressions
gathered from a more than three years' residence among,
and an extensive acquaintance with, the people of the
wide extent of country traversed.
The colored people were quiet, peaceable, and, in general,
the faithful guardians of their masters' property ; and,
while hailing the Union armies as their deliverers, and
ready at all times to aid in gaining information or act
ing as guides to the Union forces against the rebels, (no
matter at what personal risk or inconvenience,) never,
during the whole course of the war, in any locality we
visited, evinced any desire, inclination, or even thought,
of anything like a servile insurrection. They were, how
ever, always gratified when an opportunity presented it
self to feed, secrete, or aid a Union soldier. Their quiet,
docile disposition, and orderly, peaceable conduct dur
ing these long years of turmoil and bloodshed ; when,
over large tracts of country, the families and entire pro
perty of the insurgent citizens were left in their hands
and at their absolute mercy ; should have earned for them
the eternal gratitude of the rebels themselves ; and fur
nishes certainly one of the most remarkable instances of
self-control and high moral magnanimity ever witnessed
among the nations of the earth. Their conduct stands
without a parallel on the pages of history.
Of the whites, the most of the men were, of course, ab
sent in the rebel armies. Among the few that remained,
a latent spirit of Unionism was general, and in some lo
calities open and out-spoken — notably so in East Tennes-

Southern Women. 497
see— of ten met with in Middle Tennessee, North Alabama,
and North Georgia and practically absent in Central
Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. But while this latent
Unionism was general, it only went to the extent of dis
trusting the final success of "their cause." They were,
as a rule, openly avowed secessionists, and loud in their
protestations of devotion to the "Confederacy." There
was also a good deal of innate treachery in their mental
and moral make-up ! and we soon found that it took but
a few moments to transform the apparently quiet and
peaceable old farmer or planter into the sneaking bush
whacker, or the cruel, blood-thirsty guerrilla, if he
thought himself safe in so doing.
The women were in general far more intelligent than
the men ; they were almost universally politicians, of
the most ultra rebel school,— well posted in the line of
argument employed by the secessionists, and exceedingly
fond of expressing their "sentiments." They were good
talkers, and fond of hearing themselves talk ; and would,
with the most innocent sang froid, express the most san
guinary desire for our annihilation ; and the next instant,
if any one of the command was sick or wounded, with
the utmost kindness and solicitude, take care of and at
tend on him ; freely placing their houses and furniture at
the disposal of the command, at no matter what personal
iuconvenience to themselves ! They were, with all their
sanguinary sentiments, and bitter, unrelenting hatred to
the Yankees, the kindest of people to any one in suffer
ing. They would spy and go to almost any risk in ob
taining and conveying information to the rebels ; but
were ever ready, willing, ever anxious, to relieve the
sick, suffering, and wounded.
They were, besides, the most industrious people living.
For, while we saw thousands of idle men, we never, out-
32

498 Minty and the Cavalry.
side of the large cities, saw an idle woman. All through
that country, from Bowling Green, Kentucky, to Euf aula,
Alabama, and Macon, Georgia, in every house the loom
formed the most prominent and important article of fur
niture ! All the clothing for themselves, their children,
and their husbands, fathers, and brothers, whether at
home or absent in the "army," was made up by the
white women, literally and absolutely from the cotton
bulb to the finished article. These women carded and
spun the cotton ; wove the threads into cloth ; cut out
and made the clothing ; all under their own roofs ! They
also knit their own and their friends' stockings, after first
carding and spinning the cotton ! A large part of the
clothing of the rebel soldiers was made at home by these
faithful and busy women. As a rule, they did but little
cooking or house- work, that being the labor of the slaves;
but the picture that presents the Southern lady as loung
ing in luxuriant ease, day after day, too indolent to get
herself a glass of water, is utterly devoid of the sem
blance of truth, as far as pur experience and widely ex
tended observation went. This constant, unceasing, ac
tive industry was general and universal, regardless of the
circumstances of the party, the wife and daughter of
the richest planter being as busily employed, and, indeed,
more so than that of , the poorest corn-cracker. They
were very proud of their work, and their proficiency in
their work, and hundreds of times did they show their
" Yankee " visitors how the raw cotton was wrought by
their hands into the finished garment! Their "ma
chinery" was the ordinary, in many cases, clumsy, hand
cards— the old-fashioned spinning wheel— and the heavy,
clumsy, often home-made, carpet loom !
They were a universally religious, deeply moral, chaste,
modest, and virtuous people ; and we are proud to be able

Conclusion. 499
to record the fact that in all our marches, halts, camping,
or acquaintance with them, their high character was re
spected alike by our officers and our soldiers. No com
plaint was ever made that any man of our command ever
insulted, or in her presence said aught at which she could
take umbrage. Their perfect modesty and innocent con
fidence, joined to their supremely helpless condition, guar
anteed their safety. The women of the South were a
noble band of heroines, and while we oft were made to
feel the sting of their cutting tongues, we gladly bear tes
timony to their heroic worth.
And now, boys of the Old Brigade and Division, it has
been, I know, the wish of all of you to revisit, at some
time, the scenes of your conflicts and your triumphs.
The author has endeavored to trace your marches, day
by day, through the long years of the doubtful conflict,
and while, in a brief, plain statement, giving the record
of your deeds of daring and of prowess, to show to the
people of to-day the kind of men who struck down and
to the death the hydra-headed rebellion, and gave to
them and to their children a Nation, redeemed and dis
enthralled, in which internal peace and good order for
all time are assured. Never again will there be a rebel
lion against the power and government of the United
States ! While thus giving your record, we believe we
have also proven our proposition— that the cavalry is the
most powerful arm of the service, and the saber the cav
alryman's greatest weapon.
We are now old, and to the young generation of to-day,
the spectacle of a lot of gray-haired old daddies and
grand-daddies coming together and "getting crazy over
the old war memories, " is almost absurd— they "don't
know," boys; they "don't know," do they?
You are widely scattered over the whole country, but

500 Minty and the Cavalry.
this account we send you, and with it we greet you again.
May your last twenty years have been, and all your fu
ture yet be, as "happy and prosperous" as the four
herein described "were glorious," is the parting prayer
of your comrade, who now bids you a hearty, though re
luctant, good-by. JOSEPH G. VALE,
Late Captain 7th Penn' a Cav. , and Brigade Inspector.

APPENDIX

CHAPTER XXXI.
" Who is the happy warrior? Who is he
That every man in arms should wish to be ?
It is the generous spirit who when brought
Among the tasks of real life hath wrought.
*****
Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth
For ever, and to noble deeds give birth,
Or he must go to dust without his fame,
And leave a dead, unprofitable name,
Finds comfort in himself and in his cause :
And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws
His breath in confidence of Heaven's applause !
This is the Happy Warrior — this is he,
Whom every man in arms should wish to be I
FOURTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY— ROSTER.

- Wadsworth.

Abeel, Alfred, Dearborn; captain, August 13, 1862; taken
prisoner, near Nashville, Tennessee, December 21, 1862;
exchanged, May 6, 1863; wounded, in action, at Chicka
mauga, Georgia, September 19, 1863; resigned, July 9,
1864, and honorably discharged.
Anderson, Walter B., Adrian; first lieutenant, August
13, 1862; resigned, February 18, 1863, and honorably dis
charged. Armstrong, Charles T., Lansing; assistant surgeon, Feb
ruary 14, 1863: mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honora
bly discharged. (501)

502 Minty and the Cavalry.
Armstrong, Chester L., Lansing; chaplain, September
1, 1864; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably dis
charged. Arthur, Walter C, Detroit; first lieutenant and quar
termaster, July 29, 1862; captain and commissary of sub
sistence, United States volunteers, June 7, 1864; brevet
major and lieutenant colonel; mustered out, September
16, 1866, and honorably discharged.
Backus, Herbert A., Grand Rapids; entered service,
July 29, 1862, as sergeant company H; second lieutenant,
August 23, 1863; first lieutenant, November 26, 1864;
mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably discharged.
Bacon, John H, Lansing; assistant surgeon, July 26,
1862; surgeon, Sixteenth infantry, Michigan volunteers,
December 22, 1864; mustered out, July 9, 1865, and hon
orably discharged.
Bedtelyon, Jacob, Atlas; entered service, August 19,
1862, sergeant company K; second lieutenant, February
18, 1863; first lieutenant, September 13, 1863; wounded,
in action, at Cleveland, Tennessee, December 9, 1863,
while in command of a detachment on. courier duty; cap
tain, August 14, 1864; resigned, January 8, 1865, and
honorably discharged.
Bennett, John, Decatur; entered service, August 5,
1862, sergeant company C; second lieutenant, January 8,
1865; brevet first lieutenant, United States volunteers,
May 10, 1865. ' ' for meritorious service in the capture of
Jeff. Davis;" mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably
discharged. Bickford, Chancla M., Algensee; entered service, Au
gust 9, 1862, as corporal company G; second lieutenant,
August 27, 1864; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honor
ably discharged.
Boutelle, Henry S., Pittsfield; entered service, August

Roster, Fourth Michigan Cavalry. 503
11, 1862, as sergeant company B; second lieutenant, June
1, 1864; wounded, in action, at Roswell, Georgia, Sep
tember 26, 1864; first lieutenant, January 8, 1865; wound
ed at the capture of Jeff. Davis, May 10, 1865; brevet
captain, May 10, 1865, "for meritorious service at the
capture of Jeff. Davis;" mustered out, July 1, 1865, and
honorably discharged.
Buck, R. M., Lafayette; entered service, August 6,
1862, as sergeant company C; second lieutenant, Febru
ary 17, 1863; first lieutenant, February 25, 1864; captain,
January 8, 1865; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honor
ably discharged.
Burns, Robert, Lafayette; first lieutenant, August 13,
1862; adjutant, December 18, 1862; captain, March 31,
1863; major, December 11, 1864; brevet lieutenant colo
nel, United States volunteers, April 2, 1865, "for gallant
conduct during the assault on the enemy's works at
Selma, Alabama;' ' was, during the greater part of the term
of service, acting assistant adjutant general of the First
and Second brigades, and assistant adjutant general, Sec
ond division, on the staffs of Generals Long and Minty; was
repeatedly named and honorably mentioned in general
orders and official reports, for special gallantry in the face
of the enemy; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably
discharged. Present address, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
•Carter, Julius M., Ovid; second lieutenant, August 13,
1862; first lieutenant, December 24, 1862; wounded, in
action, at Kingston, Georgia. May 18, 1864; captain, July
9, 1864; breveted major, United States volunteers, March
13, 1865, "for gallant and meritorious service at Kings
ton, Georgia;" honorably discharged, for disability, May
17, 1865.
Clark, George W., Detroit; entered service, August 9,
1862, as commissary sergeant of regiment; second lieu-

504 Minty and the Cavalry.
tenant, February 15, 1864; first lieutenant, July 9, 1864;
mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably discharged.
Davis, Perry J., Allegan; entered service, August 6,
1862, sergeant, company L; first lieutenant and quarter
master, August 25, 1864; brevet captain, United States
volunteers, May 10, 1865, "for meritorious service in the
capture of Jeff. Davis;" mustered out, July 1, 1865, and
honorably discharged.
Dickenson, William H. ; first lieutenant, Third Michi
gan cavalry, September 7, 1861 ; captain, February 27,
1862; resigned, May 24, 1862; lieutenant colonel, Fourth
Michigan cavalry, September 1, 1862; resigned, February
18, 1863, and honorably discharged.
Dickinson, Julian G.', Jackson; entered service, July
11, 1862; sergeant major; first lieutenant and adjutant,
July 15, 1864; brevet captain United States volunteers,
May 10, 1865, ' ' for meritorious service in the capture of
Jeff. Davis;" mustered out, August 15, 1865, and honora
bly discharged. Address, Detroit, Michigan.
Duesler, Daniel, Quincy; first lieutenant, August 13,
1862; captain, February 1, 1863; honorably discharged,
for disability, June 27, 1863.
Duesler, Jeremiah, Coldwater; entered service, August
1, 1862, as sergeant company G; second lieutenant, Feb
ruary 18, 1863; resigned, April 21, 1864, and honorably
discharged. Eldridge, L. Briggs, Lapeer; first lieutenant, August
13, 1862; captain, February 18, 1863; major, November
24, 1864; mustered out. July 1, 1865, and honorably dis
charged; specially and honorably mentioned in official re
ports, for faithful discharge of duties and gallant con
duct. Fish, George W.. Flint; surgeon. July 26, 1862; pro
moted surgeon of First brigade. Second division, to sur-

Roster, Fourth Michigan Cavalry. 505
geon of division; mustered out, August 15, 1865, and
honorably discharged; commended in official reports for
faithful service.
Fish, George F., Flint; entered service, July 3, 1863;
sergeant company F; second lieutenant, July 21, 1864;
first lieutenant, December 10, 1864; mustered out, August
15, 1865, and honorably discharged.
Fisk, Charles W., Allgan ; entered service July 31,
1862, as sergeant company L, Fourth Michigan cavalry ;
second lieutenant, December 6, 1863 ; first lieutenant,
August 1, 1864 ; mustered out July 5, 1865, and honor
ably discharged.
Fountain, Cyrus H, Manchester: second lieutenant,
December 24, 1862; first lieutenant, April 23, 1863; resign
ed, January 28, 1864, and honorably discharged.
Grant, Horace D., Jackson; captain, August 13, 1862;
taken prisoner at Kingston, Georgia, May 18, 1864; ex
changed; major, February 23, 1864; resigned, December
11, 1864, and honorably discharged; honorably mention
ed in reports.
Gray, Horace, Grosse Isle; major, August 14, 1862; re
signed, February 22, 1864, and honorably discharged;
honorably mentioned in official' reports.
Green, Wesley A., Detroit; first lieutenant, August 13,
1862; resigned, January 23, 1863, and honorably dis
charged. Griffin, Levi T., Detroit; second lieutenant, December
18, 1862 ;first lieutenant, February 1, 1863; adjutant, April
15, 1863; captain, February 25, 1864; brevet major, United
States volunteers, March 13, 1865, "for gallant and mer
itorious service during the war;" mustered out, July 1,
1865, and honorably discharged; served, with distinction,
on the staff of General Minty.
Hadley, Simon B., Litchfield; entered service, August

506 Minty and the Cavalry.
13, 1862, as sergeant company G; second lieutenant, De
cember 21, 1864; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honor
ably discharged.
Hathaway, John C, Detroit; first lieutenant, January
23, 1863; captain, March 31, 1863; mustered out, July 1,
1865, and honorably discharged; specially and honorably
mentioned in official reports, for gallant conduct, and for
meritorious service, in the capture of Jeff. Davis.
Henion, Tunis W., Adrian; first lieutenant and adju
tant, September 1, 1862; captain, December 18, 1862; re
signed, August 13, 1864, and honorably discharged.
Heywood, Harvey S., Plymouth; entered service, July
28, 1862 ; sergeant company D ; second lieutenant, July
9, 1864 ; first lieutenant, December 21, 1864 ; brevet cap
tain United States volunteers, May 19, 1865, "for gallant
and meritorious service in the recent campaigns in Ala
bama and Georgia ;" mustered out, September 1, 1865,
and honorably discharged ; served with special distinc
tion as topographical engineer on the staff of General
Minty, being repeatedly named in official reports.
Houston, Joseph W., Paw Paw, first lieutenant Third
Michigan cavalry, September 7, 1861 ; resigned, January
12, 1862 ; major Fourth Michigan cavalry, September 1,
1862 ; resigned, August 23, 1863, and honorably dis
charged. Hudson, Charles T., Detroit ; entered service, July 12,
1862, as sergeant company B ; second lieutenant, January
23, 1863 ; first lieutenant, March 31, 1863 ; wounded in
action at Shelbyville, Tennessee, June 27, 1863 ; captain,
November 24, 1864 ; brevet major United States volun
teers, May 10, 1865, ' ' for meritorious service in the cap
ture of Jeff. Davis ;" brevet lieutenant colonel United
States volunteers, June 2, 1865 ; mustered out, August

Roster, Fourth Michigan Cavalry. 507
15, 1865, and honorably discharged ; named for distin
guished gallantry in general orders and official reports.
Hutchinson, Bickford P., Utica ; first lieutenant, Fourth
cavalry, August 13, 1862 ; resigned February 16, 1863,
and honorably discharged.
Isman, Aaron F. , Lafayette ; entered service, August
6, 1862, as sergeant company C ; second lieutenant, March
31, 1863 ; resigned, December 16, 1863, and honorably dis
charged. Kendall, Charles F., Kalamazoo ; entered service, Au
gust 12, 1862, as commissary sergeant company H ; dis
charged, December 10, 1863, to accept promotion in
Eleventh Michigan cavalry ; first lieutenant and commis
sary Eleventh Michigan cavalry, to rank from September
28, 1863 ; transferred to Eighth Michigan cavalry, July
30, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, Sep
tember 22, 1865.
Landon, George M., Monroe ; second lieutenant, De
cember 20, 1862; first lieutenant, February 18, 1863;
captain, December 11, 1864 ; mustered out, July 1, 1865,
and honorably discharged.
Lawton, George W., Antwerp ; second lieutenant, Au
gust 13, 1862 ; first lieutenant, January 25, 1863 ; captain,
August 23, 1863 ; wounded in action near Dallas, Georgia,
May 24, 1864; brevet major United States volunteers,
March 13, 1865, "for gallant and meritorious conduct in
action near Dallas, Georgia ;" mustered out, July 1, 1865,
and honorably discharged ; specially named in general
orders and official reports for distinguished gallantry.
Address, Antwerp, Michigan.
Leach, Wesley H., Lansing; entered service, August
12, 1861, as private First Michigan cavalry ; first lieuten
ant Fourth Michigan cavalry, December 19, 1862 ; captain,

508 Minty and the CavaUy.
March 31, 1863 ; resigned, August 24, 1864, and honora
bly discharged.
Mackey, Thomas, Detroit ; entered service, September
22, 1861, as sergeant company L, Third Michigan cavalry ;
discharged to accept promotion, January 15, 1863 ; second
lieutenant Fourth Michigan cavalry, March 1, 1863 ; first
lieutenant, March 31, 1863; captain, November 26, 1864;
mustered out, July 21, 1865, and honorably discharged.
Mann, Joshua W., Owasso ; first lieutenant, August
13, 1862 ; captain, March 31, 1863 ; resigned, August 1,
1864, and honorably discharged.
Melchor, Thaddeus W. , Paw Paw ; captain, August 13,
1862 ; resigned, March 31, 1863, and honorably dis
charged. Minty, Robert H. G., Detroit ; major Second Michigan
cavalry, September 2, 1861 ; lieutenant colonel Third
Michigan cavalry, September 7, 1861 ; colonel Fourth
Michigan cavalry, July 31, 1862 ; brevet brigadier general,
March 13, 1865, "for gallant and distinguished service ;"
brevet major general United States volunteers, March 13,
1865, ' ' for gallant and distinguished service during the
war ;' ' commanded with distinction the First brigade,
Second division cavalry, Army of the Cumberland, from
December, 1862, until about August 1, 1864 ; commanded
with special gallantry the Second division of cavalry dur
ing the Kilpatrick raid ; and again commanded the di
vision after General Long was wounded at Selma,
Alabama. The story of his wonderful services is fully
set out in this work, rendering a more extended notice
here not necessary. Mustered out, August 15, 1865, and
honorably discharged. Address, Ogden, Utah.
Mix, Frank W. , Allegan ; entered service, September
1, 1861, as sergeant company A, Third Michigan cavalry ;
promoted to second lieutenant Third Michigan cavalry,

Roster, Fourth Michigan Cavalry. 509
March 26, 1862 ; to first lieutenant, May 25, 1862 ; captain
Fourth Michigan cavalry, August 13, 1862 ; major, Feb
ruary 18, 1863 ; wounded in action at Lovejoy, Georgia,
August 20, 1864 ; commanded the regiment in many of
its important actions, and was repeatedly named in gen
eral orders and official reports for distinguished services
and special gallantry ; he was one of the men who could
always be depended upon; resigned on account of wounds,
November 24, 1864, and honorably discharged. Address,
New Britten, Connecticut.
Nash, Albert H., Paw Paw ; second lieutenant, Decem
ber 24, 1862 ; resigned, February 17, 1863, and honorably
discharged. Owen, Edward T. , Detroit ; entered service, August 9,
1862, as quartermaster sergeant ; promoted to second
lieutenant, February 18, 1863 ; first lieutenant, March 31,
1863 ; resigned, September 13, 1863, and honorably dis
charged. Palmer, John A., Chelsea ; entered service, May 1,
1861, as private company D, First Michigan infantry ;
mustered out, August 7, 1861 ; sergeant company E,
Fourth Michigan cavalry, July 19, 1862 ; second lieuten
ant, June 27, 1863 ; first lieutenant, June 12, 1864 ; mus
tered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably discharged.
Park, Josiah B., Ovid ; captain First Michigan cavalry,
August 22, 1861 ; wounded in, action at Winchester, Vir
ginia, March 23, 1862; major Fourth Michigan cav
alry, August 14, 1862 ; lieutenant colonel, February 18,
1863 ; resigned, November 26, 1864, and honorably dis
charged ; repeatedly named and highly commended in
official reports.
Parker, Thomas J., Allegan ; Second lieutenant, Au
gust 13, 1862 ; first lieutenant, February 18, 1863 ; re
signed, December 21, 1864, and honorably discharged.

510 Minty and the Cavalry.
Plimpton, Emory M., Niles ; captain, August 13, 1862;
resigned, March 31, 1863, and honorably discharged.
Porter, Edwin H., Kalamazoo ; first lieutenant and com
missary, August 15, 1862 ; resigned, January 23, 1864,
and honorably discharged.
Potter, Henry A., Ovid ; entered service, July 28, 1862,
as sergeant company B ; second lieutenant, February 16,
1863 ; first lieutenant, March 31, 1863 ; captain, August
1, 1864 ; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably dis
charged. Pritchard, Benjamin D., Allegan ; captain, August 13,
1862 ; wounded in action at Chickamauga, Georgia, Sep
tember 18, 1863 ; lieutenant colonel, November 26, 1864 ;
commanded the regiment with distinction and special gal
lantry during the greatest portion of its service ; brevet
brigadier general United States volunteers March 10, 1865,
' ' for faithful and meritorious service in the capture of
Jeff. Davis ;' ' repeatedly named in special commendation
in general orders and official reports ; mustered out, July
1, 1865, and honorably discharged. Address, Allegan,
Michigan. - .
Remington, Leonard C. , Adrian ; entered service, July
19, 1862, as sergeant, company F ; second lieutenant, No
vember 26, 1864 ; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honor
ably discharged.
Ripley, Lauren H. , Adrian ; entered service, May 1,
1861, as private company K ; First Michigan infantry ;
mustered out, August 7, 1861 ; sergeant company K,
Fourth Michigan cavalry, August 8, 1862 ; second lieuten
ant, September 13, 1863 ; first lieutenant, March 28, 1864;
mustered out, July 1, 1865,' and honorably discharged.
Rix, John, Clinton ; entered service, August 15, 1862,
as private company B ; second lieutenant, January 29,

Roster, Fourth Michigan Cavalry. 511
1863 ; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably dis
charged. Rowe, Aaron, Niles ; second lieutenant, August 13,
1862 ; resigned, September 20, 1864, and honorably dis
charged. Simpson, John H. , Allegan ; entered service, July 26,
1862, as sergeant company L ; second lieutenant, March
31, 1863 ; first lieutenant, August 23, 1863 ; captain, De
cember 10, 1864 ; mustered out and honorably discharged,
July 1, 1865 ; honorably named in official reports ; espe
cially distinguished for faithful services at Chickamauga,
Georgia, September 18, 1863.
Southworth, Lorenzo T., Ovid ; entered service, July 28,
1862, as sergeant company B ; second lieutenant, Decem
ber 10, 1864 ; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably
discharged. Stone, George R. , Allegan ; second lieutenant, March
1, 1863, first lieutenant and quartermaster, March 18,
1863 ; captain, August 25, 1864 ; mustered out, July 1,
1865, and honorably discharged.
Tolton, Joseph B. , Manchester ; entered service, May
1, 1861, as private company D, First Michigan infantry,
mustered out, August 7, 1861 ; captain Fourth Michigan
cavalry, August 13, 1862 ; resigned, December 10, 1864,
and honorably discharged.
Van Antwerp, William W., Jackson; second lieuten
ant, August 13, 1862 ; first lieutenant, December 18, 1862;
captain, June 27, 1863 ; brevet major United States vol
unteers, April 2, 1865, for "gallant and meritorious servi
ces in the recent campaign in Tennessee, Alabama, and
Georgia ;" mustered out, July 2, 1865, and honorably dis
charged. Vernor, James, Detroit; entered service, August 14,
1862 as hospital steward ; second lieutenant, September

512 Minty and the Cavalry.
20, 1864 ; mustered out, July 1, 1865, and honorably dis
charged. Wells, Allen G., WeUsville ; captain, August 13, 1862;
resigned, March 31, 1863, and honorably discharged.
Wood, Arthur, Grand Rapids ; second lieutenant, Au
gust 13, 1862 ; resigned December 24, 1863, and honorably
discharged. Officers killed in action,  1
Died of wounds,  2
Died of disease,  1
Total died,  4
Men killed in action,  31
Died of wounds,  13
Died of disease,  327
Total enlisted men,  371
Total deaths,  375
SEVENTH PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY— ROSTER.
Andress, James F. ; November 4, 1861, as captain com
pany G ; promoted to major, March 11, 1864, for faithful
services ; to lieutenant colonel, February 13, 1865, for dis
tinguished services in the field ; mustered out and honora
bly discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Allen, William J. ; September 28, 1861, as private com
pany A ; to sergeant ; to battalion adjutant, January
1, 1862 ; honorably discharged, September 9, 1862 ; office
abolished. Allison, James ; October 2, 1861, as private company E ;
to quartermaster sergeant ; promoted to first lieutenant
company E, April 15, 1862 ; resigned, May 4, 1863 ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged.

Roster, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. 513
Best, Harvey H. ; October 20, 1861, as second lieutenant
company E ; died at Bardstown. Kentucky, March 5,
1862. Bricker, Henry L. ; October 2, 1861, as private company
E ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to second lieu
tenant on account of faithful services, July 24, 1865 ; not
mustered ; mustered out and honorably discharged with
regiment, August 23, 1865.
Boyer, Val. K. ; November 7, 1861, as private company
F ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to second lieu
tenant company F, November 2, 1864 ; to first lieutenant,
company F, December 18, 1864, on account of faithful
services ; resigned, March 20, 1865 ; mustered out and hon
orably discharged.
Boone, Clinton W. ; October 31, 1861, as private com
pany H ; promoted to second lieutenant, company H,
March 11, 1864, for distinguished gallantry ; to first lieu
tenant, October 16, 1864; to captain, February 13,
1865 ; discharged, May 16, 1865, to accept promotion ; re-
commissioned, June 12, 1865, brevet major United States
volunteers, for distinguished services ; mustered out with
regiment and honorably discharged, August 23, 1865; ad
dress, Kingston, Pennsylvania.
Bateman, William O. ; February 27, 1864 ; private com
pany L ; promoted to second lieutenant, company K, De
cember 17, 1864 ; to first lieutenant, July 24, 1865 ; not
mustered ; mustered out and honorably discharged with
regiment, August 23, 1865.
Bechtel, Albert; December 18, 1861, as second lieuten
ant company L ; wounded, July 1, 1862 ; resigned, Au
gust 18, 1862 ; mustered out and honorably discharged.
° Brandt, Charles D.; December 21, 1861, promoted to
second lieutenant company M ; March 9, 1864 ; to first
lieutenant, September 16, 1864 ; to captain company M,
33

514 Minty and the Cavalry.
December 1, 1864 ; wounded at Flat Rock, Georgia, July
28, 1864.
Burge, John D. ; October 22, 1861, as private company
F ; promoted to batallion quartermaster, January 1, 1862 ;
discharged, May 12, 1862 ; office abolished.
Breckbill, Michael; October 9, 1861, as private company
D ; promoted to quartermaster sergeant of company ; to
second lieutenant company, February 1, 1865 ; to first
lieutenant and commissary, August 10, 1865 ; mustered
out with regiment and honorably discharged, August 23,
1865. Address, Danville, Pennsylvania.
' Bretz, George B. ; July 24, 1865, as Assistant Surgeon ;
mustered out with regiment, and honorably discharged,
August 23, 1865 ; address, Brooklyn, New York.
Bryson, James; October 31, 1861, as captain company
D ; died at Louisville, Kentucky, April 1, 1862, of disease
contracted during the terrible march through Kentucky ;
the efficiency of company D was largely due to his care
and discipline.
Bryson, Samuel C. ; October 9, 1861, as private company
D ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to second
lieutenant, January 9, 1865 ; to first lieutenant company
D, February 13, 1865 ; to captain company D, August 10,
1865, for distinguished services in the capture of Selma ;
mustered out and honorably discharged with regiment,
August 23, 1865.
Calkins, Henry D.; November 1, 1861, as private com
pany C ; to sergeant ; to quartermaster sergeant ; pro
moted to second lieutenant, June 24, 1863, for faithful
services ; resigned, July 24, 1864 ; mustered out and hon
orably discharged.
Castles, Joseph ; October 9, 1861, as first lieutenant
company D ; died at Munfordville, Kentucky, March
13, 1862.

Roster, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. 515
Childes, James W.; October 12, 1861, as second lieu
tenant company G ; promoted to first lieutenant company
G, March 26, 1862; captured at Murfreesboro', Tennessee,
July 13, 1862 ; resigned, April 24, 1864 ; mustered out and
honorably discharged.
Conner, Cyrus L.; February 25, 1864; promoted to
second lieutenant, December 17, 1864 ; to captain, June
9, 1865 ; to major One Hundred and Thirty-seventh regi
ment United States colored troops.
Collins, William H. ; September 23, 1861, as private
company K ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant,
December 18, 1864, on account of special gallantry in the
field ; to captain company K, August 10, 1865, on account
of distinguished services ; brevet major United States vol
unteers for gallantry in the capture of Selma, Alabama ;
mustered out and honorably discharged with the regiment,
August 23, 1865. Address, Wellsville, Kansas.
Carl, John ; September 28, 1861, as private company
A ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; brevet lieutenant
United States volunteers for distinguished services at
Selma, Alabama, April 2, 1865 ; mustered out and hon
orably discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Crinnian, James A.; November 28, 1861, as private
company I ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; brevet lieu
tenant United States volunteers, for distinguished services
at Selma, Alabama, April 2, 1865 ; mustered out and hon
orably discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Dixon, Samuel C; November 4, 1861, as private com
pany G ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to sec
ond lieutenant company G, February 3, 1863 ; mustered
out, December 14, 1864, expiration of term ; commissioned
captain company C, February 27, 1865, on account of dis
tinguished services in the field ; mustered out and hon
orably discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865.

516 Minty and the Cavalry.
Dennings, Joseph H. ; November 7, 1861, as private
company F ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to
second lieutenant company F, April 22, 1864, not mus
tered ; mustered out and honorably discharged, December
5, 1864, on account of expiration of term.
Davis, Charles C. ; September 1, 1861, as captain com
pany I ; captured July 1, 1862 ; promoted major, July 1,
1863, on account of distinguished gallantry at Unionville
and Shelbyville, Tennessee ; specially distinguished and
honorably mentioned in official reports ; resigned, Sep
tember 16, 1864, on account of expiration of term of ser
vice ; mustered out and honorably discharged. Address,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Dartt, Benjamin S. ; September 28, 1861, as captain
company C ; wounded at Shelbyville, Tennessee, June
27, 1863 ; promoted to major, February 13, 1865, on ac
count of distinguished faithful services ; mustered out
and honorably discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865 ;
died, 1886.
Drake, Reuben ; November 1, 1861, as chaplain ; re
signed, December 10, 1862.
Dartt, Albert J. B. ; November 1, 1861, as private com
pany C ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to first
lieutenant company C, December 18, 1864, on account of
faithful services ; mustered out and honorably discharged
with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Essington, John M. ; November 14, 1861, as captain com
pany B ; captured at Murfreesboro' , Tennessee, July 1 3,
1862 ; honorably discharged, October 17, 1862.
Essington, Heber B. ; November 14, 1861, as private
company B ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant,
June 25, 1862 ; to first lieutenant company K, March 1,
1864, not mustered ; resigned, May 2, 1864 ; mustered out
and honorably discharged.

Roster, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. 517
Einstine, William ; December 5, 1862, as first lieuten
ant company M ; captured and wounded at Murfreesboro',
Tennessee, July 13, 1862 ; resigned, March 21, 1863 ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged.
Eighmey, Lewis ; November 1, 1861, as private com
pany C ; to sergeant ; to commissary sergeant ; to first
sergeant ; brevet lieutenant United States volunteers on
account of distinguished services at Selma, Alabama,
April 2, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged
with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Fisk, Richard H. ; November 14, 1861, as private com
pany F ; promoted to battalion quartermaster, July 1,
1862 ; discharged May 12, 1862 ; recommended and pro
moted second lieutenant company L, March 1, 1864, for
distinguished gallantry at Rome, Georgia, October, 1864 ;
mustered out and honorably discharged with regiment,
August 23, 1865. Address, Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
Frazier, George T. ; October 12, 1861, as private com
pany K ; to sergeant ; promoted to first lieutenant and
commissary of subsistence, February 15, 1865 ; mustered
out and honorably discharged, May 21, 1865.
Foote, William ; October 1, 1861, as first lieutenant
company G ; resigned, March 25, 1862 ; mustered out and
honorably discharged.
Foley, Shadrack, March 30, 1861, as second lieutenant
company H ; resigned, March 7, 1862 ; mustered out and
honorably discharged.
Fields, John C. ; December 21, 1861, as first lieutenant
company I ; resigned, January 28, 1863 ; mustered out
and honorably discharged.
Given, James ; December 20, 1861, as major ; captured
at Lebanon, Tennessee, May 5, 1862 ; resigned, March 31,
1863 ; died.
Greeno, Charles L.; November 1, 1861, as lieutenant

518 Minty and the Cavalry.
company C ; promoted to captain company H, March 1,
1863, for faithful services in the field ; to major, Febru
ary, 1865, for distinguished services ; to brevet lieutenant
colonel, to date from April 2, 1865, on account of special
bravery and distinguished services in the battle of Selma,
Alabama ; mustered out and honorably discharged with
regiment, August 23, 1865 ; served with distinction on the
staff of General Minty, as inspector. Address, Cincin
nati, Ohio.
Garrett, William C. ; November 20, 1861, as first lieu
tenant company H ; promoted to captain company B, De
cember 18, 1862 ; resigned, December 18, 1864, on account
of expiration of term ; mustered out and honorably dis
charged? Address, Topeka, Kansas.
Grier, William N.; November 4, 1861, as private com
pany G ; to corporal ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant; pro
moted to first lieutenant company G, May 1, 1865, on ac
count of distinguished service at Selma, Alabama ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged with regiment, Au
gust 23, 1865.
Garrett, Benjamin F. ; November 20, 1861, as private
company H ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant
company H ; to first lieutenant company H, December 19,
1862 ; resigned, March 26, 1863 ; mustered out and honor
ably discharged.
Getchey, John ; November 20, 1861, as private com
pany H ; to sergeant; promoted to second lieutenant com
pany H, December 1, 1864 ; to first lieutenant, February
13, 1865, on account of faithful services; resigned, March
18, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged.
Geety, Frederick H. ; September 9, 1861, as private com
pany I ; to sergeant ; promoted second lieutenant com
pany I, March 1, 1863, for special gallantry ; wounded,
December 11, 1862 ; promoted to captain company K,

Roster, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. 519
November 15, 1864 ; not mustered ; honorably discharged,
January 12, 1865.
Gerald, Ottis G. ; December 7, 1861, as private company
L ; to first sergeant ; promoted to first lieutenant com
pany L, February 13, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably
discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Graham, James L. ; December 5, 1862, as second lieu
tenant company M ; resigned, April 30, 1863 ; mustered
out and honorably discharged.
Hartranf t, Uriah C. ; October 9, 1861, as private com
pany D ; promoted to second lieutenant company H, May
1, 1863, for distinguished gallantry ; to captain company
D, February 13, 1865, for faithful services in the field ;
to major, August 10, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably
discharged with regiment, August 25, 1865.
Hezlep, William B. ; June 27, 1863, as surgeon ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged with regiment, Au
gust 23, 1865.
Harris, George F. ; March 29, 1864, as assistant surgeon;
resigned, September 20, 1864.
Hillier, JohnE. ; November 1, 1861, as first lieutenant
company C ; resigned, February 18, 1863 ; mustered out
and honorably discharged.
Hermans, Chauncey C; November 1, 1861, as private
company C ; to first sergeant, promoted to first lieuten
ant company C, July 1, 1863 ; killed at Lovejoy, Georgia,
August 21, 1864.
Henderson, James S.; October 31, 1861, as private com
pany D ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to
second lieutenant, October 31, 1862 • died at Murfreesboro',
Tennessee, August 19, 1863.
Hays, William E. ; October 2, 1861, as private company
E- to sergeant ; to quartermaster sergeant ; promoted to
second lieutenant, May 1, 1865, on account of faithful ser-

520 Minty and the Cavalry.
vices ; to first lieutenant company E, August 10, 1865 ;
brevet captain, to date from December 15, 1864 ; mustered
out and honorably discharged with regiment, August 23,
1865. Address, Watsontown, Pennsylvania.
Hinkson, Washington M. ; November 6, 1863, as pri
vate company G ; to corporal ; promoted to captain com
pany G, March 14, 1865 ; discharged, May 14, 1865 ; re-
commissioned May 14, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably
discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Hibler, Samuel ; November 30, 1861, as captain com
pany H; resigned, February 16, 1863; mustered out and
honorably discharged.
Hutton, Jesse K. ; September 18, 1861, as private com
pany K; to sergeant ; to first sergeant; promoted to second
lieutenant company K, July 1, 1863 ; discharged, April
30, 1864.
Herr, George M. ; November 28, 1863, as private com
pany K ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to
second lieutenant company K, July 24, 1865 ; not mus
tered ; mustered out and honorably discharged with regi
ment, August 23, 1865 ; brevet first lieutenant United
States volunteers for special gallantry at Selma, Ala
bama. Hartranft, William A. ; October 9, 1861, as private com
pany D ; to sergeant ; to commissary sergeant ; to first
sergeant ; promoted to first lieutenant company D, July
24, 1865, on account of distinguished gallantry at Selma.
Alabama, April 2, 1865 ; not mustered ; mustered ont
with regiment and honorably discharged, August 23, 1865.
Inhoff, Edward P.; January 4, 1864, private company
M ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant company
B, December 8, 1864 ; to captain company E, February
13, 1865 ; mustered out with regiment and honorably dis-

Roster, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. 521
charged, August 23, 1865; died at Winona, Minnesota,
1877. Jennings, William H., September 28, 1861, as captain
company A; promoted to major, July 26, 1863, on account
of distinguished gallantry at Rover, Tennessee; mustered
out and honorably discharged, December 16, 1864 — ex
piration of term.
Jung, Theodore J.; January 1, 1863, as assistant sur
geon; mustered out and honorably discharged with the
regiment, August 23, 1865. Address, Titusville, Penn
sylvania. Jones, John D. ; September 28, 1861, as second lieuten
ant company A; promoted to first lieutenant company A,
July 26, 1863; mustered out and honorably discharged,
December 6, 1864, on account of expiration of term.
Jenkins, William; October 22, 1861, as private company
F; to sergeant; promoted to second lieutenant company
F, December 18, 1864, for distinguished services in the
field; to captain company F, August 10, 1865; mustered
out and honorably discharged with regiment, August 23,
1865. Kitchen, George F. B. ; September 2, 1861 ; private com
pany A; promoted to sergeant; to first lieutenant and
quartermaster, December 7, 1864; to captain company A,
August 10, 1865, on account of distinguished faithful
services in the field; mustered out and honorably dis
charged with the regiment, August 23, 1865.
Kelly, Peter F; September 28, 1861, as private company
A; to sergeant; promoted to second lieutenant company
A, February 13, 1865, for distinguished faithfulness; mus
tered out and honorably discharged with regiment, Au
gust 23, 1865.
Keith, Isaac S. ; September 3, 1861, as private company
I: to sergeant; promoted to first lieutenant company I,

522 Minty and the Cavalry.
for distinguished gallantry in action, June 9, 1865; mus
tered out and honorably discharged with regiment, Au
gust 23, 1865.
Long, Jones F. ; October 27, 1861, as private company
K; to sergeant; to first lieutenant company B> June 27,
1864; to captain company B, December 18, 1864; wounded
at Chickamauga, September 21, 1863; mustered out and
honorably discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Leidy, John; October 29, 1861, as first lieutenant
company E; resigned, April 4, 1862; mustered out and
honorably discharged.
Lutz, Henry H. ; September 3, 1861, as second lieuten
ant company I; died at Nashville, Tennessee, November
29, 1862.
McCormick, Charles C. ; October 9, 1861, as captain com
pany L; promoted to colonel, January 10, 1865, on ac
count of distinguished faithful services; to brevet briga
dier general, March 3, 1865, on account of special services
in the battle of Selma, Alabama, April 2, 1865; mustered
out and honorably discharged with regiment, August 23,
1865; died, 1883.
McQuade, William J.; September 23, 1861, as private
company H; promoted battalion quartermaster, January
1, 1862; discharged, May 23, 1862.
Mosen, Richard F. ; November 5, 1861, as adjutant;
wounded at Lebanon, Tennessee, May 5, 1862; promoted
captain company D, May 2, 1862; not mustered; resigned,
January 21, 1863, to accept promotion in the Twentieth
Pennsylvania cavalry; mustered out and honorably dis
charged. McFadden, M. S. ; November 14, 1861, as private com
pany B; to sergeant; promoted to second lieutenant com
pany B, May 23, 1862; resigned, June 25, 1862; mustered
out and honorably discharged.

Roster, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. 523
McGhee, John C. ; October 2, 1861, as second lieutenant
company E; resigned, January 23, 1863; mustered out
and honorably discharged.
Mooney, Hugh B.; November 4, 1861. as private com
pany G ; to sergeant ; to quartermaster ; promoted to
second lieutenant company G, March 25, 1862 ; resigned,
February 3, 1863 ; mustered out and honorably dis
charged. M'Cay, John C. ; November 4, 1861, as private company
G ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to second
lieutenant company G, December 15, 1864, for faithful
services; captured at Murfreesboro' , Tennessee, July 13,
1862; mustered out and honorably discharged with regi
ment, August 23, 1865.
M' Govern, Thomas ; as private company H ; to first ser
geant ; promoted to second lieutenant company H, June
9, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged with
regiment, August 23, 1865.
M'Allister, George W. ; September 3, 1861, as private
company I ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant
company I, December 11, 1862 ; to first lieutenant, March,
1863 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, December
31, 1864, on account of expiration of term.
Mitchell, James T. ; November 26, 1861, as private com
pany I ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant com
pany I, June 9, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably dis
charged with regiment, August 23, 1865.
May, David G. ; November 4, 1861, as captain company
K ; killed at Chickamauga, September 21, 1863.
Milmore, Samuel ; October 14, 1861, as private com
pany L ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; brevet lieutenant
United States volunteers, for distinguished services at
Selma, Alabama ; mustered out and honorably discharged,
August 23, 1865. Address, Reading, Pennsylvania.

524 Minty and the Cavalry.
Newcomer, John T. ; October 31, 1861, as second lieu
tenant company D ; promoted to first lieutenant company
D, March 17, 1862 ; to captain company D, May 31, 1862,
for faithful services ; mustered out and honorably dis
charged, October 31, 1864, on account of expiration of
term. Nixon, Edward F. ; October 2, 1861, as private com
pany E ; to sergeant ; to commissary sergeant ; promoted
to second lieutenant company E, July 1, 1863 ; dismissed
the service under the circumstances previously in this
work narrated, while a prisoner of war, December 7, 1864.
Died. Newlin, Cyrus ; October 25, 1861,< as captain company
F ; wounded at Sparta, Tennessee, August 17, 1863 ; cap
tured at Noonday creek, Georgia, June 20, 1864 ; dis
tinguished for special gallantry at Noonday creek,
Georgia ; promoted to major of the regiment, October 15,
1864 ; being a prisoner of war, was not mustered ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged with brevet of major
United States volunteers, April 1, 1865.
Price, David I.; September 28, 1861, as private com
pany A ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant
company A, July 26, 1863 ; wounded at Rover, January
31, 1862 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, Decem
ber 19, 1864, on account of expiration of term.
Partington, Wm. ; November 20, 1861, as private com
pany H ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant
company H, December 19, 1862 ; to first lieutenant com
pany H, July 1, 1863 ; resigned, September 17, 1864 ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged.
Parker, Alexander M. ; January 4, 1864, as private
company M ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to
first lieutenant company M, December 19, 1864 ; brevet
captain United States volunteers, on account of distin-

Roster, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. 525
guished services at Selma, Alabama, April 2, 1865 ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged with regiment, Au
gust 23, 1865. Died at Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Quaid, David J. ; November 14, 1861, as private com
pany B ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; brevet lieutenant
United -States volunteers, on account of distinguished ser
vices at Selma, Alabama, April 2, 1865 ; mustered out
and honorably discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Reilly, Bernard, junior; November 18, 1861, as second
lieutenant company F; promoted to first lieutenant com
pany F, July 1, 1863; wounded at Chickamauga, Georgia,
September 21, 1863; resigned, April 21, 1864; mustered
out and honorably discharged.
Rank, D. Webster; October 9, 1861, as private com
pany D; to sergeant; to sergeant major of regiment;
promoted to first lieutenant company M, May 1, 1863; to
captain company M, September 15, 1864; not mustered;
mustered out and honorably discharged, December 16,
1864, on account of expiration of term. Address, Lime-
stoneville, Pennsylvania.
Rickert, Thomas H. ; September 28, 1861, as first lieu
tenant and quartermaster; mustered out and honorably
discharged, on account of expiration of term, November
5, 1864. Address, Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
Reed, John B. ; September 28, 1861, as sergeant com
pany F; promoted to battalion quartermaster, January 1,
1862; to first lieutenant and commissary of subsistence,
October 15, 1862; dismissed, November 1, 1863.
Rittenhouse, C. A.: March 4, 1864, as chaplain; re
signed, May 1, 1865.
Rhoads, Amos B. ; November 14, 1861, as first lieuten
ant company B; captured at Murfreesboro', July 13,
1862; killed at Shelbyville, Tennessee, June 27, 1863.
Rich, John M.; August 18, 1863; private company F;

526 Minty and the Cavalry.
to sergeant; promoted second lieutenant company B, Feb
ruary 13, 1865, on account of distinguished services; mus
tered out with regiment, and honorably discharged, Au
gust 23, 1865.
Rank, Jesse B. ; October 31, 1861, as private company
D; to sergeant; to regimental quartermaster sergeant;
promoted to second lieutenant company D, January 11,
1864, for faithful services; to first lieutenant company D,
December 1, 1864; not mustered; mustered out and hon
orably discharged, January 6, 1865, on account of expira
tion of term. Address, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Sipes, William B. ; mustered August 21, 1861, as lieu
tenant colonel Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry ; promoted
to colonel, July 26, 1863, on account of faithful services;
resigned, November 30, 1864 ; mustered out and honora
bly discharged. Address, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Seibert, James J. ; mustered November 14, 1861, as ma
jor Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry ; captured at Murfrees
boro', Tennessee, July 13, 1862; promoted to lieutenant
colonel, July 26, 1863, on account of faithful services ;
mustered out and honorably discharged, January 13, 1865.
Steahlin, George F. ; November 14, 1861, as private
company F ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; to adjutant,
February 20, 1863, for faithful services ; to captain com
pany E ; not mustered ; resigned, October 31, 1864, on ac
count of expiration of term ; mustered out and honor
ably discharged. Address,' Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.
Speer, Alexander M. ; November 14, 1861, as major and
surgeon ; promoted to surgeon United States volunteers,
June 1, 1863 ; mustered out and honorably discharged.
Address, 212 Penn avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Sherk, John L. ; November 4, 1861, as lieutenant and
assistant surgeon, promoted to major and surgeon, June

Roster, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. 527
23, 1863; murdered by guerrillas at Bardstown, Ken
tucky, December 29, 1864.
Shimer, Reuben S. ; August 4, 1862, as assistant sur
geon ; discharged March 20, 1863. .
Shutt, Edward H. ; September 28, 1861, as private com
pany A; promoted to first lieutenant company A, Decem
ber 18, 1864, on account of special gallantry in action ;
mustered out and honorably discharged with regiment,
August 23, 1865.
Sommers, John H. ; November 14, 1861, private com
pany B; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant, May
2, 1864 ; to first lieutenant company B, December 19,
1864 ; mustered out and honorably discharged with regi
ment, August 23, 1865. Address, Manocton, Bradford
County, Pennsylvania.
Stevens, Nathaniel B. ; November 14, 1861, as second
lieutenant company B ; resigned March 26, 1862 ; mustered
out and honorably discharged.
Sims, William R. ; November 1, 1861, as private com
pany C ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant com
pany C, December 18, 1864, for faithful services ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged with regiment, Au
gust 23, 1865.
Schuyler, John, Jr.; October 9, 1861, as private com
pany D ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to
second lieutenant, March 13, 1862 ; to first lieutenant com
pany D, June 29, 1862, for distinguished gallantry in the
field ; to captain company D, December 1, 1864, for
special gallantry at Lovejoy, Georgia; not mustered,
being detailed on duty on the staff of brigade ; mustered
out and honorably discharged, January 9, 1865 ; expira
tion of term. Address, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.
Schaeffer, Israel B. ; October 20, 1861, as captain com
pany E ; served faithfully the whole three years of his

528 Minty and the Cavalry.
term, refusing all promotions or duties and positions which
would take him away from his " boys ;" specially named
repeatedly in general orders and official reports for dis
tinguished gallantry ;> mustered out and honorably dis
charged, November 10, 1864, on account of expiration of
term of service. Address, Topeka, Kansas.
Sigmund, Jacob ; October 2, 1861, as private company
E ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to second
lieutenant, March 1, 1863; for special gallantry ; to first
lieutenant, June 24, 1863, for faithful services ; killed at
Selma, Alabama, April 2, 1865.
Seigfried, Daniel; November 7, 1861, as private com
pany F ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to sec
ond lieutenant company F, July 24, 1865, on account of
faithful services ; not mustered ; brevet lieutenant United
States volunteers for distinguished services at Selma, Ala
bama ; mustered out and honorably discharged with regi
ment, August 23, 1865.
Starry, George W. ; September 3, 1861, as private com
pany I ; to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; promoted to first
lieutenant company I, December 18, 1864 ; resigned, Feb
ruary 28, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged.
Snyder, Henry H. ; December 2, 1861, as private com
pany L ; to sergeant ; promoted to second lieutenant com
pany L, May 1, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably dis
charged with regiment, August 23, 1865.
Scanlin, Bath W. ; August 4, 1862, as captain company
M ; resigned, April 8, 1863.
Smith, W. H. H. ; October 12, 1861, as private company
K; to sergeant company M; to first sergeant ; brevet
lieutenant United States volunteers for special services at
Selma, Alabama, April 2, 1865 ; mustered out and honor
ably discharged with regiment, August 23, 1865. Ad
dress, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

Roster, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. 529
Thompson, Heber S.; October 22, 1861, as first lieuten
ant company F ; promoted to captain company I, July 1,
1863, for distinguished gallantry at Shelbyville and faith
ful services ; served on the staff of General Minty as as
sistant inspector general ; brevet major United States vol
unteers for special services in capture of Selma, Alabama;
mustered out and honorably discharged with the regiment,
August 23, 1865. Address, Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
Taylor, James G. ; October 12, 1861, as second lieuten
ant company K ; wounded at Lebanon, Tennessee, May
5, 1862 ; promoted to first lieutenant company K, July 1,
1863 ; to captain company K, March 25, 1864, on account
of gallantry and faithful services ; killed at Lovejoy,
Georgia, August 20, 1864.
Umpleby, John ; December 7, 1861, as first lieutenant
company L ; resigned, November 1, 1862 ; mustered out
and honorably discharged.
Vale, Joseph G. ; October 12, 1861, as first lieutenant
company K; wounded at McMinnville, Tennessee, July 10,
1862 ; wounded at Galatin, Tennessee, August 21, 1862 ;
captured at Galatin, Tennessee, August 21, ,1862; promoted
to captain company M, July 1, 1863 ; wounded at Sparta,
Tennessee, August 17, 1863 ; served on staff of General
Minty as brigade inspector ; resigned,. September 14, 1864,
on account of expiration of term ; mustered out and lion -
orably discharged. Address, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Wynkoop, George C; August 21,. 1861, as colonel
Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry ; discharged on surgeon's
certificate of disability ; mustered out and honorably dis
charged. Died, 1885.
Wynkoop, John E., mustered, November 9, 1861, as
major Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry ; promoted to colo
nel One Hundred and Eighty-first Pennsylvania volun-
34

530 Minty and the Cavalry.
teers, July 7, 1863 ; mustered out and honorably dis
charged. Residence, Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
Watts, William M. ; mustered, March 7, 1864, as private
company I, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry ; promoted to
adjutant, May 15, 1865, for faithful services and ability ;
mustered out and honorably discharged with regiment,
August 23, 1865. Residence, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Wynkoop, Nicholas A. ; mustered, October 15, 1861, as
private company L, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry ; pro
moted to adjutant Second battalion, January 2, 1862;
killed at Galatin, Tennessee, August 21, 1862.
Warfield, James H. B. ; mustered, November 14, 1861,
as private company F, Seventh Pennsylvania cavalry ;
promoted to adjutant of Third battalion, January 1, 1862;
discharged September 3, 1862 ; re-commissioned second
lieutenant company L, December 23, 1862.
White, Percy H. ; November 26, 1861, as first lieuten
ant company A ; promoted to captain company A, July
26, 1863, for faithful services ; wounded and captured at
Lovejoy, Georgia, August 20, 1864 ; discharged on ac
count of wounds, February 10, 1865 ; mustered out and
honorably discharged.
Wren, William ; March 11, 1864, as first lieutenant
company L ; to captain company L, February 13, 1865 ;
mustered out and honorably discharged with regiment,
August 23, 1865.
Waltz, Charles A.; December 1, 1864 ; promoted from
Fourth United States cavalry, December 1, 1864 : to
second lieutenant company M, for special gallantry; mus
tered out with regiment and honorably discharged, Au
gust 23, 1865.
Watson, Albert B-; October 9, 1861, as private company
D ; promoted to second lieutenant company H, February
13, 1865, on account of special gallantry in the field ; to

Roster, Fourth United States Cavalry. 531
first lieutenant company H, June 10, 1865 ; mustered out
and honorably discharged with regiment as brevet cap
tain United States volunteers, August 23, 1865.
Wood, John S. ; September 3, 1861, as first lieutenant
company I ; dropped from the muster roll without au
thority, December 31, 1861 ; mustered out and honorably
discharged in 1880, to date from August 23, 1865.
Wenck, Thomas J. ; November 20, 1861, as private com
pany H ; to first sergeant, June 9, 1865, on account of dis
tinguished gallantry at Selma, Alabama, April 1, 1865 ;
mustered out with regiment and honorably discharged,
August 23, 1865.
FOURTH UNITED STATES CAVALRY— ROSTER
Officers' Roster.
" From city's dome
And village home
The thousands come,
Still marching to the old flag's aid,
Bach knows his part,
And every heart
Moves onward, calm and undismayed
By treason's gerydart."
Alexander, Thomas B. ; captain Fourth cavalry in 1862.
Airiory, Copley; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry in
1862. Bowman, Charles S. ; captain Fourth cavalry in 1862 ;
commanded the regiment in the Okaloma campaign with
distinction. Beaumont, Eugene B. ; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry
in 1862, and aid-de-camp.
Baker, Edward D. ; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry in
1862 ; promoted to captain and assistant quartermaster,
1863 ; wounded in action ; served during the war as a
faithful officer.

532 Minty and the Cavalry.
Brayant, William ; lieutenant Fourth cavalry ; pro
moted from the ranks for distinguished gallantry.
Crittenden, Eugene W. ; captain Fourth cavalry in 1862;
promoted to colonel United States volunteers, 1863. (See
Fourth Ohio cavalry.)
Carr, E. A. ; captain Fourth United States cavalry.
Conway, E. J. ; lieutenant Fourth cavalry; served with
distinction, was repeatedly mentioned in official reports,
as noted in the preceding pages of this work.
Doolittle, Anson O. ; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry in
1862. Davis, DeWitt C. ; second lieutenant Fourth cavalry ;
promoted to first lieutenant, 1864 ; to captain, 1865 ; dis
tinguished himself in many engagements ; is still in the
service. Address, Tucson, Arizona.
Egan, James; promoted from sergeant to second lieu
tenant, Fourth cavalry, 1864; to first lieutenant; to cap
tain; retired on account of wounds received in action;
died in Washington, D. C, April, 1883. Captain Egan
rose from the ranks, by his personal bravery and distin
guished services. He was officially named with high
commendation in almost every battle the regiment partic
ipated in, from 1863 to 1866; was repeatedly wounded.
(See text of this work.)
Fitzgerald, Edward; second lieutenant Fourth cavalry,
1862; promoted to first lieutenant, 1863; to captain, 1864;
died at Nashville, Tennessee, February 16, 1865, of
wounds received in battle of Nashville, December, 1864.
Fletcher, B. L. ; second lieutenant Fourth cavalry, in
1862; promoted to first lieutenant, 1863; to captain, 1864.
Hunt, George G. ; captain Fourth cavalry, in 1862.
Hedges, Joseph; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry, in 1862;
promoted to captain, 1863; commanded the regiment in
the Hood-Thomas campaign during the battle of Nash-

Roster, Fourth United States Cavalry. 533
ville, from December 1, 1864, to February 1, 1865; ren
dered distinguished service in the battle of Nashville,
capturing, in the second day' s fight, a battery of artillery,
near Bentwood; was repeatedly named in general orders
and official reports, both in the Army of the Cumberland
and the Army of the Potomac, for "special gallantry;"
promoted major, United States army, 1865, and brevet
lieutenant colonel, for ' ' meritorious services in the recent
campaigns;" mustered out on account of wounds, and
honorably discharged. Address, Farmers' Bank, Mans
field, Ohio.
Johnson, Richard W-> major Fourth cavalry, in 1863,
and brigadier general, United States volunteers; com
manded Sixth brigade, Army of the Ohio, in 1862; had
command of ' ' provisional brigade ' ' of cavalry, at Gala-
tin, September, 1862; promoted to major general volun
teers, and commanded the Second division, right wing,
forming right of McCook' s corps in battle of Stone river,
December 31, 1862, January 1, 2, 3, 1863; commanded same
division at Chickamauga, to wit : Second division, Thir
teenth army corps; commanded First division, Fourteenth
army corps, during Atlanta campaign; commanded a
"provisional division" of cavalry during "Hood's ad
vance," and the Sixth cavalry division during the battle
of Nashville.
Ingleston,  ; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry; honor
ably mentioned in general orders and official reports.
Healy, Thomas; second lieutenant Fourth cavalry, in
1862; promoted to first lieutenant, 1863; killed in action
near Franklin, Tennessee, April 10, 1863.
Kelly, Michael J. ; second lieutenant Fourth cavalry, in
1862; promoted to first lieutenant, in 1864.
L'Hommedien, F.; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry, 1862;

534 Minty and the Cavalry.
regimental commissary; promoted to captain; died at
Pulaski, Tennessee, January 1, 1864.
Lee, John; second lieutenant Fourth cavalry, in 1862;
promoted to first lieutenant and regimental quartermas
ter, 1864; to captain and brevet major, 1865; still in ser
vice. Long, Eli; entered service as second lieutenant First
United States cavalry, in 1856; promoted to first lieuten
ant, March 21, 1861; to captain, May 24, 1861 — the desig
nation of the First being charged to the Fourth cavalry,
by act of Congress, in August, 1861; wounded in battle
of Stone river, December 31, 1862; promoted to colonel
Fourth Ohio cavalry, (volunteers,) January, 1863; assign
ed to command of Second brigade, Second cavalry divi
sion, Army of the Cumberland, June 9; 1863; wounded
at Farmington, Tennessee, October 7, 1863; wounded at
Lovejoy, Georgia, August 20, 1864; promoted to brigadier
general, United States volunteers, August 18, 1864; as
signed to command of Second division, Cavalry corps,
Military Division of Mississippi, November, 1864; wound
ed at Selma, Alabama, April 2, 1865; promoted to breyet
major general, United States volunteers, March 13, 1865,
"for distinguished and meritorious services during the
late campaigns in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia."
Address, 145 Broadway, New York.
Mauck, Clarence; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry, 1862;
promoted to captain, 1864 ; wounded in action, near
Rome, Georgia, October, 1864.
Murray, Douglass Alex.; second lieutenant Fourth
cavalry, in 1862; promoted, in 1862, to lieutenant colonel
Third Ohio cavalry (volunteers); served with great dis
tinction in that organization, being promoted to colonel,
and repeatedly named in general orders and the official
reports, as already noted in this work; was honorably dis-

Roster, Fourth United States Cavalry. 535
charged from the volunteer service at the close of the war,
having been severely wounded and lost a leg in the ser
vice; died in Washington city, D. C, in 1868, from effect
of wounds received.
McCook, Edward M. ; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry,
in 1862, and colonel of United States volunteers; pro
moted to brigadier general volunteers, in 1863, and as
signed to the command of the First division, Cavalry
corps, Army of the Cumberland; rendered efficient ser
vices during the Tullahoma and Chickamauga campaigns;
commanded same division in Atlanta campaign, and also
in the Selma campaign, in 1865.
Mclntyre, J. B. ; captain Fourth United States cavalry,
in 1862 ; commanded the regiment with distinction, from
January, 1863, to October 1, 1864 ; brevet major, United
States army, for distinguished bravery in the field. Dead.
He was repeatedly officially commended for special gal
lantry, in general orders and the official reports. His
record is found in full in this work.
McLaughlin, Napoleon B. ; captain Fourth cavalry, in
1862 ; promoted to colonel, United States volunteers, in
1863. McCormick, Thomas H.; captain Fourth cavalry, in
1862; served faithfully with the regiment during the war,
was repeatedly named in the official reports, and breveted
major, United States army.
McCafferty, Neil J.; second lieutenant Fourth United
States cavalry, 1862 ; promoted to first lieutenant ; dis
tinguished himself in battle of Shelbyville, Tennessee,
and other occasions, and was honorably named in official
reports. Oakes, James ; lieutenant colonel Fourth United States,
in 1863 ; commanded regiment through the Shiloh and
Corinth campaigns ; on detailed duty as mustering officer,

536 Minty and the Cavalry.
on account of ill-health ; appointed to command of a bri
gade of infantry.
Otis, Eliner ; captain Fourth cavalry, in 1863 ; com
manded the regiment from May, 1862, to February, 1863;
repeatedly recommended for a brigadier general's com
mission, on account of distinguished services ; command
ed a brigade of infantry, from February, 1863, to May,
1863, when he was ordered on detached duty, as muster
ing officer.
O' Connel, William ; promoted from sergeant ; to second
lieutenant, on account of distinguished gallantry at
Shiloh and Corinth, March, 1863 ; to first lieutenant,
1863 ; to captain, 1865 ; to major, 1865 : commanded
the regiment during the Selma campaign, and until
the close of the war ; repeatedly named in general orders
and official reports for special gallantry and ability.
Roys, Elleridge G. ; second lieutenant Fourth cavalry,
in 1862 ; promoted to first lieutenant, 1864 ; rendered ef
ficient services in the field, and was repeatedly named in
general orders and official reports ; promoted to captain ;
killed near Selma, Alabama, April 5, 1865, by Forrest.
Rendelbrook, Joseph; ("old Joe;") second lieutenant
Fourth cavalry, in 1864 ; promoted to first lieutenant,
1864 ; to captain, 1865.
Sedgwick, John; colonel Fourth cavalry in 1863 ; major
general United States volunteers ; commanded corps in
Army of the Potomac with distinguished gallantry and
efficiency ; promoted to major general United States army;
defeated the enemy of Kelly's Ford, Virginia, November
7, 1863, capturing over two thousand ; killed at the head
of his corps in the battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, May
6, 1864.
Sturgis, Samuel D. ; major Fourth cavalry in 1863 ;
brigadier general United States volunteers ; commanded

Roster, Fourth United States Cavalry. 537
with distinction brigades, divisions, and independent
armies ; promoted to major general United States army.
Stoneman, George ; major Fourth cavalry in 1863 ;
major general United States volunteers ; commanded cav
alry divisions and corps with distinction in Army of the
Potomac ; commanded cavalry expedition against Macon,
Georgia, in 1864 ; promoted to major general United
States army ; commanded cavalry corps and expedition
from Knoxville into Virginia and North Carolina, Febru
ary to May, 1865.
Stanley, David S. ; captain Fourth cavalry in 1863 ;
brigadier general of volunteers ; commanded Second brig
ade, left wing, Army of the Mississippi during siege of
Corinth ; appointed chief of cavalry, December, 1863 ;
major general United States volunteers and chief of cav
alry Army of the Cumberland ; commanded the cavalry
of that army with special distinction during Stone River,
Tullahoma, and Chickamauga campaigns ; assigned to
command First division, Fourth army corps, April, 1864 ;
assigned to command of Fourth corps, August 27, 1864 ;
was severely wounded at Franklin, Tennessee, November
30, 1864, while leading a bayonet charge in the heat of the
battle ; moved with Fourth corps from Knoxville into
East Tennessee towards Virginia ; rendered distinguished
service in the Atlanta campaign ; promoted to major gen
eral United States army ; now in command of the Depart
ment of Texas. Address, San Antonio, Texas.
Stockton, Samuel W. ; captain Fourth cavalry in 1863,
and aid-de-camp on staff of Major General Rosecrans.
Sullivan, Thomas W. ; second lieutenant Fourth cavalry
in 1863 ; promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant ; pro
moted to captain ; severely wounded near Lovejoy, Au
gust 21, 1864, and did not again rejoin the regiment.
Thompson, John A. ; captain Fourth cavalry in 1862.

538 Minty and the Cavalry.
Wheaton, Frank ; captain Fourth United States cavalry
and brigadier general United States volunteers in 1863.
Wilcox, John A.; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry in
1863. Wilson, Walter M. ; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry in
1863 ; regimental quartermaster ; promoted to captain
United States army, 1864 ; to brevet major United States
army, 1865, for distinguished services in the field.
Webb, William W.; first lieutenant Fourth cavalry in
1863 ; promoted to captain United States army, 1864 ;
brevet major United States army for gallant services.
Webster, John G. ; second lieutenant Fourth cavalry in
1863. Wood, Francis C. ; promoted from first sergeant com
pany L to second lieutenant, on account of distinguished
services ; killed in action at Middleton, Tennessee, May
23, 1863. NINTH PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY— ROSTER.
Appel, Charles A. ; mustered in as first lieutenant com
pany A, October 3, 1861 ; promoted to captain, company
F, April 6, 1862 ; to major, August 23, 1864 ; captured at
Salem Grove, North Carolina, March 10, 1865 ; honora
bly discharged by special order, May 25, 1865. Address,
1503 S street, N. W., Washington, D. C.
Brown, George B. ; mustered in as major, November
21, 1861 ; promoted to lieutenant colonel, January 13,
1863; resigned, February 12, 1863; mustered out and
honorably discharged. Dead.
Boal, John ; August 11, 1863, as captain company A ;
killed at Averysboro' , North Carolina, March 16, 1865.
Bacon, Romeo R. ; August 1, 1862, as first lieutenant
company B ; resigned, February 11, 1863, and honorably
discharged.

Roster, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry. 539
Baugher, Wm. H.; October 26, 1861, as private com
pany I ; promoted to second lieutenant, company B, May
31, 1863 ; to first lieutenant, May 30, 1864 ; to captain,
1865 ; mustered out honorably discharged, July 18, 1865.
Address, Calverton stock yards, Baltimore, Maryland.
Bertles, Jacob ; October 11, 1861, as captain company
D ; resigned, August 7, 1862, and honorably discharged.
Barry, David R. P. ; October 24, 1861, as private com
pany M ; promoted from sergeant to second lieutenant
company D, May 22, 1863 ; resigned, July 24, 1864, and
honorably discharged. Address, Huntingdon, Pennsyl
vania. Bassler, Jacob F. ; October 7, 1861, as private company
B ; promoted to sergeant ; to second lieutenant, company
I, May 22, 1863 ; mustered out and honorably discharged,
1865. Address, Lykens, Pennsylvania.
Bell, James ; December 31. 1861, as captain company
M; honorably discharged on surgeon's certificate of dis
ability, May 25, 1863.
Crinnian, Lawrence A.; October 17, 1861, as private
company E ; promoted to second lieutenant company C,
June 20, 1863 ; to first lieutenant company C, May 20,
1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, July 18.
1865. Campbell, Wm. K. ; October 22, 1861, as second lieu
tenant company C ; resigned, August 7, 1862, and honora
bly discharged. Dead.
Coglizer, Charles ; November 14, 1861, as private com
pany L ; promoted to second lieutenant, August 8, 1862 ;
resigned, February 6, 1863, and honorably discharged.
Coller, Jacob ; October 17, 1861, as private company E ;
promoted to commissary sergeant, June 1, 1864 ; to first
lieutenant company E, May 19, 1865 ; mustered out and

540 Minty and the Cavalry.
honorably discharged, July 8, 1865. Address, Williams-
town, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania.
Culbertson, Thomas U.; October 11, 1861, as private
company C ; promoted to sergeant ; to second lieutenant
company G, May 22, 1863 ; to first lieutenant, August 23,
1864 ; to captain, June 16, 1865 ; mustered out and hon
orably discharged.
Clark, Andrew M., June 1, 1863, as private company
B ; promoted to second lieutenant company M, August
23, 1864 ; to first lieutenant, August 1, 1864 ; resigned and
honorably discharged, May 15, 1865.
Detweiler, John S. ; mustered in as captain company E,
October 17, 1861 ; promoted to major, March 19, 1863 ; re
signed, April 21, 1863 ; mustered out and honorably dis
charged. Dead.
Dunlap, Joseph ; October 26, 1861, as private company
G ; promoted to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; to second
lieutenant, June 16, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably
discharged, July 18, 1865. Address, Lykens, Dauphin
county, Pennsylvania.
Earnest, William D.; mustered in as quartermaster,
November 23, 1861; resigned, November 10, 1862; mus
tered out and honorably discharged. Address, Harris
burg, Pennsylvania.
Eckles, William H. ; October 17, 1861, as first lieutenant
company E; promoted to captain, May 22, 1863; honora
bly discharged, November 25, 1864; expiration of term.
Ewing, James; October 19, 1861, as private company I;
promoted to sergeant; to first sergeant; to first lieutenant
company I, May 22, 1863; to captain by brevet; mustered
out and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865. Address,
Walnut Bottom, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania.
Edwards, Douglass; November 21, 1861, as first lieuten-

Roster, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry. 541
ant company K; resigned and honorably discharged, Jan
uary 13, 1862.
Foose, Thomas J. ; mustered in as sergeant company H,
October 3, 1861; promoted to commissary of subsistence,
May 22, 1863; mustered out with regiment, July 18, 1865,
and honorably discharged.
Farrell, George J. K.; November 22, 1861, as second
lieutenant company A; promoted to first lieutenant; to
captain company A, February 6, 1863; honorably dis
charged, November 1, 1863.
Fisher George; October 11, 1861, as first lieutenant
company C; resigned, May 22, 1862, and honorably dis
charged. Ferguson, Joseph H., October 26, 1861, as private com
pany G; promoted to sergeant; to second lieutenant com
pany E, May 22, 1862; resigned and honorably discharged,
July 26, 1864.
Griffiths, Thomas D. ; October 7, 1861, as private com
pany B; promoted to second lieutenant company A, May
22, 1863; resigned, May 29, 1864, and honorably dis
charged. Gratz, Lewis A.; October 7, 1861, as first lieutenant
company B; promoted major Sixth Kentucky cavalry,
August 10, 1862.. Address, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Guyer, William; October 9, 1861, as private company
H; promoted to sergeant; to second lieutenant company
K, May 26, 1863; to first lieutenant company K, July 1,
1864; to captain company K, June 16, 1865; mustered out
and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865. Address, Al-
toona, Pennsylvania.
Hoke, Lewis A. ; October 26, 1861, as sergeant company
G; promoted to first lieutenant company F, May 21, 1863;
to captain company E, May 30, 1865; mustered out and
honorably discharged, July 18, 1865.

542 Minty and the Cavalry.
Heistand, Benjamin G. ; October 19, 1861, as second
lieutenant company F; promoted to first lieutenant, April
20, 1862; to captain company G, May 22, 1863; resigned
and honorably discharged, February 2, 1865.
Hunter, John T. ; October 17, 1861, as private company
E; promoted to second lieutenant company G, August 4,
1862; resigned and honorably discharged, March 21, 1863.
Address, Phcenixville, Pennsylvania.
Hand, George D.; November 14, 1861, as captain com
pany L; resigned and honorably discharged, April 30,
1862. Hendricks, Eugene S. ; mustered in as private company
A, December 9, 1861 ; first lieutenant company A, Febru
ary 6, 1863; promoted to quartermaster, May 22, 1863;
mustered out with regiment, July 18, 1865, and honorably
discharged. Address, Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania.
Hancock, Elisha A. ; October 29, 1861, as first lieuten
ant company H; promoted to captain company B, May
23, 1863; to major, January 11, 1865; wounded at Averys
boro', North Carolina, March 16, 1865; mustered out and
honorably discharged, July 18, 1865. Address, 135 South
Second street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Harris, William H. ; October 22, 1861, as captain com
pany C; resigned, August 7, 1862, and honorably dis
charged. Horton, Nathan W. ; October 28, 1861, as private com
pany C; promoted to second lieutenant company C, May
22, 1863; to first lieutenant, June 23, 1863; to captain,
May 20, 1865; captured at Raleigh, North Carolina, April
12, 1865; mustered out and honorably discharged, July
18, 1865. Address, 240 Broadway, New York.
Irvin, William ; October 24, 1861, as private company
M ; promoted to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; to second
lieutenant, May 3, 1865 ; to first lieutenant, June 16, 1865 ;

Roster, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry. 543
mustered out and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865.
Address, Altoona, Pennsylvania.
James, Thomas C. ; mustered in as lieutenant colonel,
November 10, 1861 ; promoted to colonel, October 14, 1862.
Died at Philadelphia, January 13, 1863.
Jordon, Thomas J. ; mustered in as major, October 22,
1861 ; promoted to colonel, January 13, 1863 ; to brevet
brigadier general, February 25, 1865 ; commanded First
brigade, First division cavalry, Sherman's army, during
the march to the sea and through the Carolinas. Prisoner
from July 9, to December 9, 1862 ; mustered out with regi
ment, July 18, 1865 ; honorably discharged. Address,
3909 Pine street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jones, Griffith ; mustered in as captain company A, Oc
tober 3, 1861 ; promoted to major, January 13, 1863 ; re
signed, December 2, 1863, and honorably discharged.
Address, Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
Junkin, John M. ; mustered in as assistant surgeon,
November 4. 1861 ; promoted to surgeon Fifty-sixth reg
iment Pennsylvania volunteers, October 1, 1862.
Jordan, Thomas W. ; May 22. 1863, as second lieuten
ant company H ; promoted to first lieutenant May 30,
1864 ; to captain, June 16, 1865 ; wounded at Readyville,
Tennessee, September 6, 1864 ; mustered out and honor
ably discharged, July 18, 1865.
Kimmel, David H. ; mustered in as captain company H,
October 29, 1861 ; promoted to major, May 22, 1863 ; to
lieutenant colonel, December 17, 1864 ; mustered out with
regiment, July 18, 1865, and honorably discharged. Ad
dress, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania.
Keiser, William ; October 7, 1861, as private, promoted
to sergeant company B ; to second lieutenant company
G August 23, 1864 ; to first lieutenant, June 16, 1865;

544 Minty and the Cavalry,
mustered out and honorably discharged July 18, 1865.
Address, Wiconisco, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania.
Kauffman, Isaac B. ; October 29, 1861 ; as second lieu
tenant company H ; died of wounds received in action at
Moore's Hill, Kentucky, June 6, 1862.
Kuhn, George W. ; October 24, 1861, as private com
pany M ; promoted to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; to
second lieutenant, June 16, 1865 ; mustered out and hon
orably discharged, July 18, 1865. Address, Altoona, Pa.
Leamy, George W. ; October 17, 1861, as private com
pany E ; promoted to second lieutenant company B, May
30, 1864 ; honorably discharged and mustered out, June
2, 1865. Address, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Lloyd, Isaac ; January 10, 1862, as private company I ;
promoted to sergeant major ; to second lieutenant com
pany L, April 3, 1862 ; to first lieutenant company E,
May 22, 1863 ; honorably discharged on surgeon' s certifi
cate of disability, May 28, 1864.
Lentz, Marshall H ; June 7, 1862, as second lieutenant
company H ; resigned and honorably discharged, January
17, 1863. Address, Sandy Hill, Perry county, Pennsyl
vania. Landis, Isaac B. ; October 29, 1861, as private company
H ; promoted to sergeant ; to sergeant major ; to second
lieutenant company H, July 7, 1864 ; to adjutant, June
4, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, July 18,
1865. Address, Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
Longsdorf, Wm. H. ; October 26, 1861 ; as first lieuten
ant company I ; promoted to captain company I, June 6,
1862 ; to major, August 23, 1864 ; honorably discharged,
January 10, 1865. Address, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Miller, J. Frank ; mustered in as second lieutenant,
company B, October 7, 1861 ; promoted to first lieuten
ant company C, August 4, 1862 ; to captain company K,

Roster, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry. 545
May 22, 1863 ; promoted to major, June 23, 1865 ; to brevet
lieutenant colonel ; mustered out and honorably dis
charged with regiment, July 18, 1865. Address, Berrys-
burg, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania.
Moore, James; mustered in as assistant surgeon, Sep
tember 8, 1864 ; wounded at Raleigh, North Carolina,
April 22, 1865; honorably discharged by special order,
May 27, 1865 ; dead.
McKinney, Edmund; mustered in as chaplain, Novem
ber 22, 1861; resigned, July 26, 1864, and honorably dis
charged. Michner, Eleazer; October 3, 1861, as private company
A ; promoted to second lieutenant, May 20, 1865 ; to first
lieutenant, June 18, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably
discharged, July 18, 1865.
McKnight, O. B. ; October 19, 1861, as private company
F ; promoted to second lieutenant company B, August 7,
1862 ; to first lieutenant company M, May 22, 1863 ; to
captain company I, August 23, 1864 ; mustered out and
honorably discharged, July 18, 1865. Address, Plains,
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania.
Mountz, Theoph. J. ; October 29, 1861, as private com
pany H ; promoted to first sergeant ; to quartermaster
sergeant, June 7, 1862 ; to second lieutenant company E,
August 8, 1862 ; to first lieutenant company K, May 22,
1863 ; killed in battle at Dandridge, Tennessee. December
24, 1863.
McCollough, H. W. ; November 9, 1861, as captain
company I; killed in battle at Moore's Hill, Kentucky,
June 6, 1862.
Myers, Henry K. ; October 3, 1861, as private company
A • promoted to sergeant ; to first lieutenant company L,
May 25, 1863 ; to captain, 1865 ; captured at Solomon's
Grove, North Carolina, March 10, 1865; mustered out
35

546 Minty and the Cavalry.
and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865. Address, Ly
kens, Pennsylvania.
McCahan, Thomas S. ; August 31, 1861, as first lieuten
ant company M ; promoted to captain company M, May
22, 1863 ; honorably discharged for wounds received in
action, August 8, 1864. Address, Birmingham, Hunting
don county, Pennsylvania.
Nicholas, Thomas A. ; mustered in as private: promoted
to first lieutenant company K, November 21, 1861 ; to
adjutant, May 22, 1863 ; honorably discharged by special
order, June 3, 1865. Address, St. Clair, Schuylkill
county, Pennsylvania.
Nissley, David H. ; October 26, 1861, as first lieutenant
company G ; drowned at Bowling Green, Kentucky, July
5, 1862.
O' Grady, John ; October 23, 1861, as second lieutenant
company K ; promoted to first lieutenant company B,
May 23, 1863 ; resigned, September 1, 1863, and honora
bly discharged.
O'Reilly, Michael; October 15, 1861, as first lieutenant
company D ; promoted to captain, August 8, 1862 ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865.
Oliver, Theodore ; May 27, 1863, as second lieutenant
company F ; promoted to first lieutenant, April 8, 1865 ;
honorably discharged, May 22, 1865. Address, Easton,
Pennsylvania. Porter, John M. ; mustered in as adjutant, November
22, 1861 ; promoted to captain company C, January 28,
1863 ; to major, December 17, 1864 ; resigned. May 30,
1865, and honorably discharged. Address, Alexander,
Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania.
Potter, William M. ; mustered, October 3, 1861, as ser
geant company A ; promoted to first lieutenant, May 21,
1863 ; to captain company A, June 18. 1865 ; wounded at

Roster, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry. 547
Readyville, Tennessee, September 6, 1864 ; mustered out
and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865. Address,
Washington, D. C.
Praetorius, Lewis ; October 6, 1861, as second lieuten
ant company D ; resigned, October 31, 1862 ; mustered
out and honorably discharged.
Phillips, Joseph ; November 21, 1861, as captain com
pany K ; resigned and honorably discharged, December
10, 1861.
Patterson, George W. ; August 24, 1861, as captain
company M ; honorably discharged on surgeon' s certifi
cate of disability, December 31, 1861.
Russell, Roswell M. ; mustered in as major, November
21, 1861 ; promoted to lieutenant colonel, March 19, 1863 ;
resigned, November 1, 1863, and honorably discharged.
Address, Hanover, York county, Pennsylvania.
Robbins, Oscar M. ; mustered in as surgeon, November
4, 1861 ; resigned, August 1, 1864, and honorably dis
charged. Address, Shamokin, Pennsylvania.
Rice, William ; mustered in as assistant surgeon, April
9, 1865 ; mustered out with regiment, July 18, 1865, and
honorably discharged.
Reemsnyder, H.; October 19, 1861. as first lieutenant
company F ; promoted to captain company K, April 20,
1862 ; resigned and honorably discharged, October 14,
1862. Savage, Edward G. ; mustered in as captain company
B, October 7, 1861 ; promoted to major, March 19, 1863 ;
to lieutenant colonel, May 30, 1864 ; resigned, September
26 1864, and honorably discharged. Address, Raton,
New Mexico.
Sutton, Rhodes S. ; mustered in as assistant surgeon,
March 17, 1863 ; resigned, January 5, 1864, and honora
bly discharged.

548 Minty and the Cavalry.
Sherman, Charles W. ; mustered in as private company
E, December 9, 1861 ; promoted to veterinary surgeon,
January 23, 1865 ; mustered out with regiment, July 18,
1865, and honorably discharged. Address, Fairdale, Sus
quehanna county, Pennsylvania.
Shuman, George A. ; October 11, 1861, as private com
pany C ; promoted to second ' lieutenant, February 6,
1863 ; to first lieutenant company H, May 22, 1863 ; to
captain company H, August 30, 1864 ; to major, June 16,
1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, July 18,
1865. Address, Landisburg, Pennsylvania.
Sipe, George W. ; October 11, 1861, as private company
C ; promoted to second lieutenant company C, May 20,
1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, July 18,
1865. Smith, George ; October 15, 1861, as second lieutenant
company D ; promoted to first lieutenant, September 8,
1862 ; to captain company L, September 1, 1863 ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865.
Smith, Frederick ; October 15, 1861, as private company
D; promoted to first sergeant ; to second lieutenant,' May
19, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, July
18, 1865. Address, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Sullivan, Aaron ; October 17, 1861, as second lieutenant
company E ; killed in battle at Tompkinsville, Kentucky,
July 9, 1862.
Shammo, John H. ; October 29, 1861, as private com
pany E ; promoted to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; to sec
ond lieutenant, May 20, 1865 ; mustered out and honora
bly discharged, July 18, 1865.
Schaners, Samuel W. ; October 19, 1861, as private com
pany F ; promoted to first sergeant ; to second lieutenant
company F, April 8, 1865 ; to first lieutenant, June 16,

Roster, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry. 549
1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, July 18,
1865. Shriver, William M. ; November 9, 1861, as second lieu
tenant company I ; promoted to first lieutenant, June 6,
1862 ; to captain company H, May 22, 1863 ; resigned and
honorably discharged, November 26, 1863. Address,
Dickinson, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania.
Shaffer, Urias ; October 29, 1861, as private company
H ; promoted to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; to second
lieutenant, June 4, 1865 ; to first lieutenant, June 16,
1865 ; mustered out and honorably discharged, July 18,
1865. Shoemaker, William M. ; August 24, 1861, as second
lieutenant company L ; promoted to first lieutenant, April
3, 1862 ; resigned and honorably discharged, April 7,
1863. Shelp, Doctor A.; November 14, 1861, as private com
pany L ; promoted to sergeant ; to second lieutenant com
pany M, May 22, 1863 ; to first lieutenant, August 23,
1864 ; to captain company M, May 23, 1865 ; mustered
out and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865. Address,
Moscow, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania.
Thomas, Joseph D. ; October 23, 1861, as private com
pany M ; promoted to second lieutenant company K,
August 26, 1864 ; honorably discharged, May 22, 1865.
Temple, Isaac T. ; October 9, 1861, as second lieutenant
company M ; honorably discharged, May 25, 1863.
Williams, Edward C. ; mustered in as colonel, Novem
ber 21, 1861; resigned, October 9, 1862, and honorably dis
charged. Address, McKee's Half Falls, Snyder county,
Pennsylvania. Walker, S. C. ; mustered in as assistant surgeon, Au
gust 4, 1862 ; promoted to surgeon, August 22, 1864 ; mus
tered out with regiment, July 18, 1865, and honorably dis-

550 Minty and the Cavalry.
charged. Address, Stanton, Mercer county, Dakota
Territory. Webster, Charles ; October 3, 1861, as first lieutenant
company A ; resigned, November 18, 1861 ; mustered out
and honorably discharged. Address.
Walthers, Christopher ; October 15, 1861, as first lieu
tenant company D ; promoted to second lieutenant com
pany L, May 23, 1863 ; to first lieutenant company D,
May 30, 1864 ; mustered out and honorably discharged,
July 18, 1865. Address, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Wise, John ; October 19, 1861, as captain company F;
resigned and honorably discharged, April 11, 1862.
Waltman, Henry B. ; November 9, 1861, as second lieu
tenant company G ; promoted to first lieutenant, August
7, 1862 ; to captain company F, August 23, 1864 ; mus
tered out and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865. Ad
dress, York, Pennsylvania.
Winters, George W. ; October 19, 1861, as second lieu
tenant company F; promoted to first lieutenant, Febru
ary 1, 1862 ; resigned and honorably discharged, May 24,
1863. Wheeler, William; October 23, 1861, as private com
pany K ; promoted to sergeant ; to first sergeant ; to first
lieutenant, June 16, 1865 ; mustered out and honorably
discharged, July 18, 1865.
Waters, Gilbert, October 1, 1861, as first lieutenant
company L ; promoted to captain company L, April 30,
1862 ; killed in battle at Shelbyville, Tennessee, June 27,
1863. Wyeth, John W. ; October 17, 1861, as private com
pany E ; promoted to regimental commissary sergeant;
to second lieutenant company L, June 30, 1864 ; mustered
out and honorably discharged, July 18, 1865.