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428

HOOD DRIVEN OUT OF TENNESSEE.

Wilson instantly remounted the divisions of Knipe and Hatch, and sent them toward Franklin, down the Granny White pike, with the hope that they might reach that place ahead of the fugitives. A mile on their way, they came to a barricade across the road, and behind it were Chalmer's cavalry. The position was immediately charged and carried by Colonel Spaulding and his Twelfth Tennessee Cavalry, who scattered the Confederates and took some prisoners, among whom was General E. W. Rucker. This detention allowed the fugitives to escape. It was too late for the pursuers to reach Franklin that night: they lay down upon the field of their victory, and slept on their arms.

Dec. 17, 1S64.

The chase was renewed the next morning." Knipe overtook the rear-guard of the Confederates at Hollow Tree Gap, four miles north of Franklin, and captured four hundred and thirteen of them. Meanwhile, Wilson had pushed on toward Franklin, and there he found Hood confronting him at the passage of the Harpeth. Johnson had gone rapidly down the Hillsboro' pike, and now coming suddenly upon Hood's rear, caused him to resume his flight in great haste, leaving behind him in Franklin eighteen hundred of his own wounded, and two hundred of the maimed Nationals, whom he had taken prisoners. Four miles south of Franklin his rear-guard made another stand, when Wilson's body-guard (Fourth Regular Cavalry) dashed through its center, while Knipe and Hatch pressed its flanks. It was scattered in confusion and lost more guns. Night came on, and the Confederates escaped.

The pursuit continued several days, while rain fell copiously. The country was flooded, and the streams were filled to the brim. The fugitives destroyed the bridges behind them, and rendered a successful pursuit impossible, for Thomas's pontoons were with Sherman. Then the weather became bitter cold, and the frozen, cut-up roads were almost impassable. Fr nally, at Columbia, Forrest, who was away on a raid when Thomas sallied out upon Hood, joined the latter, and, with his cavalry and four thousand infantry as a rear-guard, covered the broken Confederate army most effectually. This guard struck back occasionally, but the pursuit was continued to Lexington, in Alabama, where, on the 28th, it was suspended, when it was known that Hood had escaped across the Tennessee at Bainbridge, evading the gun-boats which Admiral S. P. Lee had sent up the river, at Thomas's request, to intercept him.'

• December.

In the mean time Thomas had sent Steedman with his forces across from Franklin to Murfreesboro', with directions to proceed around by railway to Decatur, in Alabama, and thus to threaten Hood's railroad communications west of Florence. He was instructed to send back

• Dec. 18.

1 While Hood was investing Nashville, he sent a cavalry force, under General Lyon, into Kentucky, ta operate on the Louisville railroad. General Thomas detached General McCook's cavalry division, and sent it in pursuit of Lyon. MeCook attacked and routed a part of Lyon's forces at Hopkinsville, when the latter cu menced a hasty retreat. Colonel Lagrange's brigade came up with the fugitive near Greenburg, and attacked and routed him, when Lyon succeeded, making a circuit by the way of Elizabethtown and Glasgow, in crossing the Cumberland River at Burkesville, from whence he moved by way of MeMinnville and Winchester, Tennessee, to Larkinsville, Alabama. On the 10th of January he attacked a little garrison at Scottsboro, and was repulsed, but succeeded in crossing the Tennessee River with a remnant of his command, only about 200 in number. He was still pursued, and at a place known as Red Hill, he was surprised by Colonel Palmer, and half his men were made prisoners, on the 14th of January. After surrendering, he escaped, by seizing a pistol, shooting a sentinel, and disappearing in the gloom of night.

END OF THOMAS'S CAMPAIGN.

429

*1865.

garrisons which General Granger had called to Stevenson,1 to their forposts. He was joined by Granger at the latter place, and they repied Decatur on the 27th, but too late to impede Hood's flight, for he already crossed the Tennessee. But a cavalry force of six hundred under Colonel W. J. Palmer, was sent from Decatur in pursuit of d's train. Pressing back Roddy's cavalry near Leighton, Alabama, her moved toward Columbus, Mississippi, and captured and destroyed d's pontoon train, ten miles from Russellville. Another force being reed in pursuit, under cover of darkness Palmer pushed for Moulton. ting the Confederates near Thorn Hill, he attacked and deed them, and arrived safely at Decatur on the 6th of January. On the 30th of December, General Thomas announced to the army the mination of the campaign, and gave orders for the proper distribution of troops in winter cantonments at Eastport, in Northern Mississippi, at ens and Huntsville, in Alabama, and at Dalton, in Georgia. But GerGrant and the War Department had decided that there should be no rest 1 the Rebellion should be crushed. Sherman had reached the sea, and prepared for a march northward through the Carolinas into Virginia, the siege of Petersburg and Richmond was to be prosecuted with vigor. ordingly, orders were issued for Thomas to send Wood with Fourth Corps to Huntsville, and to concentrate the troops of th, Schofield and Wilson, at Eastport, to await a renewal of winter campaign in Mississippi and Alabama. Hood's army, as an orization, had almost disappeared, when, on the 23d of Jany, he was "relieved," as he said, "at his own request," at Delo, in Mississippi.

Dec. 81,

1864.

1865.

It was during the active campaign-in Middle Tennessee, just considered, t the stirring events in which Generals Gillem and Breckinridge were ef actors, occurred, as recorded on page 287. General Stoneman then k command in that region, and concentrated the forces of Gillem and rbridge at Bean's Station. Thence he moved toward Bristol, en his advance struck a force under Basil Duke, one of Mor

Dec. 12, 1864.

1's officers, opposite Kingsport, dispersed them, captured their in, and took eighty-four of them prisoners. Burbridge pushed on to istol and Abingdon, capturing both places, with nearly three hundred soners, and destroying five loaded railway trains, and large quantities of res and munitions of war. At Abingdon, Gillem joined Burdge, when Stoneman menaced the important salt-works at

Itville, in that vicinity.

• Dec. 15.

By this rapid advance into Virginia, Vaughan, in command of the Conlerate frontier cavalry, had been flanked, but he moved on a parallel line Marion, where Gillem fell upon and routed him, and chased

n thirty miles into Wytheville. That place Gillem captured

/ Dec. 16.

1 See page 419.

* Thomas estimated his entire loss during the campaign, in all the operations under his command, from the of September, 1864, to the 20th of January, 1865, at about 10,000 men, or less than one-half the loss of his versary. During that time he had captured 11.857 men, officers and privates, besides 1,832 who had been exinged, making a total of about 18,000. He had administered the oath of amnesty and submission to 2.207 verters from the Confederate service, and had captured 72 serviceable guns and 3,079 small-arms.

3 See page 414.

430

VISIT TO THE NASHVILLE BATTLE-GROUND.

at dusk the same evening, with two hundred men, eight guns, and a valuable wagon-train. After destroying Wytheville, and stores there, and the railway for some distance, Gillem returned to Mount Airy, from which place Stoneman had sent out a brigade under Colonel Buckley, to destroy lead mines in that region, which that officer accomplished, after driving off Vaughan, who was there. Stoneman now started to destroy the great salt-works already mentioned. On the way, Burbridge,

Dec. 17, 1864.

in the advance, met and fought Breckinridge near Marion, nearly all one day. Gillem approached from another point to cut the foe off from the salt-works, when Breckinridge, taking counsel of prudence, withdrew and retired over the mountains into North Carolina. Saltville, where the works were situated, was thus abandoned to its fate, after being guarded with the greatest care. These important works were now utterly destroyed, while spoils, in the shape of cannon, ammunition, and railway rolling stock, fell into Stoneman's hands. The object of the expedition having been accomplished, General Burbridge returned to Kentucky, and General Stoneman, with Gillem's command, went back to Knoxville.

The writer visited Nashville, and the battle-field in its vicinity, at the beginning of May, 1866, after a voyage on the Cumberland to Fort Donelson and back, and he was placed under many obligations to General Thomas, and members of his staff, and especially to Major Willard, for kind attentions, and for facilities for obtaining all necessary topographical and historical information concerning the battle of the 15th and 1864. 16th of December, of which a description, in outline, is given in this chapter.

General Thomas took the writer, in his light carriage drawn by a span of beautiful dappled gray horses, to various points of interest, the most important of which, for the author's purpose, was the lofty hill between the Hardin and Granny White turnpikes, on which the commanding general stood, with the whole field of operations in view, and directed the battle on the 15th. With a large topographical map in his hand, he pointed out every important locality and explained every movement, making the text of his official report perfectly luminous. Around us lay, upon bare hills once crowned with groves and forest, and across desolated vales once beautiful with the richest products of cultivation, the long lines of intrenchments, with forts and redoubts, cast up by both parties in the strife, and scarcely altered in feature since the day of battle. With these, and the ruins of houses battered by missiles or laid in ashes by fire, in full view, and with the clear and vivid descriptions of General Thomas, the chief actor in the events of that day, which consecrated every hill and valley, ravine and streamlet within the range of vision, it required but a small effort of the imagination, then and there, to reproduce the battle in all its awful grandeur and hideousness.

General Thomas kindly offered his carriage and a driver for the writer's use in revisiting for further study, and for sketching important points connected with the battle. In this way, accompanied by his traveling companions (Messrs. Dreer and Greble), who joined him at Nashville on the day

1 Sec page 226, volume II.

2 See reduced copy on page 427.

RUINS ON MONTGOMERY HILL.

431

er his visit to the field with General Thomas, the writer went to and etched several places of interest. Among these was Fort Negley, and - spacious mansion of Mrs. Ackling, the head-quarters of General Wood," m whose gallery the young wife of that gallant officer looked out and saw

[graphic][merged small]

ne dreadful storm of war in which her husband was conspicuous, when the tack was made upon Hood's salient on Montgomery Hill. It was just ter sunset when that sketch was made. Then we rode to Montgomery [ill, passing up a lane among many evidences of the existence there of a nce beautiful estate, then in utter ruin; and from the remains of Hood's rong intrenchments, north of the Montgomery mansion, the above sketch f its ruins was made, in the edge of the evening. They were partly closed in Hood's breastworks, and one of his redoubts, and presented a most melancholy picture of the ravages of war. The high grounds seen in he distance, toward the right of the sketch, are portions of the range of he Harpeth hills, to which Hood was driven when expelled from Montgomry Hill.

We spent a few days pleasantly and profitably in and around Nashville, he recipients of the kindest courtesies, and then went southward to visit Murfreesboro', and the extended theater of conflict between there and Chatanooga and Atlanta, already mentioned in other pages of this work.

1 See page 265, volume II.

* See page 424.

432

CONFEDERATE NAVY DEPARTMENT.

CHAPTER XVI.

CAREER OF THE ANGLO-CONFEDERATE PIRATES.-CLOSING OF THE PORT OF MOBILE

POLITICAL AFFAIRS.

[graphic]

ET us now turn a moment, from the consideration of the struggle on the land, to that of some events of the war on the ocean, carried on by pirate ships, and also some important naval events near Mobile.

We have noticed the organization of a so-called "Navy Department" by the Conspirators, at Montgomery, early in 1861, the measures taken for providing a naval force, and the commissioning of pirates to prey upon the National property on the ocean. Also the doings of some of these cruisers in the earlier part of the war, and the aid given to the Conspirators by British ship-builders, with the tacit consent of their Government, in constructing powerful sea-going pirate ships for the Confederate service. The latter, as we have observed, were fitted out by British hands, and their commanders bore commissions from the Confederate "Government" so-called.

These ships were provided with the best armament known to the British marine-Armstrong, Whitworth, Blakely, and other rifled cannon of heaviest weight-which were also lib

[graphic]

ARMSTRONG GUN,

To goiterally furnished to the ConTo ono Danfederates for land service, w to aver from British arsenals by the fotode ont to swift blockade-runners. By men of the same nation, every other material for destructive use by the pirate ships, was supplied, even to

the most approved fire-balls for burning merchant vessels. These outrages

1 See pages 372 to 874, inclusive, volume I.

2 See pages 555 to 558, inclusive, volume L

See pages 567 to 571, inclusive, volume II.

See page 570, volume II. The Confederate "Navy Department" was organized with S. R. Mallory, for merly a National Senator, at its heal, and he continued in office until the close of the war. His department according to "A Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the Navy of the Confederate States, to January 1, 1864," printed at Richmond, was composed as follows: S. R. Mallory. Secretary of the Navy, with a chief clerk, three inferior clerks, and messenger; an Office of Orders and Details; Office of Ordnance and Hy drography; Office of Provisions and Clothing, and Office of Medicine and Surgery. The Register contains several hundred names of officers, including all ranks known in our navy, from admiral down. There was but one admiral (Franklin Buchanan), twelve captains, three provisional captains, and forty-one commanders. A large number of these were formerly in the National service.

• So called from its inventor, Sir William Armstrong.

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