“My retreating column suffered serious loss in the streets of Winchester: males and females vied with each other in increasing the number of their victims by firing from the houses, throwing hand-grenades, hot water, and missiles of every description. The hellish spirit of murder was carried on by the enemy’s cavalry, who followed to butcher, and who struck down with sabre and pistol the helpless soldier sinking from fatigue, unheeding his cries for mercy, indifferent to his claims as a prisoner of war.
“This record of infamy is preserved for the females of Winchester. But this is not all: our wounded in hospital, necessarily left to the mercies of our enemies, I am credibly informed were bayoneted by the rebel infantry. In the same town, in the same apartments, where we, when victors on the field of Winchester, so tenderly nursed the rebel wounded, we were even so more than barbarously rewarded.”
THE INVESTMENT AND OCCUPATION OF CORINTH.
May 12–30, 1862.
The decisive battle of Pittsburgh, on Monday, April 7th, terminated in the retreat of the vast army of rebels, which fell back to Corinth. During the latter part of the same week, Gen. Halleck arrived on the field to assume the chief command of the Federal Army. The success of Gen. Pope’s division at New Madrid, and at Island No. 10, placed his superb army of about twenty thousand strong, at Halleck’s disposal; and they were now ordered to join the grand army under the commander-in-chief. They were assigned position at Hamburgh, four miles above Pittsburgh Landing, fronting on the extreme left of the Federal lines. Several changes were now made in the organization of the Federal army. The divisions of Sherman and Crittenden were added to Grant’s corps d’armée. This gave Grant eight divisions. The reserve of Grant’s forces were composed of the divisions of Gen. Lew. Wallace, Crittenden, and McClernand; the former command of the latter being conferred upon Brig.-Gen. John A. Logan. While McClernand was placed in command of this reserve, Gen. Thomas was placed in chief command of the remaining divisions of Grant’s forces.
In the field position, Grant’s forces constituted the right, Buell’s the centre, and Pope’s the left.
The first advance was ordered on April 29, the entire army moving toward the common centre, Corinth. Wallace held the extreme right. McClernand moved along the lower Corinth road, to a point one and a half miles west of Monterey. Sherman moved directly for a hill commanding Monterey, and occupied it on the morning of the 30th of April.
Every thing on the route indicated the haste with which the enemy had retreated, after his defeat. Gun carriages, caissons, wheels, tents, and all the apparatus of war, broken or burned, strewed the whole line of march.
On the same day Gen. Wallace dispatched a force to cut the Ohio and Mobile railroad at Bethel, south of Purdy, in order to sever the rebel communication to the northward. Three battalions of cavalry, and one of infantry, under command of Col. Morgan L. Smith, executed this commission. They found the rebels in position near Purdy, in a piece of woods. While the infantry and a detachment of cavalry engaged the enemy, Colonel Dickey, with two battalions of cavalry moved to the railroad. They destroyed a bridge a hundred and twenty feet in length, and the conductor, engineer, and four others were taken prisoners.
Buell struck direct from Pittsburgh Landing toward Corinth, while Pope’s division pushed forward from Hamburgh towards the lower point.
On the 3d of May, a reconnoissance in force toward Farmington was ordered. The country is uneven and difficult to penetrate, and both time and caution were necessary. Generals Paine and Palmer of Pope’s command, were detailed for this important duty. The regiments selected were the Tenth, Sixteenth, Twenty-second, Twenty-seventh, Forty-second and Fifty-first Illinois Volunteers, Tenth and Sixteenth Michigan Volunteers, Yates’ Illinois Sharpshooters, Houghtaling’s and Hercock’s batteries, and the Second Michigan cavalry. The column proceeded about five miles on the Farmington road, where they encountered the enemy’s cavalry pickets. A skirmish ensued, in which the rebels lost eight killed, and the same number of their wounded, were made prisoners. The enemy was compelled to fall back, after a second skirmish, and at 3 o’clock, p. m., the vanguard came up from a swamp they had crossed, and the fight commenced in earnest. The enemy was strongly posted on an elevated piece of ground which was flanked by a part of the force, and the rebels were obliged to fall back half a mile, yielding their former position to the Federals, who pressed them closely. The two regiments of infantry having secured a position commanding the left flank of the rebels, poured upon them such a destructive fire, that their infantry abandoned their artillerists. The latter, finding themselves forsaken, hastily withdrew their guns to a new position, from which they were soon dislodged, and fled with all speed to Corinth. General Pope’s advance was thus put in possession of Farmington.