CHAPTER XII.
I Rejoin My Command.
Recurring to the meeting of my comrades at Greenville, Tennessee, where I found them camped in a deep snow, when they had me relate my prison experience, etc.: They had just received orders to move to Dalton, Georgia, where I, having no horse, proceeded by rail. On my arrival at Dalton I found the largest, best equipped army I had ever seen in the Confederacy, mostly quartered in tents. Our advance line occupied the top of a range of mountains, presenting precipitous fronts towards the enemy. This range of mountains was somewhat in the shape of a horseshoe, largely surrounding Dalton with probably a half dozen gaps, which were strongly fortified by our forces, except Snake Creek Gap on our left, nearly on a line with Resacca, a railroad station immediately in our rear on the only line entering Dalton and our only means of supplying the army and enabling retreat. I found General Joseph E. Johnston in command, with General Hardee, his second in command and General Hood, commanding a corps, immediately in front of Dalton.
Not having any horse and unable to secure one, I met a friend, Captain James Britton from Lebanon, Tennessee, who commanded Hood’s escort, who told me that he had several horses in camp, doing nothing, the owners of the horses being sick and confined at the hospital; if I would come and stay with him that I could ride any of the horses. This I gratefully accepted, telling him that I would only do so with the understanding that I would be treated as a member of the company doing duty.
While on this duty, moving out with the escort one morning with General Hood and staff, to his headquarters just in the rear of Railroad Gap, I witnessed the meeting of General J. E. Johnston, W. J. Hardee, General Cheatham, General Hindman, all with their respective staffs, at General Hood’s headquarters, which were under an old workshed with a workbench under it. General Johnston and staff were the last to arrive. After dismounting and shaking hands with the different generals and members of their staffs, as also General Hood, he handed General Hood his crutches. General Hood, it will be remembered, lost his leg at Chickamauga and was ever afterwards on crutches. Generals Johnston and Hood then moved up the road about three hundred yards out of our hearing and were soon engaged in a very animated discussion, which lasted perhaps three-quarters of an hour. When they returned Generals Johnston and Hardee mounted their horses with their respective staffs, returning to town, and gradually the rest of the officers dispersed, going to their respective stations.
CHAPTER XIII.
Middle Tennessee and Kentucky.
On reflection, I find that I omitted about a year’s service in Tennessee and Kentucky, before my capture near Bowling Green and will insert this now.
After destroying trestles and bridges between La Vergne and Nashville, under General Forrest, and capturing a railroad train at La Vergne, on which Colonel Fordyce was captured, we were ordered back across the mountain to Chattanooga, where we commenced scouting and picketing on the Tennessee River. We frequently extended our scouts almost to Guntersville, with the Federal Army massing and camping just across the river. General Mitchell commanded at Huntsville. He gave out that he was building a gunboat, with which to capture Chattanooga, and had the people of Chattanooga badly alarmed about it, but when finally he got his gunboat ready to move up the river, a scout of about twenty Texas Rangers were sent down to meet it with shotguns, taking a position on top of a high bank, opposite the mouth of Battle Creek, which was in plain view of this high bank. The gunboat approached and proved to be an ordinary small river boat, lined with cotton bales on the edge of the decks with the troops aboard, lying around carelessly on the side of this barricade of cotton bales, some of them playing cards. When the boat came very close to our bluff, we turned loose our shotguns on them and drove the boat into the mouth of Battle Creek, where it remained and was utilized by the Federal Army as a bridge for crossing the creek. This proved the end of General Mitchell’s famous gunboat, with which he threatened to capture Chattanooga. It was driven out of commission by Terry’s Rangers’ shotguns and relieved the people of Chattanooga of their anxiety.
While picketing down on the river road with a companion, we stopped at a blacksmith’s shop near Nicajack Cave and had our horses shod; just across the river was a camp of Federal infantry and artillery. The river at this point we judged to be about three-quarters of a mile wide, perhaps more; the railroad continued to run on the banks of the river, after passing the Narrows with the first depot out of Chattanooga, Shell Mound. After having our horses shod we rode down to the railroad on the banks of the river, the grade of which was high enough to protect us and our horses. We discovered a soldier at the river, filling some canteens and to see him run, we fired our pistols across, which of course made him run to his camp. Soon after, we heard the artillery bugle and immediately a gun opened on us with shell, which always struck the Nicajack Cave, some three-quarters of a mile in our rear, the country between us and Nicajack Cave being flat and open. We soon moved down to the little brick depot at Shell Mound and opened on them from there, when they perforated it with their shells; we then moved down to a box bridge across the mouth of the creek running into the river and had them make that a target. It is hardly necessary to say that we enjoyed this, somewhat, having a duel with our pistols against their piece of artillery. We were entirely protected and didn’t consider that we were under any danger whatever of being hit.
While picketing on this main road, General Morgan ran down on a locomotive as far as Shell Mound, just before our escapade with this artillery and came very near having his engine struck by a shell, but he succeeded in getting back to Chattanooga with his locomotive.
We were soon ordered back to Middle Tennessee, under General Forrest, where we operated around McMinnville, Manchester and along the railroad. After an attack on the outskirts of Manchester one morning, which Colonel Forrest decided was too strong for us, we withdrew further down the railroad, where we charged a block-house, the first we ever attempted to capture and the first we had ever seen. But, although some of our men got right up to the house, we were unable to force them to surrender, and were forced to give it up as a bad job. While engaged in this venture, a large force of infantry, cavalry and artillery had moved out on the road from McMinnville and were about to cut off our line of retreat. When we got in sight of this force, hurrying to get out of this corner, they raised a shout, which I must say made me feel very uncomfortable, knowing that they outnumbered us perhaps five to one, but we succeeded in dashing across the main road, where we wheeled and charged their advance column, bringing them to a halt, permitting others of the command to cross, that were virtually cut off, but they did capture a large fine looking negro man, who was the servant of General Forrest. His name was Napoleon, and he was devotedly attached to General Forrest. In connection with his capture they also captured two fine horses belonging to the general. They carried this negro to Louisville prison and did their best to persuade him to take the oath of allegiance and join them, but he steadfastly refused, as he was devotedly attached to General Forrest and was finally, through some special arrangement, exchanged and returned to the general. The last I knew of him I heard of him in Louisville prison, when he was sent around for exchange.