This brilliant achievement of Wharton’s extricating his brigade from this trap, secured his promotion to that of Brigadier-General, the same as Forrest’s exploit in the capture of Murfreesboro had secured his commission as Brigadier-General.
After leaving Bardstown our army continued its movement towards Perryville, its rear covered by our cavalry, all under the command of General Joe Wheeler. We pursued the same tactics that we did between Louisville and Bardstown, taking up favorable positions only to be driven from them by the large force of the enemy, usually by their superior artillery and heavy flank movements, thereby retarding their advance and giving our infantry, artillery and wagon train ample time to keep out of their way, also enabling some part of the cavalry to collect valuable army stores, such as provisions, stock, etc.
At Perryville we were forced to call a halt and give battle, our right wing, commanded by General Polk, becoming actively engaged about two o’clock in the evening.
The battlefield selected was one of the most favorable to both armies that could have been wished for, except that the extreme left wing of the Federal Army was caught without water until they succeeded in reaching a spring. Both lines of battle were on wooded ridges, intervened by a gentle valley from one and a half to three miles wide, these ridges terminating not far from Doctor’s Creek where there was considerable water, and which was commanded by our lines. At the head of the valley another wooded ridge sprang up about equidistant between the terminations of the two first mentioned ridges.
About ten o’clock we were ordered to our extreme right, commanded by General Cheatham and our line of march in the rear of the infantry line was discovered by the enemy, causing a concentration of their artillery to such an extent that we were forced to drop to the rear out of their sight. Finally we were ordered up on this wooded ridge commencing in the center of the valley, as a corps of observation, to watch the enemy’s extreme left and frustrate any flank movements they might undertake.
I forgot to mention that the artillery on both lines opened about daylight and gradually developed on both lines to about one o’clock, the infantry of both lying down and keeping out of sight. While on the ridge as stated, acting as a corps of observation, General Wharton, with his field glass, discovered a body of Federal cavalry, loaded with canteens, at a spring at the foot of the mountain they were occupying and called to the command, “About a half dozen of you get off your horses and drive that cavalry away from the spring.” As the mountain or ridge we were on, on the side next to the enemy, was very rocky and precipitous, the necessity of dismounting was apparent. I, with five or six others, obeyed the order and we were soon down in the valley, charging this spring, when this cavalry, with their long range Spencer rifles, took position behind a rock fence and opened on us. We had only one long range gun, in addition to six-shooters and knowing that the eyes of our own command, as well as Cheatham’s Division of infantry were watching us, we never considered a halt, but charged right on to them and, with our pistols, drove them away from the spring. We followed them around the foot of their ridge, past a house in the rear of the ridge, then down a line of fence, while they passed into the field and finally into a cedar thicket. We decided that we had better retire. We had started to do so, when one of these fellows came out of the thicket, riding a gray horse and called to us, waving his pistol. We turned loose on him with our pistols and drove him back into the thicket. We again started to retire, when he made his appearance again, pursuing the same tactics, when one of our boys, who had an Enfield rifle, the only gun in the party, crept down the outside line of the fence, unseen by them, until about even with the thicket and when the fellow made his appearance again, the third time, he fired on him, tumbling him off his horse. This brought a shout from our party, when simultaneously with our shout, a battery opened on the extreme left of the ridge, almost right over us, but they were not shooting at us. Still we knew unless we hurried out of there, we would be caught, and immediately proceeded to do so. When we got in sight of the ridge occupied by our cavalry, we discovered the object of their artillery fire, which was shelling a party General Wharton had sent around, leading our horses, to bring them to us. Before we got half way across we found our regiment sweeping around the foot of the mountain, across the valley, up on the enemy’s ridge and as soon as they were out of sight in the dense woods on the ridge, they fell into the enemy’s infantry behind a stone fence, which poured volleys into them and it is hardly necessary to say, badly scattered them, and they left a number of killed and wounded on the field. In the meantime, General Cheatham and staff had been seen crossing the valley to the point where our regiment was engaged, followed by his strong line of infantry. General Cheatham called to our scattered forces to “take this cavalry out of here and let my people take a hand,” which they did as soon as they got within range of this stone fence. This fence was defended by the enemy’s infantry at close quarters with clubbed guns and bayonets, but they finally yielded and were driven, inch by inch, off the mountain to their rear. This was the opening of the battle of Perryville and occurred about two o’clock in the evening. Among the dead left temporarily on the field was Captain Mark Evans, shot through the center of the head. The reader will remember that a few days before he saved my life and assisted me in swapping horses with the Federal in the Bardstown fight.
After rallying his forces General Wharton moved around in the rear of this wooded ridge and, while moving parallel with this ridge in the valley beyond, discovered an ordnance train in a lane about a quarter of a mile to our right, and prepared to charge it. Immediately a battery of four pieces opened on us on our flank, compelling us to withdraw, as we were satisfied that this battery was supported by a heavy force of infantry. Under this fire of artillery we had a complete set of fours cut down by one cannon ball or shell that passed through the bodies of four horses, cutting off both legs of one man below the knee, but not injuring the three other men, who mounted behind other comrades and rode off the field. This set of fours was just in front of the set of which I constituted a part and, on the spur of the moment, I stopped with our wounded friend to assist him. When attempting to hand him my canteen, to give him water, my horse pulled back completely out of his reach, preventing giving him water, which I could not throw to him, as the stopper of the canteen was lost, when Jared Gross, seeing our predicament, came back to assist me. Our command, in the meantime, had gone forward into a piece of timber, out of sight of the artillery. When Jared rode up pretty close to me I suggested that we had better keep apart as this artillery had the range on us, and we had barely separated when they fired another shot which cut the side of the mountain and would certainly have got us both if we had failed to separate. We were compelled to leave poor Duncan on the field, where he was afterwards attended by our surgeon and taken to a house and left inside of the enemy’s lines the next day. We never heard of him any more, assuming that he died, as the shock was too great, in connection with the loss of blood, for him to survive.
CHAPTER XVI.
I Refuse to Become a Teamster.
While at Corinth, immediately after the battle of Shiloh, we were ordered to furnish two wagon drivers and called for volunteers, having two wagons to the company. There was not a man in the company that would agree to drive wagons and we were instructed to draw lots, when, with my usual luck, I drew lots to drive wagons, which was a four-mule team; and I had never done any driving before. The other party was Jared Gross, who also objected to driving mules. I told General Wharton that I didn’t leave my home and everything I had to come out there and drive a mule team and that I wouldn’t and couldn’t do so. He said, “Now, Graber, you know you agreed to this drawing and it is not right or fair for you to refuse.” I told him that I knew it was mean, but I did not expect that it would fall to my lot to drive this wagon, when he finally told me, “If you do not obey this order I will have to have you court martialed.” I told him, “All right, Colonel Wharton, you may punish me as much as you like, but I am not going to drive that wagon.”
Some one then proposed to hire a couple of men and pay them fifty dollars a month each, which was done, and Duncan, with another man from Brazoria County, whose name I have forgotten, volunteered to take the job.