CHAPTER XIII.
GEN. SILENT GUIDED BY A SPECTER.—ARMY OF THE CENTER.—
BELEAGUERED AND HALF STARVED IN CHATTERAUGUS.—MIDDLETON'S
RIDGE.—GEN. SILENT'S FORCES SWEEP THE REBELS FROM THE
CREST.
“O thou whose captain I account myself,
Look on my forces with a gracious eye.
Put in their hands thy bruising irons of wrath
That they may crush down with a heavy fall,
The usurping helmets of our adversaries.
Make us thy ministers of chastisement,
That we may praise thee in thy victory.
To thee I do commend my watchful soul.
Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes,
Sleeping and waking, O, defend me...”
—Shakespeare
“The Army of the Center was now in a most deplorable condition. Gen. Biggs's lines extended to the river above and below, so that the Union army inside of Chatteraugus was practically invested, the rebel army being so situated that every movement of our troops could be watched as carefully as if they were all of the same army. The enemy persistently threw shells into our camp and made it very uncomfortable both by day and night. The rains had so swollen the river and damaged the roads that there was no direction from which supplies could be drawn in wagons of sufficient quantity to be of any very great assistance, had the rebels only held the Une of communication by rail. Our whole command had to be placed at once on half rations. Over 3,000 wounded soldiers were in camp and hospital, suffering and dying for want of proper food and nourishment. Forage for the animals could not be procured, and more than 10,000 died in and about Chatteraugus. One-third of the artillery horses died, and the remainder were unfitted for service.
“Biggs had cut off a train of supplies of medical stores for the wounded, and the ammunition of our army was reduced to the minimum. In the battle of Cherokee Run the men had thrown away and lost their blankets, so they were exposed to the hot sun and the chilly nights, without blankets, tents, food, or any of the comforts that even soldiers usually enjoy in the field. When Rosenfelt started on the campaign his order was to take but one blanket to each man, and no overcoats. In this condition they could not retreat. They seemed doomed to surrender at no distant day.
“The enemy well knew the condition of our troops, being in possession of the route to our depot of supplies, and the one by which re-enforcements would reach our army. They apparently held our forces at their mercy. For these reasons the enemy deemed it unnecessary to assault and lose lives in an attempt to take what seemed secure. All that Biggs had to do, as he thought, was to wait, and Chatteraugus would fall into his hands without a struggle. Starvation would soon force terms, as retreat or re-enforcements were considered alike impossible. No other portion of our armies was reduced to such a terrible extremity during the war.
“This was the situation of the Army of the Center when Gen. Silent took command of it. Biggs had sent his cavalry to the interior to watch all movements on our part, and especially to prevent supplies from being brought to or concentrated anywhere for our almost famished soldiers. Weller and Lawting, in command of the rebel cavalry, captured and destroyed in the Sewatch Valley 1,000 wagons loaded with supplies. They also captured 700 wagons at Macklinville, with about 1,000 prisoners, and at the same time destroyed millions of dollars of other property.
“Gen. Silent had just arrived at Nashua, and, finding that the raiders were burning wagon trains and railroad trains loaded with supplies, collected all the cavalry he could, obtained horses and mounted two regiments of infantry. Under a skillful officer he started them in pursuit of Weller and Lawting, chasing them into Northern Alabama and capturing near one-half of their commands. Gen. Silent had no means of getting into Chatteraugus until Biggs's force at Bridgeton and on the river between there and Chatteraugus could be dislodged and driven out of Looking-Glass Valley, which ran down along the mountain side to the river. He had difficulty in getting all the positions correctly.
“Finally he met Mrs. Houghton, who had come out from Chatteraugus prior to its investment. She gave him the most satisfactory detailed statement that he had received from any one as yet. In the interview she told him what she was doing in that country and where she had been; what she had said to General Rosenfelt the night before the battle of Murphy's Hill, and what she told him the day before the battle at Cherokee Run. The General questioned her as to the number of the enemy, the names of the commanders, etc. When she gave the names of Longpath and Stephenson, the General said:
“'They are sending troops here from the rebel army East?'