Chapter XI
when Brig.-Gen. W. W. Loring took command of the ‘Northwestern army,’ then distributed at various points in West Virginia, in July, 1861, he was joined at Huntersville by Brig.-Gen. Daniel S. Donelson's Tennessee brigade, composed of the Eighth and Sixteenth regiments under Cols. Alfred Fulton and John H. Savage, and by Brig.-Gen. Samuel R. Anderson's Tennessee brigade, composed of the First, Col. George Maney; the Seventh, Col. Robert Hatton, and the Fourteenth, Col. W. A. Forbes. Early in August, Gen. R. E. Lee assumed command of the forces in West Virginia, and Brig.--Gen. W. S. Rosecrans became his opponent in command of the Federal forces. In preparing the well-laid scheme to destroy the Federal forces at Cheat Mountain pass, General Lee moved Donelson's and Anderson's brigades to the right and left of the Federal position by circuitous mountain paths, which enabled them to penetrate the rear of the enemy. General Lee said: ‘With great effort the troops intended for the surprise had reached their destination, having traversed 20 miles of steep, rugged mountain paths, and the last day through a terrible storm which lasted all night, and in which they had to stand drenched to the skin in the cold rain. When morning broke I could see the enemy's tents on Valley river at the point on the Huttonsville road just below me. It was a tempting sight. We waited for the attack (by Rust) on Cheat mountain, which was to be the signal, till 10 a. m. But the signal did not come. All chance for surprise was [180] gone, the opportunity was lost and our plan discovered.’ During these operations Col. John H. Savage, of the Sixteenth Tennessee, with a guide, captured an entire company of Federal infantry with their arms and accouterments. The Savannah, Ga., Republican published an account of Colonel Savage's bold action in a communication dated September 21, 1861:
A Bold Capture.—After marching about three miles from Tygart river, Colonel Savage of the Sixteenth Tennessee regiment, desiring to make a reconnoissance, sallied off from his regiment at least a quarter of a mile, and while alone he suddenly and unexpectedly came up to where a company of Yankee pickets were stationed. Both he and they were considerably surprised, but the gallant colonel, changing not a color in his countenance, in a bold and defiant manner, standing erect in his stirrups, looking in his rear and then quickly facing the pickets, exclaimed in a stentorian voice: ‘You rascals, if you don't ground arms and surrender immediately, my men shall surround you and shoot you to pieces in a minute.’ They did surrender and he made them prisoners. The company consisted of three commissioned, four non-commissioned officers and sixty privates. (Head's History Sixteenth Tennessee.)After the withdrawal of the troops from Sewell mountain, Donelson's brigade was sent to South Carolina and Anderson's remained with Loring until after Stonewall Jackson's winter campaign. On the 1st of January, 1862, Anderson's brigade moved from its encampment near Winchester, Va., in the direction of Bath, as part of the expedition commanded by Gen. Stonewall Jackson. Approaching Bath on the morning of the 4th, General Jackson directed Loring, commanding his advance, to move a regiment to the left along the mountain which commanded the town. Colonel Maney was directed to execute the order, and General Jackson reported that ‘it was undertaken with a patriotic enthusiasm which entitles the First Tennessee [181] regiment and its commander to special praise.’ Subsequently, the Seventh under Colonel Hatton, and a section of Shumaker's battery under Lieutenant Lanier, were ordered to co-operate with Maney. The troops had not advanced far before the enemy fled, leaving his baggage and stores. General Jackson was entirely successful in the expedition, though the weather was intensely cold, and snow and sleet made the roads almost impassable to wagons and teams, and very trying to the men. On the 13th of February, Anderson's brigade was ordered to Aquia creek, except the First regiment, which was ordered to Tennessee. In the organization of the army of Northern Virginia, on the peninsula, April 30, 1862, the Tennessee brigade, composed of the First, Col. Peter Turney; the Seventh, Col. Robert Hatton, and the Fourteenth, Col. W. A. Forbes, 2,030 strong, was commanded by Brig.-Gen. Samuel R. Anderson, and constituted a part of Whiting's division of the reserve corps under the command of Maj.-Gen. G. W. Smith. On the 8th of May this brigade participated in the affair at Eltham, which, General Smith stated, ‘forms one of the most interesting incidents of the march of my command in retiring from Yorktown out of the peninsula.’ Having learned that the enemy had anchored off West Point and was landing troops, General Smith attacked on May 7th with Hood's and Hampton's brigades. Two attempts were made to flank the Confederates, but the appearance of Gen. S. R. Anderson with the Tennessee brigade (said the division general) on our left, made that flank secure. The enemy was driven a mile and a half through a dense forest, in which it was impossible to see over 30 or 40 yards, until he took refuge under the cover of his gunboats, leaving many dead and wounded on the field, while the Confederate loss was but 8 killed and 32 wounded, a few of the latter belonging to the Tennessee brigade. [182] General Whiting said: ‘I take occasion to make my acknowledgments to Brigadier-General Anderson of Tennessee, who, arriving on the field at a critical moment to the support of General Hood, and placing two of his regiments in the fire of the enemy, courteously waived the command, although senior to us all.’ Soon after this affair General Anderson was relieved at his own request, and on the 23d, Col. Robert Hatton of the Seventh Tennessee was made brigadier-general. Lieut.--Col. John F. Goodner was promoted to the command of of the Seventh, Maj. John K. Howard was made lieutenant-colonel, and Capt. John A. Fite was made major. At 12:30 o'clock on the morning of May 31st,