[
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Holding Kentucky for the Union.
The military situation in
Kentucky in September, 1861, cannot be properly understood without a brief sketch of the initial political struggle which . resulted in a decisive victory for the friends of the
Union.
The State Legislature had assembled on the . 17th of January in called session.
The governor's proclamation convening it was issued immediately after he had received commissioners from the States of
Alabama and
Mississippi, and was followed by the
 |
|
Military water-sled.
From a war-time sketch. |
publication of a letter from
Vice-President Breckinridge advising the calling of a State convention and urging that the only way to prevent war was for
Kentucky to take her stand openly with the slave States.
About this time the latter's uncle,
the Rev. Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge, an eminent Presbyterian minister, addressed a large meeting at
Lexington in favor of the
Union.
The division of sentiment is further illustrated by the fact that one of his sons,
Colonel W. C. P. Breckinridge, followed his cousin into the Confederate army, while another son,
Colonel Joseph C. Breckinridge, fought for the
Union.
The position of the
Union men was very difficult.
They knew that
Governor Magoffin was in sympathy with the secession movement and that the status of the Legislature on the question was doubtful.
The governor had under his orders a military force called the State Guard, well armed and disciplined, and under the immediate command of
General Simon B. Buckner, a graduate of
West Point.
There was a small Union element in it, but a large majority of its membership was known to be in favor of secession.
Suspicious activity in recruiting for this force began as soon as the governor issued his call for the Legislature, and it was charged that new companies of known secession proclivities could get arms promptly from the State arsenal, while those supposed to be inclined toward the
Union were subjected to annoying delays.
The State Guard at its strongest numbered about only four thousand men, but it was organized and ready while the
Union men had neither arms nor organization to oppose it.
When the Legislature assembled it was soon ascertained that it was very evenly divided in sentiment.
Old party lines promptly disappeared, and members were classed as “Union” or “Southern rights.”
In the Senate there was a safe majority against calling a convention.
In the house on a test question the
Union men prevailed by only one vote.
There were some half-dozen waverers who always opposed any decisive step toward secession but were equally unwilling to give any active support to the
Government.
Outside pressure was brought to bear.
Large delegations of secessionists assembled at
Frankfort, to be speedily confronted by Union men, just as determined, summoned by telegraph from all parts of the
State.
Argument
[
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was met by argument, threat by threat, appeals to sentiment and prejudice on one side by similar appeals on the other.
The leading public men of the
State, however, had been trained in a school of compromises, and they long cherished themselves, and kept alive in the people, the hope that some settlement would be reached that would avert war and save
Kentucky from becoming the battle-field of contending armies.
This hope accounts in a large degree for the infrequency of personal affrays during those exciting days.
The struggle, kept up during three sessions of the Legislature, demonstrated that the
State could not be carried out of the
Union by storm, and terminated in adopting the policy of neutrality as a compromise.
The Union men, however, had gained some decided advantages.
They had consented to large appropriations for arming the
State, but on condition that the control of military affairs should be taken from the governor and lodged in a military board of five members, the majority being Union men; they provided for organizing and arming Home Guards, outside of the militia force, and not subject, as such, to the governor's orders, and they passed an act requiring all the State Guard to take the oath required of officers, this measure being mainly for the purpose of allowing the
Union members of that organization to get rid of the stringent obligations of their enlistment.
As in most compromises, the terms of the neutrality compromise were differently interpreted by the parties, but with both the object was to gain time.
The secessionists believed that neutrality, as they interpreted it, would educate the people to the idea of a separation from the
Union and result in alliance with the new Confederacy; the
Union men expected to gain time to organize their forces, elect a new legislature in sympathy with their views, and put the
State decisively on the side of the
Government.
Events soon showed that the
Union men best understood the temper of the people.
The Legislature adjourned May 24th, four days after the governor had issued his neutrality proclamation.
At the special congressional election, June 20th, nine Union representatives were chosen to one secessionist by an aggregate majority of over 54,000 votes.
The legislative election in August resulted in the choice of a new body three-fourths of whose members in each house were Union men.
Under the first call for troops,
Kentucky was required to furnish four regiments for the
United States service.
These
Governor Magoffin indignantly
[
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refused to furnish.
Shortly afterward he was asked by the
Secretary of War of the
Confederacy for a regiment.
He declined this request as beyond his power to grant.
His course did not suit the more ardent of the young men on either side.
Blanton Duncan had already procured authority to recruit for the
Confederacy, and in various portions of the
State men were publicly engaged in raising companies for him. Before the end of April he had started with a regiment for
Harper's Ferry by way of
Nashville.
An incident connected with this movement shows how strong the belief still was that the war was to be short, and that
Kentucky might keep out of it. As
Desha's company of
Duncan's regiment was leaving
Cynthiana, Ky., by rail, one of the privates said to a friend who was bidding him farewell: “Be sure to vote for
Crittenden [then the
Union candidate for delegate to the Border State Conference] and keep
Kentucky out of the fuss.
We are just going to
Virginia on a little frolic and will be back in three months.”
On the other side, immediately after
Magoffin's refusal to furnish troops,
J. V. Guthrie, of
Covington, went to
Washington and got authority for himself and
W. E. Woodruff, of
Louisville, to raise two regiments.
They established a camp just above
Cincinnati, on the
Ohio side of the river, and began recruiting in
Kentucky.
They soon filled two regiments, afterward known as the 1st and 2d Kentucky, which were sent early in July to take part in the
West Virginia campaign.
The Union Club in
Louisville was an important factor in organizing Union sentiment.
Originating in May, in six weeks it numbered six thousand members in that city, and spread rapidly through the
State and into
East Tennessee.
It was a secret society, the members of which were bound by an oath to be true to the flag and Government of the
United States.
One of the most striking figures of the period was
Lieutenant William Nelson of the navy.
He was a man of heroic build, six feet four inches high, and carrying lightly his weight of three hundred pounds; he had many accomplishments, spoke several languages, and was endowed with a strong intellect and a memory which enabled him to repeat, verbatim, page after page of his favorite authors.
A fluent and captivating talker, when he wished to please, no man could be more genial and companionable, but he had a quick and impetuous temper and an overbearing disposition, and when irritated or opposed was offensively dictatorial and dogmatic.
A native of
Kentucky and an ardent friend of the
Union, he visited the
State several times in the course of the spring to watch the course of events.
As a result of his observations he reported to
Mr. Lincoln that the arms of the
State were in the hands of the secessionists, and that the
Union men could not maintain themselves unless they were also furnished with arms.
Mr. Lincoln placed at his disposal ten thousand muskets with means for their transportation.
Toward the end of April he met in consultation at
Frankfort a number of the leading Union men of the
State and arranged for the distribution of the arms.
When, shortly afterward, the organization of the
Union Home Guards began, it was from this source they were armed.
In Louisville, on the initiative of
J. M. Delph, the
Union mayor, a brigade of
[
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two full regiments and a battery were organized, which were destined to play a very useful part.
When the Legislature of which he was a member had finally adjourned,
Lovell H. Rousseau went to
Washington and obtained authority to recruit a brigade, and, in order to avoid possibly injurious effects on the approaching election, established his camp on the
Indiana shore, opposite
Louisville.
Nelson, after making arrangements for the distribution of guns to the
Union men of the
State, was authorized by the
President to do a similar service for
[
377]
the
Union men of
East Tennessee, and for an escort was empowered to recruit three regiments of infantry and one of cavalry in
eastern Kentucky.
He selected his colonels, commissioning them “for the
Tennessee expedition” and appointing a rendezvous at Hoskin's Cross Roads, in
Garrard county, on the farm of
Richard M. Robinson, a stanch Union man, for the day after the legislative elections in August..
During this period of neutrality
Kentucky history seemed to be repeating itself.
As before its occupation by white men it was the common hunting-ground for the
Indian of the
North and of the
South on which by tacit agreement neither was to make a permanent home, so now it had become the common recruiting-ground of Northern and Southern armies on which neither was to establish a camp.
The Kentucky secessionists had opened a recruiting rendezvous near
Clarksville, Tennessee, a few miles from the
Kentucky border, which they called Camp Boone, and recruits began to gather there early in July.
Buckner resigned from the State Guard a few days after the
battle--of Bull Run and soon took his way southward.
1 His example was followed by most of the higher officers, and the State Guard began rapidly to disintegrate: It was no uncommon sight in
Louisville, shortly after this, to see a squad of recruits for the
Union service marching up one side of a street while a squad destined for the
Confederacy was moving down the other.
 |
|
John C. Breckinridge, Major-General, C. S. A.; Vice-President of the United States, 1857-61; Confederate Secretary of War, appointed Jan. 28, 1865.
from a daguerreotype taken about 1850. |
In the interior, a train bearing a company destined for
Nelson's camp took aboard at the next county town another company which was bound for Camp Boone.
The officers in charge made a treaty by which their men were kept in separate cars.
On the day after the August election
Nelson's recruits began to gather at his rendezvous.
Camp Dick Robinson was situated in a beautiful blue-grass country, near where the pike for
Lancaster and
Crab Orchard leaves the
Lexington and Danville Pike, between
Dick's River and the
Kentucky.
By September 1st, there had gathered at this point four full
Kentucky regiments and nearly two thousand East Tennesseeans, who had been enlisted by
Lieutenant
[
378]
S. P. Carter.
This officer, like
Nelson, belonging to the navy, was a native of
East Tennessee, and it was part of the original plan of the
East Tennessee expedition that he should enter that section and organize men to receive the arms that
Nelson was to bring.
This was found to be impracticable, and he opened his camp at
Barboursville and the men began to come to him.
In August,
W. T. Ward, a prominent lawyer of
Greensburg, commenced recruiting a brigade and soon had twenty-two companies pledged to rendezvous when he should obtain the necessary authority from
Washington.
In Christian county,
Colonel J. F. Buckner, a wealthy lawyer and planter, recruited a regiment from companies which organized originally as Home Guards, but soon determined to enter the volunteer service.
He established a camp five miles north of
Hopkinsville, where a few companies remained at a time.
Christian county was strongly Unionist, while all the counties west of it were overwhelmingly secessionist.
Camp Boone was only a few miles from its southern border, and
Fort Donelson about twenty miles south-west.
Colonel Buckner had a 6-pounder cannon, which could be heard at Camp Boone and made his vicinity additionally disagreeable to those neighbors.
The neutrality proclaimed by
Governor Magoffin on the 20th of May had been formally recognized by the
Confederate authorities and treated with respect by those of the
United States, but it was destined to speedy termination.
It served a useful purpose in its time, and a policy that had the respectful consideration of the leading men of that day could not have been so absurd as it seems now.
On the 3d of September
General Polk, who was in command in
western Tennessee, caused
Columbus, Kentucky, to be occupied, on account of the appearance of a body of Union troops on the opposite side of the
[
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Mississippi.
2 Hearing of this, on the 5th
General Grant moved from
Cairo and occupied
Paducah.
A few days afterward
General Zollicoffer advanced with four Confederate regiments through
Cumberland Gap to Cumberland Ford.
The Union Legislature had met on the 2d.
Resolutions were passed on the 11th requiring the governor to issue a proclamation ordering the
Confederate troops to leave the
State.
They were promptly vetoed and promptly passed over the veto, and the proclamation was issued.
In spite of the governor's opposition, acts were passed putting the
State in active support of the
Government.
The governor was reduced to a nullity.
General Robert Anderson who was assigned on May 28th to command the Department of Kentucky, was invited to remove his headquarters to
Louisville, and the
State's full quota of volunteers was called for, Recruiting was pushed with energy, and by the end of the year 28 regiments of infantry, 6 of cavalry, and 3 batteries had been organized.
On September 15th
General Albert Sidney Johnston assumed command of the Confederate forces in the
West, and at once ordered
General Buckner with five thousand men from Camp Boone and another camp in the vicinity to proceed by rail and occupy
Bowling Green.
Buckner reached that point early on the 18th, having sent in advance one detachment by rail to seize the bridge over
Green River at Munfordsville, and another to go as far as
Elizabethtown and bring back all the rolling-stock possible.
This was successfully accomplished, a part of the advance detachment going as far as the bridge over the
Rolling Fork of
Salt River, within thirty-three miles of
Louisville, and burning the bridge.
Buckners movement was supposed in
Louisville to have that city for its objective, and great excitement prevailed there.
Rumor magnified his forces, but there was abundant ground for apprehension without that.
General Anderson was in command, but he was without troops.
The only forces in his department in
Kentucky were the unorganized regiment of
Colonel Buckner near
Hopkinsville, the few hundred recruits gathered at
Greensburg by
General Ward, and
Nelson's forces at
Camp Dick Robinson,--none of which were ready for service,--the Home Guard Brigade of
Louisville, and the scattered companies of Home Guards throughout the
State.
Opposite
Louisville was
Rousseau's camp, in which were some two thousand men not yet prepared for the field.
Very few troops were in reach.
Owing to the neutrality of
Kentucky, the regiments recruited in
Ohio,
Indiana, and the North-west generally had been sent as fast as organized to the
Potomac or
Missouri armies.
Fortunately,
Governor Oliver P. Morton, of
Indiana, had received information, about the 1st, which had led him to reserve a few regiments for
Kentucky, and in response to
General Anderson's appeal he hurried them forward.
Anderson had learned of
Buckner's intended advance the day it was made, and the non-arrival of the regular train from the south showed him that it had begun.
The Home Guards of
Louisville were at once ordered out for ten days, and, assembling at midnight, eighteen hundred of them under
Colonel A. Y. Johnson,
Chief of the Fire Department, started by rail for
[
380]
 |
|
John J. Crittenden, during four terms United States Senator from Kentucky; twice Attorney-General of the United States; ex-governor of Kentucky.
From a daguerreotype taken about 1851.
in the session.
Of 1860-61 Senator Crittenden introduced resolutions called the “Crittenden compromise,” proposing as an unalterable Constitutional amendment that slavery be prohibited north of the parallel of 36° 30‘, and never interfered with by Congress south of that line.
Though this was the, most promising of the numerous plans for a compromise, the resolutions failed for want of agreement.-editors. |
Muldraugh's Hill.
Rousseau, with twelve hundred men, followed in a few hours.
The whole force was under
Brigadier-General W. T. Sherman, who had shortly before, at
Anderson's request, been assigned to duty with him. On arriving at
Lebanon Junction Sherman learned that rolling Fork Bridge, a few miles farther on, had just been destroyed.
The Home Guards debarked at the
Junction, and
Rousseau moved forward to the
Bridge, finding it still smoking.
A reconnoissance in force, carried for some distance beyond the river, found no enemy, and the burning of the
Bridge indicated that no farther advance was intended immediately.
General Sherman's army was rather a motley crew.
The Home Guards did not wear regulation uniforms, and
Rousseau's men were not well equipped.
Muldraugh's Hill had been occupied for six weeks or more during the summer by a regiment of the State Guard, and the people in the vicinity were
[
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generally in sympathy with the rebellion.
Sherman's attention was attracted to a Young man, without any uniform, who was moving around with what he considered suspicious activity, and he called him up for question.
The Young fellow gave a prompt account of himself.
His name was
Griffiths, he was a medical student from
Louisville acting as hospital steward, and he had been called out in such a hurry that he had had no time to get his uniform.
As he moved away he muttered something in a low tone to an officer standing by, and
Sherman at once demanded to know what it was. “well, General,” was the reply, “he said that a General with such a hat as you have on had no right to talk to him about a uniform.”
Sherman was wearing a battered hat of the style known as “stovepipe.”
Pulling it off, he looked at it, and, bursting into a laugh, called out: “Young man, you are right about the hat, but you ought to have your uniform.”
on the 20th, the 38th Indiana (
Colonel B. F. Scribner) arrived, and soon after four other regiments.
Sherman moved forward to
Elizabethtown, not finding any available position at
Muldraugh's Hill.
A few days afterward, having on October 8th
succeeded
Anderson, who had been relieved by
General Scott in these terms, “to give you rest necessary to restoration of health, call
Brigadier-General Sherman to command the Department of the Cumberland,”
Sherman ordered
Rousseau to advance along the railroad to
Nolin, fifty-three miles from
Louisville, and select a position for a large force.
while
Sherman was at
Elizabethtown,
Buckner, with several thousand men, moved rapidly to
Rochester, on
Green River, and destroyed the locks there, and then moved against
Colonel Buckner's camp near
Hopkinsville.
Warned of his approach,
Colonel Buckner directed his men, who had not yet been regularly enrolled, to disperse and make their way to the
Union camp near
Owensboro‘. they succeeded, but
Colonel Buckner himself was taken prisoner.
Occupying
Hopkinsville after a slight skirmish with the Home Guards,
Buckner left a garrison there under
General Alcorn and returned to
Bowling Green.
Rousseau's advance to
Nolin and the arrival of large reinforcements there induced
Johnston to move his headquarters from
Columbus to
Bowling Green, and on October 15th he sent
Hardee with 1,200 men from that place against
Ward at
Greensburg, who, hearing of
Hardee's approach, fell back with his recruits 20 miles to
Campbellsville.
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382]
no material change in this position of affairs in
western Kentucky occurred while
General Sherman remained in command, though there were several sharp skirmishes between bodies of
Kentucky recruits and Confederate scouting parties in the lower
Green River country.
in the mean time the
East Tennessee expedition was not progressing.
Nelson, whose arbitrary temper had made him enemies among influential politicians, was sent to
eastern Kentucky to superintend recruiting camps, and
Brigadier-General George H. Thomas took command at
camp Dick Robinson.
Thomas was an ardent advocate of the movement on
East Tennessee and bent all his energies to getting ready for it, but his command was not half equipped and was wholly without transportation; staff-officers were scarce, and funds were not furnished.
More patient than
Nelson, he was yet greatly tried by the importunities of the
East Tennessee troops, and of the prominent politicians from that region, who made his camp their rendezvous, as well as by military suggestions from civilians more zealous than wise in such matters.
The speech-making of distinguished visitors became a burden to
him. On one occasion, when
General Sherman visited his camp,
ex-senator J. J. Crittenden,
Senator Andrew Johnson, and
Horace Maynard were there.
A band came from the camp to serenade them, and the soldiers, not yet rid of their civilian characteristics, began calling for speeches from one after another.
Thomas withdrew from the orators to the seclusion of a little room used as an office, on one side of the piazza from which they were speaking.
One of his aides was writing in a corner, but
Thomas did not see him, and began striding up and down the floor in growing irritation.
At last
Sherman, who was not then such an orator as he is now, finished speaking, and cries arose for “
Thomas.”
he blurted out, “this speech-making!
I won't speak!
what does a man want to make a speech for, anyhow.?”
observing that he had an auditor, he strode from the room slamming the door behind him, and kept his own quarters for the rest of the evening.
accustomed to the discipline of the regular army, and fresh from the well-organized army of
General Patterson on the upper Potomac,
Thomas had little confidence in the raw recruits whom, for lack of a mustering officer, he mustered in himself.
He was willing to advance into
East Tennessee with half a dozen well-drilled regiments, and asked for and obtained them, but they came without transportation, and he had none for them.
While he was struggling to get ready for an advance,
Zollicoffer had made several demonstrations, and to oppose him
Garrard's regiment had been thrown forward to
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a strong position on wild
Cat Mountain just beyond
Rockcastle River, supported by a detachment of
Wolford's cavalry.
On the 17th of October,
Garrard reported that
Zollicoffer was advancing in force, and asked for reinforcements.
Thomas hurried forward several regiments under
General Schoepf, who had reported to him shortly before.
Schoepf arrived with the 33d Indiana, in time to help in giving
Zollicoffer, who had attacked vigorously with two regiments, a decisive repulse.
Zollicoffer retired, apparently satisfied with developing
Garrard's force, and
Thomas moved
Schoepf with
Carter's East Tennesseeans and several other regiments forward in pursuit, till stopped by order of
General Sherman, at
London.
on the 12th of November,
Sherman, having received information from his advance that a large force was moving between him and
Thomas, apparently toward
Lexington, ordered the latter to withdraw all his forces north of the
Kentucky River.
Making arrangements to obey,
Thomas at the same time sent an officer to
Sherman, urging the impolicy of the move unless absolutely necessary, and. Controverting the information on which it was based.
The order was revoked, but the revocation did not reach
Schoepf until his troops had begun the movement.
The East Tennessee regiments had received it with an indignation that carried them to the verge of mutiny.
They threw their guns to the ground and swore they would not obey.
Many actually left the command, though they returned in a few days.
It required all of
Carter's influence to keep them to their standards, and hundreds of them wept as they turned their backs on their homes.
Andrew Johnson was with them, and his indignation had added fuel to their discontent.
He was so indiscreet that
Thomas seriously contemplated his arrest.
On the revocation of the order
Carter returned to
London, while
Schoepf took position soon after at
Somerset.
in September
Colonel John S. Williams had begun to gather a Confederate force at
Prestonburg, in eastern Kentucky, threatening incursions into the central part of the
State.
On the 8th of November
General Nelson, who had advanced against him with two
Ohio and detachments of several
Kentucky regiments, with a part of his force encountered a large detachment thrown forward by
Williams to cover his retreat, in a strong position on
Ivy Creek.
After a well-contested engagement
Williams was forced from his position, and retired through
Pound Gap [see map, page 394]
[
384]
into
Virginia.
Nelson with the
Ohio regiments was then ordered to join the column in front of
Louisville, where he was assigned to command the Fourth Division.
On this expedition
Nelson reported as part of his force, “thirty-six gentlemen volunteers,” probably the latest appearance in history of that description of soldier.
One of them, of strong bibulous propensities, acting as his private secretary, brought about an altercation between
Nelson and a wagoner nearly as large, which narrowly missed fatal results.
He was anxious to get the driver away from his wagon in which there was a jug of whisky, and directed him to
Nelson's tent to find a big fellow who was employed to unhitch teams for tired drivers.
He warned him that the big fellow was cross, but told him he must insist on his rights.
The driver was just tipsy enough to be reckless, and he roused
Nelson with little ceremony.
[
385]
There was a terrible outburst of fury on both sides, which brought interference just in time to prevent a conflict between the two giants, one armed with a sword, and the other with a loaded whip-handle.
The aide, not reporting next morning, was, after some search, found sound asleep in a wagon with the jug beside him. He was a noted wag, and
Nelson, recognizing him at once as the author of the trick, dismissed him to his home.
A visit from
Secretary Cameron and
Adjutant-General Lorenzo Thomas, on their return from
St. Louis in the latter part of October, resulted in the removal of
General Sherman.
In explaining the needs of his department to the
Secretary,
Sherman expressed the opinion that two hundred thousand men would be required for successful operations on his line.
This estimate, which, as events showed, evinced remarkable foresight, then discredited his judgment.
On their way to
St. Louis, on the same tour, the
Secretary had ordered
General O. M. Mitchel to take charge of the
East Tennessee expedition, superseding
General Thomas, but
General Sherman succeeded in having the order recalled.
On November 15th,
General Don Carlos Buell assumed command of the Department of the Ohio, enlarged so as to include the States of
Ohio,
Michigan, and
Indiana.
3 He was given the advantage, not enjoyed by his predecessors, of controlling the new troops organized in those States.
By one of his first orders,
General Thomas was directed to concentrate his command at
Lebanon.
The new commander began at once the task of creating an efficient army out of the raw material at hand.
He organized the regiments into brigades and divisions, and subjected them to a system of drill and discipline the beneficial effects of which endured throughout the war.
The advance into
East Tennessee remained a favorite project with the authorities at
Washington.
Buell's instructions presented
Knoxville as the objective of his first campaign.
McClellan wrote several times urging that the seizing of the
East Tennessee and Virginia railroad was essential to the success of his plans, and that the political results likely to follow success in that direction made the movement of the first importance.
Buell did not consider
East Tennessee important enough to be his principal objective; he wanted it to be a subordinate feature in a great campaign.
He submitted his plans to
McClellan in a personal letter.
They were comprehensive and required a large force, and it was already seen that
Sherman's estimate was not so far out of the way.
Buell proposed that a heavy column should be moved up the
Tennessee and
Cumberland rivers by steamer, to unite with another moving on
Nashville, to the eastward of
Bowling Green.
Demonstrations were to be made in front of
Columbus and
Bowling Green, sufficient to keep the forces holding them fully occupied until their retreat was cut off by the marching columns.
At the same time an expedition from
Lebanon, moving by way of
Somerset, was to be directed against
East Tennessee.
Until he was ready to move, he desired to do nothing to put the enemy on the alert.
His brigades and regiments were allowed to remain in apparently objectless
[
386]
dispersion.
He did not care if some isolated posts were occasionally raided by the enemy.
But his regiments were frequently inspected and required to keep constantly ready for a movement the day and hour of which he proposed to keep to himself.
The notion that
Buckner or
Zollicoffer contemplated an advance, which so frequently agitated the military mind before he came, was dismissed by him as idle.
“I would as soon,” he wrote to
McClellan, “expect to meet the Army of the Potomac marching up the road, as
Johnston.”
His policy of quiet had to be laid aside when, early in December,
Morgan and
Helm burned the
Bacon Creek bridge in his front.
He advanced his lines to
Munfordville and threw forward a small force beyond
Green River.
This resulted in a skirmish between a portion of the 32d Indiana, deployed as skirmishers, and
Terry's Texas Cavalry-notable as one of the few fights of the war between infantry skirmishers in the open and cavalry.
Nothing else of moment occurred on
Buell's main line until the capture of
Forts Henry and
Donelson compelled
Johnston to retire from
Bowling Green and leave the road to
Nashville open.
4 Daring November
Buell reviewed
Thomas's command at
Lebanon, and advised with him about an attack on
Zollicoffer, who to meet a rumored advance had left
Cumberland Gap in charge of a strong garrison, had made his appearance on the
Cumberland at
Mill Springs, a few miles south-west of
Somerset, had crossed the river, and after some picket-firing with
Schoepf had intrenched himself on the north side.
General Thomas left
Lebanon on the 1st of January.
As far as
Columbia there was a good turnpike; beyond, only mud roads.
It rained incessantly, and artillery carriages and wagons sank to their axles in the soft soil.
On one part of the route eight days were consumed in advancing forty miles.
[
387]
On the 17th of January
Thomas reached Logan's Cross Roads, ten miles north of
Zollicoffer's intrenched camp (on the north side of the
Cumberland, opposite
Mill Springs) and about the same distance west of
Somerset, with the 9th Ohio and 2d Minnesota of
Robert L. McCook's brigade, the 10th Indiana of
Manson's brigade,
Kenny's battery, and a battalion of
Wolford's cavalry.
The 4th Kentucky, 10th Kentucky, the 14th Ohio,
Wetmore's battery, and the 18th regulars were still detained in the rear by bad roads.
Halting at the cross roads,
Thomas communicated with
Schoepf and ordered him to send across
Fishing Creek to his camp the 12th Kentucky, the 1st and 2d East Tennessee regiments, and
Standart's battery, to remain until the arrival of his delayed force.
Hearing that a large wagon train, sent on a foraging expedition by
Zollicoffer, was on a road about six miles from the
camp of Steedman, of the 14th Ohio, he ordered that officer to take his own regiment and
Harlan's 10th Kentucky and attempt its capture.
On the evening of the 18th the 4th Kentucky, the battalion of Michigan Engineers, and.the battery arrived and went into camp near the 10th Indiana.
The battle of Logan's Cross Roads (Mill Springs).
A few days before this
General George B. Crittenden had arrived at
Zollicoffer's camp and assumed command.
Hearing of the arrival of
Thomas with part of his command, and believing that
Fishing Creek, which was a troublesome stream at any stage of water, was unfordable from recent rains, he called a council of his brigade and regimental commanders to consider the propriety of making an attack on
Thomas before he could be reached by
Schoepf or his regiments in the rear.
There was little delay in coming to a decision.
Their camp on the north side of the river was not tenable against a strong attack, and the means of crossing the river were so insufficient that a withdrawal without great loss could not have been effected, in the face of an enterprising enemy.
The only chance for a satisfactory issue was to attack
Thomas before he could concentrate.
Crittenden ordered a movement to begin at midnight on the 18th in the following order:
General Zollicoffer's brigade, consisting of two cavalry companies, a Mississippi regiment, three
Tennessee regiments, and a battery in front; next, the brigade of
General Carroll, composed of three
Tennessee regiments and a section of artillery.
An
Alabama regiment and two cavalry regiments, intended as a reserve, closed the column.
After a march of nine miles over muddy roads and through the rain, his cavalry about daylight encountered
Wolford's pickets, who after firing fell back on the reserve, consisting of two companies of the 10th Indiana, and with them made a determined stand, in which they were promptly supported by
Wolford with the rest of his battalion, and soon after by the rest of the 10th Indiana, ordered up by
Manson, who had been advised by courier from
Wolford of the attack.
Colonel Manson proceeded in person to order forward the 4th Kentucky and the battery of his brigade and to report to
General Thomas.
On his way he notified
Colonel Van Cleve, of the 2d Minnesota.
As
Manson dashed through the camp of the 4th Kentucky shouting for
Colonel Speed S. Fry, and giving warning of the
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attack, the men, wearied with the muddy march of the day before, were just beginning to crawl out of their tents to roll-call.
Forming rapidly,
Fry led them at double-quick in the direction of the firing.
Having no one to place him, on coming in sight of the enemy, he took position along a fence in the edge of the woods, with his right resting near the
Mill Springs road.
In front of him was an open field, across which the enemy were advancing from the shelter of woodland on the opposite side.
A ravine ran through the open field parallel to
Fry's front, heading near the road on his right, with steep sides in his front, but sloping gradually beyond his left.
Before
Fry's arrival
Zollicoffer had deployed his brigade, and had forced
Wolford and the 10th Indiana to fall back, almost capturing the horses of
Wolford's men, who were fighting on foot.
A portion of
Wolford's command, under his immediate charge, and
Vanarsdall's company of the 10th Indiana, rallied on the 4th Kentucky when it appeared, the remainder of the 10th falling back to its encampment, where it re-formed its lines.
Fry was at once subjected to a severe attack.
The enemy in his front crawled up under shelter of the ravine to within a short distance of his lines before delivering their fire, and
Fry, mounting the fence, in stentorian tones denounced them as dastards, and defied them to stand up on their feet and come forward like men.
A little lull in the firing occurring at this juncture,
Fry rode a short distance to the right to get a better view of the movement of the enemy in that direction.
The morning was a lowering one, and the woods were full of smoke.
As
Fry turned to regain his position he encountered a mounted officer whose uniform was covered with a water-proof coat.
After approaching till their knees touched, the stranger said to
Fry: “We must not fire on our own men” ; and nodding his head to his left, he said, “Those are our men.”
Fry said, “Of course not. I would not do so intentionally” ; and he began to move toward his regiment, when turning he saw another mounted man riding from the
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trees who fired and wounded
Fry's horse.
Fry at once fired on the man who had accosted him, and several of his men, observing the incident, fired at the same time.
The shots were fatal, and the horseman fell dead, pierced by a pistol-shot in his breast and by two musket-balls.
It was soon ascertained that it was
Zollicoffer himself who had fallen.
In the mean time, the enemy were pressing
Fry in front and overlapping his right.
On his right front only the fence separated the combatants.
The left of his regiment not being assailed, he moved two companies from that flank to his right.
As he was making this change
General Thomas appeared on the field, and at once placed the 10th Indiana in position to cover
Fry's exposed flank.
The fall of
Zollicoffer and the sharp firing that followed caused two of his regiments to retreat in confusion.
Crittenden then brought up
Carroll's brigade to the support of the other two, and ordered a general advance.
Thomas met this by placing a section of
Kenny's battery on the left of the 4th Kentucky, which was overlapped by
Carroll's line, ordered the 12th Kentucky to the left of
Kenny's two guns, and
Carter with the two East Tennessee regiments, and
Wetmore's battery still farther to the left, in front.
of the
Somerset road.
Standard's battery and
Kenny's remaining
guns were held in the rear of the center, and
McCook's two regiments were ordered up, the 9th Ohio on the right of the 10th Indiana, and the 2d Minnesota in reserve behind the latter regiment and the 4th Kentucky.
During these movements
Kenny's section was so threatened that it was withdrawn some distance to the rear.
There was little opportunity for the effective use of artillery on either side, and that arm played an insignificant part in the engagement,
Thomas's superiority in that particular availing him little.
Carroll's attack was pressed with great courage, and the ammunition of the 4th Kentucky and 10th Indiana beginning to fail, the 2d Minnesota was ordered to relieve them, which it did under severe fire.
Both of
McCook's regiments were admirably drilled and disciplined, and moved to the attack with the order and steadiness of veterans.
Thomas's disposition of his troops had begun to tell.
The advance of the 12th Kentucky on the left, the firing of
Wetmore's battery, and the movement of
Carter's East Tennesseeans checked the enemy's right, and it soon began to give back.
The 2d Minnesota was slowly pushing forward over the ground that had been the scene of the most persistent fighting from the first, and the 9th Ohio, on the right, was forcing back the enemy through open ground, when, slightly changing direction, it made a bayonet charge against the enemy's left, which gave way in confusion.
Their whole line then broke into a disorderly retreat.
After replenishing
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cartridge-boxes,
Thomas pushed forward in pursuit.
Within a few miles, a small body of the enemy's cavalry attempted to make a stand, but were scattered by a few shells from
Standart.
The road which the retreating force followed was strewn with evidences that the retreat had degenerated into a panic.
A piece of artillery was found abandoned in a mud hole, hundreds of muskets were strewn along the road and in the fields, and, most convincing proof of all, the flying foe had thrown away their haversacks filled with rations of corn pone and bacon.
Those were the days when stories of “rebel atrocities” in the way of poisoning wells and food were current, and the pursuers, who had gone into the fight breakfastless, were doubtful about tasting the contents of the first haversacks they observed.
Their great number, however, soon became a guarantee of good faith, and the hungry soldiers seized on them with avidity.
As
Crittenden in his report mentioned the loss of all the cooked rations carried to the field as enhancing the distress of his subsequent retreat, the abundance of the supply obtained by the pursuing force may be inferred.
On arriving near the enemy's intrenchments the division was deployed in line of battle,
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Brigadier-General speed S. Fry.
From a photograph. |
advancing to the summit of the hill at
Moulden's, which commanded the enemy's intrenchments.
From this point
Standart and
Wetmore's batteries kept up a cannonade till dark, while
Kenny's on the left, at Russell's house, fired upon their ferry to keep them from crossing.
The 14th Ohio and the 10th Kentucky had come up during the pursuit, and were placed in advance for the assault ordered for daybreak.
General Schoepf arrived about dark with the 17th, 31st, and 38th Ohio.
At daybreak next morning
Wetmore's Parrott guns, which had been moved to
Russell's, began firing on the steamer which was evidently engaged in crossing troops, and it was soon abandoned and set on fire by the enemy.
The assaulting columns moved forward, the 10th Kentucky and the 14th Ohio in advance, and reaching the intrenchments found them abandoned.
In the bottom near the ferry-crossing were found 11 pieces of artillery, with their caissons, battery-wagons, and forges, hitched up and ready to move but abandoned by the artillerymen, more than 150 wagons, and over 1,000 horses and mules.
All the troops had escaped.
The steep road on the other bank was strewn with abandoned baggage and other evidences of disorderly flight.
The boats used for crossing having been destroyed by the retreating enemy, no immediate pursuit was possible; but during the day means were improvised for getting the 14th Ohio across for a reconnoissance and to secure abandoned property.
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Thomas reported his loss in action as 39 killed and 207 wounded, the casualties being confined entirely to the 10th Indiana, 4th Kentucky, 2d Minnesota, 9th Ohio, and
Wolford's cavalry.
Colonels McCook and
Fry were among the wounded.
The enemy's loss he reported as 192 killed, 89 prisoners not wounded, and 68 prisoners wounded.
Crittenden's report stated his own loss at 125 killed, 309 wounded, and 99 missing, much the heaviest loss being in the 15th Mississippi (
Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Walthall), of
Zollicoffer's brigade, which had led the attack on
Fry and fought through the whole engagement.
Besides the property mentioned above, a large amount of ammunition, commissary stores, intrenching tools, camp and garrison equipage and muskets, and five stands of colors were found in the camp.
The demoralization was acknowledged by
Crittenden in his report, in which he says: “From
Mill Springs and on the first steps of my march officers and men, frightened by false rumors of the movements of the enemy, shamefully deserted, and, stealing horses and mules to ride, fled to
Knoxville,
Nashville, and other places in
Tennessee.”
Of one cavalry battalion, he reported that all had deserted except twenty-five.
On his retreat his sick-list increased greatly from lack of food and fatigue, and the effective force of his army was practically destroyed.
After entrance into his intrenchments had demonstrated the panic that existed in the enemy's forces,
Fry said to
Thomas: “General, why didn't you send in a demand for surrender last night?”
Looking at him a moment as if reflecting,
Thomas replied: “Hang it,
Fry, I never once thought of it.”
At this time originated a saying often heard in the Western army afterward.
A sprightly
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National Cemetery at Logan's Cross Roads. From a recent photograph. |
young prisoner slightly wounded was allowed the freedom of the camp.
To some soldiers chaffing him about his army being in such a hurry as even to throw away their haversacks, he replied: “Well, we were doing pretty good fighting till old man
Thomas rose up in his stirrups, and we heard him holler out: ‘ Attention, Creation!
By kingdoms right wheel!’
and then we knew you had us, and it was no time to carry weight.”
Thomas's victory was complete, and the road was opened for the advance into
East Tennessee which he had so long endeavored to make and which was
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View on the battle-field of Logan's Cross Roads. From a photograph, 1887. |
contemplated by his instructions, but the scarcity of provisions, the badness of the roads, and the difficulty of crossing the river made progress on that line impracticable, and shortly afterward
Carter was ordered with his brigade against
Cumberland Gap and
Thomas to rejoin
Buell's main column, and the
East Tennessee expedition, which
Nelson had devised and
McClellan had strongly urged and
Thomas had labored so to put in motion, was definitively abandoned.
While
Thomas was marching against
Zollicoffer,
Colonel Garfield was driving
Humphrey Marshall from the mountainous region along the
Virginia border.
With
Marshall's retreat the last Confederate force was driven from the
State, and
Garfield with his brigade joined the army in
Tennessee.
