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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d90ed13 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50483 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50483) diff --git a/old/50483-h.zip b/old/50483-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index dbfba61..0000000 --- a/old/50483-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50483-h/50483-h.htm b/old/50483-h/50483-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 70db36b..0000000 --- a/old/50483-h/50483-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3629 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan Brigade, by Lieut. L. D. Young. - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - - p { margin-top: .75em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .75em; - } - - p.bold {text-align: center; font-weight: bold;} - p.bold2 {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: 150%;} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; - } - h1 span, h2 span { display: block; text-align: center; } - #id1 { font-size: smaller } - - - hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; - } - - body{margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - } - - table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 5px; border-collapse: collapse; border: none; text-align: right;} - - .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - text-indent: 0px; - } /* page numbers */ - - .center {text-align: center;} - .smaller {font-size: smaller;} - .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - .mynote { background-color: #DDE; color: black; padding: .5em; margin-left: 20%; - margin-right: 20%; } /* colored box for notes at beginning of file */ - .box {max-width: 25em; margin: 1.5em auto;} - .left {text-align: left;} - - .poem {display: inline-block; text-align: left;} - .poem br {display: none;} - .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} - .poem div {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan -Brigade, by L. D. Young - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan Brigade - -Author: L. D. Young - -Release Date: November 18, 2015 [EBook #50483] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES OF A SOLDIER *** - - - - -Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="mynote"><p class="center">Transcriber's Note:<br /><br /> -A Table of Contents has been added.<br /></p></div> - -<hr /> - -<div class="center"><a name="cover.jpg" id="cover.jpg"></a><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - -<h1>Reminiscences of a Soldier<br />of the Orphan Brigade</h1> - -<p class="bold">By LIEUT. L. D. YOUNG</p> - -<p class="bold">Paris, Kentucky</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">To Those Who Wore the Gray and to Their Children<br />and Children's -Children, This Booklet<br />is Dedicated.</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p> - -<div class="box"> -<p><i>The Richard Hawes Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy warmly -recommends Col. L. D. Young's "Reminiscences of the Orphan Brigade" as a -most worthy addition to the literature of the South.</i></p> - -<p><i>It is an interesting recital of the author's personal experiences and -contains much valuable historic information.</i></p> - -<p><i>The Chapter commends Mr. Young, a splendid Christian gentleman—a -gallant Confederate soldier—to all lovers of history—and especially to -the brave soldiers of the present great war.</i></p></div> - -<hr /> - -<h2><span>CONTENTS</span></h2> - -<table summary="CONTENTS"> - <tr> - <td class="left"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER</span></td> - <td><span class="smaller">PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">THE ORPHAN BRIGADE.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER I.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER II. (An address delivered at Paris, Ky., June 26, 1916.)</td> - <td><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER III. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER IV. THE BOMBARDMENT OF VICKSBURG.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER V. MURFREESBORO (Stone River).</td> - <td><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER VI. LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER VII. MISSIONARY RIDGE.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER VIII. DALTON.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER IX. VISIT TO RESACA—1912.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER X. DALLAS.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XI. ATLANTA—MAY, 1912.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">CHAPTER XII. JONESBORO.</td> - <td><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td> - </tr> - -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p> - -<h2>THE ORPHAN BRIGADE.</h2> - -<p class="bold">By Prof. N. S. Shaler of the Federal Army.</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>Eighteen hundred and sixty-one:</div> -<div>There in the echo of Sumter's gun</div> -<div>Marches the host of the Orphan Brigade,</div> -<div>Lit by their banners, in hope's best arrayed.</div> -<div>Five thousand strong, never legion hath borne</div> -<div>Might as this bears it forth in that morn:</div> -<div>Hastings and Crecy, Naseby, Dunbar,</div> -<div>Cowpens and Yorktown, Thousand Years' War,</div> -<div>Is writ on their hearts as onward afar</div> -<div>They shout to the roar of their drums.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Eighteen hundred and sixty-two:</div> -<div>Well have they paid to the earth its due.</div> -<div>Close up, steady! the half are yet here</div> -<div>And all of the might, for the living bear</div> -<div>The dead in their hearts over Shiloh's field—</div> -<div>Rich, O God, is thy harvest's yield!</div> -<div>Where faith swings the sickle, trust binds the sheaves,</div> -<div>To the roll of the surging drums.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Eighteen hundred and sixty-three:</div> -<div>Barring Sherman's march to the sea—</div> -<div>Shorn to a thousand; face to the foe</div> -<div>Back, ever back, but stubborn and slow.</div> -<div>Nineteen hundred wounds they take</div> -<div>In that service of Hell, yet the hills they shake</div> -<div>With the roar of their charge as onward they go</div> -<div>To the roar of their throbbing drums.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Eighteen hundred and sixty-four:</div> -<div>Their banners are tattered, and scarce twelve score,</div> -<div>Battered and wearied and seared and old,</div> -<div>Stay by the staves where the Orphans hold</div> -<div>Firm as a rock when the surges break—</div> -<div>Shield of a land where men die for His sake,</div> -<div>For the sake of the brothers whom they have laid low,</div> -<div>To the roll of their muffled drums.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<div>Eighteen hundred and sixty-five:</div> -<div>The Devil is dead and the Lord is alive,</div> -<div>In the earth that springs where the heroes sleep,</div> -<div>And in love new born where the stricken weep.</div> -<div>That legion hath marched past the setting of sun:</div> -<div>Beaten? nay, victors: the realms they have won</div> -<div>Are the hearts of men who forever shall hear</div> -<div>The throb of their far-off drums.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>INTRODUCTION.</span> <span class="smaller">CHAPTER I.</span></h2> - -<p>It is for the amusement and entertainment of the thousands of young -Kentuckians now enlisted beneath the Stars and Stripes in the world -cataclysm of war for the cause of humanity and righteousness that these -recollections and reminiscences are published. The author believing they -will enable the "boys" to pass what might otherwise be at times lonesome -and monotonous hours.</p> - -<p>And while refused by the Secretary of War (by reason of age) the -opportunity to participate in the great struggle now raging, it is his -province now only to watch their career, to pray for them and their -success, for their successful and triumphant return.</p> - -<p>And by reason of his experience as a soldier he can enter into fully -their aspirations and ambitions and share their hopes, rejoice in their -victories and their triumphs. He understands the dread suspense of the -impending conflict, the thrill and shock of battle, the victorious -shout, the gloom and chagrin of defeat, the pangs of hunger and -suffering from wounds and disease—for he has seen war in all its -horrors.</p> - -<p>And he knows that when the supreme moment comes that Kentucky blood will -assert itself; that her traditional honor will be upheld, her renown -glorified anew.</p> - -<p>He knows that these inspirations will insure steadiness of step, -strength of arm and force of stroke.</p> - -<p>He rejoices that the ever assertive blood of the Anglo-Saxon flows -through the veins of these young Kentuckians, ready at all times and -under all circumstances to be dedicated to the cause of humanity and -righteousness.</p> - -<p>As will be readily seen, at the time of the writing of these chapters, -there was no thought of the great war in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> which the world is now -engulfed and it was mainly a work of pastime and personal satisfaction -that they were then written and published. But the suggestion has been -made that if published in suitable form for distribution and donated by -friends to the Kentucky boys now in service that it might be appreciated -by the boys "over there," some of whom are doubtless the sons or -grandsons of those who composed this little band of "immortals" and who -contributed so much to Kentucky's history in the unfortunate fratricidal -conflict of almost sixty years ago. Thank God that the animosities of -that unhappy period have long since been banished, and there is now but -one thought, one aim, animating the hearts and minds of these sons and -grandsons, viz., the overthrow of autocracy and the avenging of the -outrages of the Huns—and a readjustment and regeneration of the -relationship and affairs of men.</p> - -<p>In the changed conditions that confront us today we see the history of -the Commonwealth being absorbed by the Nation and almost imperceptibly -blended into a Nationalized, Americanized whole.</p> - -<p>And whatever of history the sons of the Commonwealth achieve in the -great war will be accredited to the nation America, and not Kentucky. -And recognizing this unification as a fixed policy of our government, -the writer takes advantage of the opportunity in this little booklet -(lest we forget) to individualize and compliment the magnificent record -of that little band of Kentuckians, known in history as the "Orphan -Brigade" and whose achievements form one of the most brilliant chapters -in the history of the State and Nation. Hence the publication of this -booklet. The writer does not for a moment stop to criticise the wisdom -of this change (from the volunteer to the conscript system) and he hopes -he may be pardoned for expressing pride in Kentucky's unexcelled past -history. Henceforth it will not be what Kentucky or Ohio -accomplished—in war, but what the Nation, unified <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>America, -accomplished. It will now be "liberty enlightening" and leading the -world.</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>Then let the battle rage and onward move,</div> -<div>Count not the cost nor falter in the breach,</div> -<div>God, the Great Commander, wields the righteous wand,</div> -<div>And bids you <i>His Love</i> the tyrant teach.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>When that shall have been accomplished (should the author be living) he -will be tempted to exclaim in the language of old Moses when from Mt. -Nebo he beheld the land of Canaan and exclaimed "Now Lord, I am ready."</p> - -<p>In writing these recollections and reminiscences he has aimed as much as -possible to avoid aspersions, reflections and criticisms and confine -himself to a personal knowledge, which, of course, was more or less -limited, because of the restricted sphere of his activities and -operations. But he assures the "boys" that his stories, while not -classic, are substantially true. He could not afford to, at his advanced -age, attempt to misrepresent or deceive, and he hopes the reader will -excuse any irregularities in the order of publication in book form for, -as previously stated, that was not originally contemplated.</p> - -<p>In comparing conditions and surroundings of that day with those of the -soldier of today, we find them so radically different as to be -incomparable. And for this the soldier of today should be truly -thankful, since in the case of these isolated Kentuckians—none of whom -could communicate with friends and receive a message or word of cheer -from the dear ones at home, circumstances today are so very, very -different. And while you are called upon to meet and face many and more -trying dangers, because of the new and more modern instruments of war, -you are in many ways much better provided for than were your sires and -grandsires. Now when sick or wounded you have every attention that -modern skill and science can command. You have also the angelic help and -ministrations of that greatest of all help and comfort, the Red<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> Cross, -and many other sources of help and aid that the soldiers of the past did -not have.</p> - -<p>So that while the dangers may be greater, the casualties more numerous, -relief has multiplied proportionately. And you are today soldiers -engaged in war which has the same meaning it has always had. Because of -the gloom and sorrow that now enshrouds the world, it would be well if -we could forget the past—for the events of today are but a portrayal of -the past, a renewal of man's "inhumanity to man." But it has been so -decreed by Him who "moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform, -Who plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm."</p> - -<p>And let us hope—as many believe—that out of "Much tribulation cometh -great joy." If it were not for a great and wise purpose, how could it -be? It is God's will and submission to His will is man's only choice.</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>So let your spirits as they rise and fall,</div> -<div>Ever cling to the Faith that Right will prevail,</div> -<div>That God will be with you to the end and is all in all,</div> -<div>And no foeman, freedom's banner shall assail.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>It is at the instance of the Richard Hawes Chapter of the U. D. C. -chiefly that the writer of these recollections and reminiscences has -collected and published them.</p> - -<p>If in contributing this history of experiences and recollections he -shall give in any degree pleasure and furnish entertainment to the "dear -Kentucky boys" over the seas he shall feel happy to have had that -privilege and opportunity.</p> - -<p>He assures them that none more sincerely, more prayerfully hopes for -their safe and triumphant return. He knows that this triumph will be the -grandest chapter in the world's history and that America will have -played her part gloriously in the grand tragedy.</p> - -<p>Oh! that he could be one of the actors!</p> - -<p>Then will the dark and gloomy days of your absence hallowed by the blood -of your lost comrades be made<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> glorious by a triumphant return, the like -of which the world has never before seen nor never will see again.</p> - -<p>Then will every hilltop and mountain peak blaze with the bonfires of a -glorious greeting.</p> - -<p>Then will the dear old mother's heart thrill with joy and happiness, -then will the old father say "Welcome! Welcome! my dear boy, I knew you -would come." Then too will she who promised, watched, hoped and prayed -be found seeking the opportunity to say "I am now ready to redeem my -promise."</p> - -<p>Then will the old soldier (God permitting him to live) who dedicates -these lines extend the glad hand of greeting to the noble boys of his -acquaintance and say, "well done ye noble sons! I rejoice in your -achievements, your victories, your triumphs.</p> - -<p>"Welcome, thrice welcome, and again welcome, God smiles and the land is -yours. Let justice and righteousness prevail now, henceforth and -forever."</p> - -<p>It is conceivable that forty or fifty years hence some of these soldier -boys now participating in the great war will find themselves wandering -over these fields upon which the greatest tragedies in the world's -history are now being enacted, and it is in full comprehension (because -of similar experiences) that the writer can extend the imaginations of -the mind to that time.</p> - -<p>It will be for him, who may be so fortunate, a glorious day, a thrilling -and inspiring reminiscence. To be one of the actors in this stupendous -tragedy in the history and affairs of the world; to see, to participate -in and realize these grand events is to see things that have heretofore -seemed impossible, or inconceivable.</p> - -<p>But the times are full of wonders and amazements, and things are -happening faster and faster day by day.</p> - -<p>If the early history of the writer, read before the U. D. C.'s, contains -matter that would seem more appropriate for a novel, because of its -romantic character he justifies himself by saying that "youth is full of -romance" and he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> believes, yea he knows, that many a brave boy today -feels the impulse and touch of these thoughts and suggestions—and not -alone the soldier boy, but the modest, timid, retiring maiden whose -heart quavered when she said good-bye.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER II.</span> <span class="smaller">(An address delivered at Paris, Ky., June 26, 1916.)</span></h2> - -<p><i>Madame President</i>, <i>Ladies</i>, <i>Daughters of the Confederacy</i>:</p> - -<p>I have several times promised your ex-president, Mrs. Leer, that I would -furnish her with a brief history of my observations and experiences as a -soldier, and have so far failed; but will now, ere it is too late, try -to comply with this promise.</p> - -<p>But for the life of me I cannot see how I shall comply with this request -without (seemingly at least) appearing in the role of one given to self -praise or eulogy, and, modest man that I am, I hesitate; this will -explain why I have been so long complying with your request, and shall -constitute my apology.</p> - -<p>The history of Kentucky Confederates was in most instances very similar -and their duties likewise similar. All were imbued with the spirit of -patriotism and love for the cause in which they had engaged, each -determined to do whatever he could to promote and advance the cause in -which he was enlisted. In this I claim to have done no more than other -Kentucky soldiers who fought under the "Stars and Bars."</p> - -<p>And yet there may be some incidents, some experiences in my history so -different from others as to make them somewhat interesting by contrast, -and as others have kindly furnished you with a history of their -experience, you may be somewhat interested in making comparisons.</p> - -<p>Now, so far as relates to my history as a <i>real</i> soldier, the beginning -of that career was on the 8th of September, 1861. On the 22d of January -following I was twenty years old—quite a youth you are ready to say. -But I had been a soldier almost two years, being a charter member of -that little band of "Sunday" soldiers—the "Flat Rock Grays"—and which -constituted an integral part of what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> was known at that time as the -Kentucky "State Guard."</p> - -<p>This little company of citizen soldiers were in their conceit and -imagination very important and consequential fellows. Invited to all the -noted gatherings and public affairs of the day, dressed in gaudy and -flashy uniforms and flying plumes, filled with pride and <i>conceit</i>, they -did not know they were nursing their pride against the day of wrath. One -only of two now living, I look back upon those days and scenes of -youthful pride and ambition, with a feeling of awe and reminiscence, and -wonder why and wherefore have I been spared through the labyrinth of -time elapsed and for what, alas! I am wondering.</p> - -<p>The most of the "Grays" left home for the scenes of the war in August, -but I had not completed my arrangements and did not reach "Camp -Burnett," Tennessee, until September 7. Now the most trying and -impressing circumstances of these preparations was the last "good-bye" -to my dear old mother and sweetheart, both of whom survived the war; the -dear old mother greeting me on my return in a manner I shall leave to -the imagination of you ladies to describe. I was her "baby" and had been -mourned as lost more than once. But the sweetheart in the meantime had -become the wife of another and gone to a distant state to make her home. -Oh! the fickleness of woman and the <i>uncertainties of war</i>. Pardon me, -ladies, I mean no reflection, but it hurts to this day; yet God in His -wisdom and goodness knows I forgave her. Perhaps schoolday love is -remembered and still lingers in the heart of some of those I am -addressing, then she, at least, can appreciate this sentiment.</p> - -<p>The 6th of September found me in this town (Paris, Ky.), where I began -preparations for the life of a soldier, by substituting my "pumps" for -"Brogans," which I knew would be more suitable, really indispensable for -a soldier on the march over rough and rugged roads. I sent back home my -pumps and horse, the latter afterward confiscated and appropriated by -the Yanks. Now I am sure<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> my brogans presented a striking and ludicrous -contrast to my "clawhammer" blue broadcloth and gold buttons, and to -which I shall have occasion to refer again. But I was going to the war -and why should I care for comment or criticism? That night found me in -Louisville, a shy, cringing guest of the old Louisville Hotel, my -brogans giving me more concern than anything else, being in such -striking contrast to my clawhammer broadcloth and gold buttons. I recall -the scenes of that night and next morning with a distinctness that makes -me almost shudder to this day. If it were possible for you ladies to -imagine the excitement of those days, filled with the thousands of -exciting rumors that were heard every hour in the day, turn in whatever -direction you might, and the clangor and preparation for war, you might -have some idea of, and appreciate, my predicament. A solitary country -boy, who had seen but little of the world, on his road South in quest of -Southern rights on the field of battle. Were it not fraught with fearful -recollections it would now seem ridiculous. But the night was spent, not -in sleep, but in wild imaginings as to the outcome on the morrow and -what the morning would develop. Morning came and with reddened eyes and -unsteady step, I came down the winding stairs of the old hotel, my mind -filled with fearful misgivings. Going up to the office shyly I began -instinctively to turn the leaves of the register; imagine my surprise -when I read the names of Generals W. T. Sherman, L. J. Rousseau, Major -Anderson of Fort Sumter fame and other Federal officers, aides and -orderlies, who were stopping there; that humbug Kentucky "neutrality" no -longer being observed. I was now almost ready to call on the Lord to -save me. But my fears were intensified when a gentleman of middle age, -whom I had noticed eyeing me closely, walked across the room, putting -his hand on my shoulder and asked me to a corner of the room. "Angels -and ministers of grace defend me"—in the hands of a detective. I'm gone -now! Noticing my look of fear and trepidation, he said, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>"Compose -yourself young man, <i>I am</i> your friend—the shoes you wear (Oh, the -tell-tale shoes! Why didn't I keep my pumps) lead me to believe you -meditate joining the army, and if I am not mistaken you are aiming to go -South to join the Confederates." I was now halting between two opinions; -was he aiming to have me commit myself, or was he really a friend? But -proceeding, he said, "It is but natural you should suspect me, but I am -your friend nevertheless, and am here to advise and assist young men -like you in getting through the lines (a somewhat calmer feeling came -over me now) and you will have to be very cautious, for I fear your -brogans are a tell-tale—(I had already realized <span class="smaller">THAT</span>). You see," said -he, "excitement is running high and almost everybody is under suspicion, -myself with others." I ventured to ask his name, which he readily gave -me as Captain Coffee of Tennessee, to me a very singular name.</p> - -<p>Feeling sure of his man and continuing, he said, "The train that leaves -here this morning will likely be the last for the state line (and sure -enough it was) and you will find excitement running high at the station; -they have guards to examine all passengers and their baggage, and when -you reach the station go straight to the ticket office, secure your -ticket and go to the rear of the train. Go in and take the first vacant -seat and for Heaven's sake, if possible, hide your brogans, for I fear -they may tell on you." I had by this time become thoroughly convinced -that he was really my friend and decided to take his advice.</p> - -<p>But now the climax to the situation was, as I thought, about to be -reached. Looking toward the winding stairs I saw coming down them -(Coffee told me who they were) dressed in their gaudy regimentals (the -regulation blue and gold lace), Generals W. T. Sherman and L. J. -Rousseau, side by side, arm in arm, behind them the short, chubby figure -of Major Anderson of Fort Sumter fame and some other prominent officers -whose names I have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> forgotten, accompanied by their staff officers and -orderlies. A "pretty kettle of fish" for me to be caught with—I -thought. They passed into the dining room immediately. I shall never -forget the hook-nose, lank, lean and hungry look of General Sherman, -reminding me of Julius Caesar's description of Cassius. Later on I was -often reminded of this incident, when Sherman was pushing us through -Georgia, toward the sea in the celebrated campaign of '64. I was then -almost wicked enough to wish that I had at this time and there ended his -career. But, exchanging a few more words with Capt. Coffee, I called for -my satchel and took the "bus" for the station; arriving there I acted -upon the advice of my new made friend and adviser. Quickly procuring my -ticket and entering the car, I secured the rear seat and with fear and -trembling attempted to hide my brogans by setting my satchel on them. -(We had no suit cases then.) This was a morning of wonderful excitement -in the station for it was the last train to leave Louisville for the -State line and Memphis. There were thousands of people there crowding -every available foot of space—excitement ran high. The train guards or -inspectors—fully armed—were busy examining passengers and their -baggage. My heart almost leaped from my bosom as they came down the -aisle. But just before they reached the rear of the car the bell rang -and the train started. The guards rushed for the door, leaving me and -one or two others unquestioned and unmolested. Like "Paul, when he -reached the three taverns," I thanked God and took courage. I doubt if -the old station ever before or since saw such excitement and heard such -a shout as went up from the people therein assembled as the train pulled -out for Dixie. Many of these people were Southern sympathizers and -wished us God-speed and a safe journey.</p> - -<p>That evening I joined my schoolboy friends and soldier comrades, the -"Flat Rock Grays," in Camp Burnett, Tennessee, the Grays dropping their -name and acquiring the letter "H" in the regimental formation of that -celebrated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> regiment commanded by Col. Robert P. Trabue and known as the -Fourth Kentucky, C. S. A. That night I slept in camp for the first -time—as to what I dreamed I am unable to say—it might have been of the -sweetheart. The next day was spent in getting acquainted with the dear -fellows whose comradeship I was to have and share for the next four -years. Here began the experiences of the <i>real</i> soldier, that was to -include some of the most momentous events in American history. Only one -day, however, was spent in Burnett, for that night orders came for those -companies that had been supplied with arms to break camp early next -morning and take the train for Bowling Green—to "invade Kentucky." The -companies without arms, among which was Company H, was to repair to -Nashville where we procured arms, joining the rest of the regiment a few -weeks later at Bowling Green.</p> - -<p>I have told you of the beginning, now it is proper and altogether -pertinent that I should refer to some of the closing scenes of my career -as a soldier. But I am here leaving a gap in my history, the most -important part of it, which will be found in other parts of this little -book.</p> - -<p>Having received my furlough at Jonesboro, where I was wounded on August -31, 1864, the following six months were spent in hospitals; first at -Barnesville, later at Macon and then Cuthbert, Ga., and later still at -Eufaula, Ala. I had as companions in hospital experiences three other -Kentuckians, Captain E. F. Spears of this city, Paris, whom you all know -to have been a gentleman of the highest honor and noblest emotions—a -gentleman—Oh, how I loved him; and Lieutenants Hanks and Eales, noble -fellows and companionable comrades. Here were formed ties of -friendship—that death alone could sever.</p> - -<p>But having sufficiently recovered from my wound, I decided the last of -March that I would make an effort to reach my command (the Orphan -Brigade) now engaged in a desperate effort to stay the progress of -Sherman's devastating columns now operating in South Carolina.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> The -"Orphans" in the meantime and during my absence had been converted into -cavalry. I was still on crutches and bidding Eufaula friends good-bye -(with regret) I started once more for the front.</p> - -<p>The times were now fraught with gloomy forebodings and misgivings, -excitement running high. The South was in tears, terror stricken—the -Confederacy surely and rapidly was reeling to her doom. General Wilson's -cavalry was raiding through Alabama and Georgia with but little -opposition, destroying the railroads and almost everything else of value -as they moved across the country.</p> - -<p>On the train I had very distinguished company in the person of General -"Bob" Toombs, who commanded the Georgia militia, a mythical organization -of the times, and Mrs. L. Q. C. Lamar of Mississippi, whose husband was -afterward a member of Cleveland's Cabinet. I was very much impressed -with the remarkable personality of this lady and felt sorry for her and -her family of seven children, fleeing terror stricken from the raiders. -Pandemonium seemed to reign supreme among these fleeing refugees, the -air being literally alive with all sorts of rumors about the -depredations and atrocities of the raiders. Numerous delays occurred to -the train, everybody on board fearing the raiders and anxious to move -on. General Toombs, excited and worried at these delays, determined to -take charge of the situation and see that the train moved on. With a -navy revolver in each hand he leaped from the train and with an oath -that meant business said <i>he</i> would see that the train moved on—which -it did rather promptly, the General taking due credit to himself for its -moving, which the passengers willingly accorded him. Inquiring who this -moving spirit was, I was told that it was General "Bob" Toombs (by this -name, <i>"Bob" Toombs</i>, he was known throughout the United States). -Instantly there flashed into my mind the celebrated speech he made in -the United States Senate, in which he said that "erelong he expected to -call the roll<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> of his slaves beneath the shadow of Bunker Hill -Monument"—and which speech did more to fire the hearts of the North -than almost anything said or done prior to the war.</p> - -<p>But finally we reached Macon—where I had been in the hospital—and on -the afternoon of the second day after our arrival, Wilson's cavalry took -possession of the city. That night some of the fiends, that are to be -found in every army, applied the torch to the home of Senator Howell -Cobb, the Lanier Hotel and a number of other prominent buildings. I -could realize the excitement from the Confederate hospital on College -Hill, which overlooks the city, and which was terrifying and appalling -beyond anything I had ever before seen. The shrieks and cries of the -women and children almost unnerved me. Woe of woes! Horror of horrors! I -thought.</p> - -<p>But I must do General Wilson the honor to say that he did not order or -approve of this fiendish piece of work, for he did all in his power to -prevent and stop it; and but for his efforts the city would no doubt -have been completely destroyed.</p> - -<p>Of course I abandoned my attempt to join the old boys of the "Orphan -Brigade." I was now a prisoner, everything lost (save honor), gloom and -chaos were everywhere. Obtaining a parole from the Federal officer in -command (something new), I decided to join my comrades Knox and Harp, -each of whom, like myself, had been put out of business by wounds -received sometime before and who were sojourning with a friend in the -country near Forsythe, intending to counsel with them as to the best -course to be pursued next. Having enjoyed the hospitality of our host -and his good wife for several days, Knox and myself decided to go down -to Augusta for a last and final parting with the remnant of these dear -"old boys" of the "Orphan Brigade" whom we learned were to be paroled in -that city. We soon learned upon our arrival in the city that General -Lewis and staff would arrive next morning. Next<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> morning the General and -staff rode through the city, the most sorrowful and forlorn looking men -my eyes ever looked upon; it was enough to make a savage weep. The cause -for which we had so long fought, sacrificed and suffered, lost, -everything lost, God and the world apparently against us, without -country, without home or hope, the old family being broken up and -separated forever, our very souls sinking within us, gloom and sorrow -overhanging the world; what would we do; what could we do? Learning from -General Lewis that the remnant of the little band of immortals who had -contributed so much to the history and renown of Kentucky in the great -conflict would be paroled at Washington, some twenty miles from Augusta, -Knox and myself proceeded to that place for a last and final farewell.</p> - -<p>The associations of almost four years of the bloodiest war in modern -times up to that day were here, to be forever broken up. The eyes that -gleamed defiance in the battles' rage were now filled with tears of -sorrow at parting. The hand that knew no trembling in the bloody -onslaught now wavered and trembled—the hour for the last parting had -arrived, the long struggle ended forever—good-bye, John; farewell, -Henry; it is all over and all is lost, ended at last; good-bye, boys; -good-bye.</p> - -<p>Are their deeds worth recording, worth remembering? It is for you, dear -ladies, rather than men, to say whether it shall be done or not, and in -what way. <i>I</i> am content to leave it to you, knowing that it will be -well and faithfully done.</p> - -<p>Resuming the closing scenes of my experiences at Washington and the -final sad leave-taking of these dear old "Orphans," I must revert to my -friend and well wisher (as he proved to be), General Toombs.</p> - -<p>The Confederate Government had saved from the ruin that befell and -overtook it several thousand dollars in coin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> and which was being -transported across the country, whither, no one seemed to know—in -charge of a certain major.</p> - -<p>Now Washington was the home of my hero of the train incident. The powers -that were left decided to distribute a part of this coin among the -faithful veterans who were being paroled at this point. The cavalry, who -did not enlist until later in '62, receiving $26, in some instances -more, while the Orphans received as their share only $3.50, a very -unfair and inequitable distribution, character of service and time being -considered. The cavalry in this, as in some other instances, receiving -the lion's share and getting the most of the good things that fell to -the lot of the "pooh" soldier. This money consisted mainly of "double -eagles," three of which fell to the remnant of my company. The -perplexing question now was how could we divide this money. The matter -was finally settled by the boys commissioning me to go down into the -town (a mile or more away) to see if I could exchange it for smaller -coins. Still on crutches, I finally consented, but it was a task. Going -into town and from home to home—all business houses long since -closed—I at last staggered on the home of General Toombs—not knowing -he lived there. I recognized at once the moving spirit of the train -incident. He and another gentleman were seated on the veranda engaged in -earnest and animated conversation. Saluting in military style, I at once -made known my business. The General protested that <i>he</i> had no change, -but referring me to his guest, Major ——, who, he said, was in charge -of some funds in the house belonging to the government. The Major -remarked if I would wait awhile he would furnish me with the required -change, at the same time retiring to a back room of the house where I -soon heard the sound of a hammer or hatchet, presumably in the hand of -the Major, who was engaged in opening a box or chest. In the meantime -the General invited me to a seat on the veranda and began plying me with -numerous and pertinent questions—not giving me a chance to refer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> to -the train incident—asking to what command I belonged, when and where I -was wounded and how I expected to get home and many other questions, not -forgetting in his vigorous and vehement way (for which he was noted) to -deplore the fate of the Confederacy and denouncing the Yankee in -unmeasured and vigorous terms.</p> - -<p>Finally after so long a time the Major returned with the required -change—all in silver and while not much, it gave me (already tired out) -great worry before I reached camp on my crutches. Of course I thanked -the Major and apologized for having put him to so much trouble, and -saluting him good day, I started for the gate, the General preceding me -and still asking questions. Opening the gate, for which I thanked him, I -tipped a military salute and started up the sidewalk. But the General -seemed very much interested in me and walking alongside the yard fence -he suddenly thrust his hand into his vest pocket, pulling out a twenty -dollar coin and quickly reaching across the fence, he said, "Here, -Lieutenant, take this from me. You will doubtless need it." Dumfounded -at this sudden change of affairs, I politely declined it, but the -General, in a spirit of earnest command, forcefully said, "Here, take -it, sir; you are a d—n long way from home and you will need it before -you get there." Comprehending the spirit which prompted it, I accepted -it and thanked him, extending him my hand, which he grasped with a -warmth that thrilled my soul to its very depths.</p> - -<p>Thus the diamond in the rough that I had seen on the train at once -became the glittering jewel that sparkled and shed its brilliance to the -depths of my then thankful and weary soul. I love to think of this -incident and this great man (for he was truly a great man of his time) -and transpiring at the time it did and under—to me—such distressing -and discouraging circumstances, it is one of the happy and cheering -oases of my soldier life.</p> - -<p>Going from Washington back to Augusta I met and spent the following -night in company with Hon. E. M.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> Bruce, one of the best friends I ever -had, whose friendship, magnanimity and generosity toward myself and -other Kentuckians was, as in my case, made practical, he presenting me -with three double eagles, which I was <i>compelled</i> to receive as a -recompense for acts of friendship and assistance rendered him during the -trying times of the preceding four years. I have never known a grander -character than E. M. Bruce, a truer friend, a nobler man.</p> - -<p>But now, with more than $80 of <i>real</i> money, I was quite well equipped -for the return to dear "Old Kentucky," which I was glad to see after an -absence of almost four years, spent under the most dangerous and trying -circumstances to which it was possible for man to be exposed.</p> - -<p>There were doubts in my mind as to what our status as citizens would be -and just how we would be received and regarded by some; returning as we -did, overcome, discomfited, defeated. But we well knew how we would be -received by those who loved us and whose sympathies were manifested in a -thousand ways not to be mistaken or misunderstood. Here in these -manifestations was recompense for the long years of absence amid -dangers, trials and suffering.</p> - -<p>And now after a lapse of more than half a century, with its wonderful -history, we are still remembered by some of the kind and gentle spirits -that greeted us on our return, and other charming and lovely spirits of -the U. D. C., descendants of the noblest ancestry that ever lived and -inhabited this, the fairest land that God ever made.</p> - -<p>These circumstances, these surroundings and inspiring scenes make -hallowed the lives of these few surviving old veterans, rendering it a -panacea for all that we as soldiers of the "lost cause" encountered and -suffered.</p> - -<p>From the fulness of my heart I thank you, noble ladies, for your -kindness and patient attention. This opportunity to appear before you -today is more than a pleasure and I feel honored to find myself in your -presence and appreciate your happy greeting.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER III.</span> <span class="smaller">RECOLLECTIONS OF THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.</span></h2> - -<p class="center">(From an address delivered at the meeting of the Morgan's Men -Association at Olympian Springs, September 2, 1916.)</p> - -<p><i>Mr. President, Old Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen</i>:</p> - -<p>I must confess that this is somewhat embarrassing attempting to talk in -public at the age of seventy-two, never having attempted such a thing -before. But the subject upon which I am expected to talk is certainly, -to myself, at least, interesting, and the occasion I am sure is happy -and inspiring, had I only the ability to do them justice. However, by -reason of my inexperience in matters of this kind, I believe I can -safely appeal to the charity of my audience to overlook any failure I -may make to properly interest them in what I shall have to say.</p> - -<p>You ask sir, that I shall relate some of my observations and experiences -of the great battle of Shiloh. Well fifty-two years and more is a long -time and takes us back to that important event in American History that -transpired on the banks of the Tennessee on April 6 and 7, 1862. Some of -these old veterans now seated before me can doubtless remember many of -the exciting and intensely interesting scenes of these two eventful -days. It is more deeply impressed upon my mind, because of the fact that -it was our initial battle and early impressions are said to be always -most lasting.</p> - -<p>This was the first of a series of grand and important events in the -history of that renowned little band of Kentuckians, known in history as -the "Orphan Brigade," but which for the present occasion I shall -designate as the Kentucky Brigade, it not receiving its baptismal or -historic name until the celebrated charge of Breckinridge at -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>Murfreesboro. But what a grand and thrilling opening chapter in the -lives of these Kentucky boys, as soldiers, for we were only boys, as we -now look back at things, a majority of us being under twenty-one.</p> - -<p>Now, if I were called upon to say which in my judgment was the best -planned, most thoroughly and systematically, fought battle of the war in -which I took part, I would unhesitatingly say Shiloh. As time rolled on -and with subsequent observations and experiences on other important -fields, such as Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Resaca, Atlanta, Jonesboro -and a number of others, I am still constrained to say that Shiloh was -the typical battle. I mean, of course, battles fought in the West and in -which Kentucky troops took a prominent part.</p> - -<p>If in relating my story I shall seem somewhat partial to Kentuckians, I -hope I may be excused for it is of them I shall talk mainly, besides, -you know I love them dearly. And in the exercise of this partiality I -claim to be justified from the fact that a number of the leading -characters in this grand tragedy of war were Kentuckians. First among -whom was the great general and peerless leader; others were -Breckinridge, Preston, Tighlman, Trabue, Helm, Morgan, Monroe, Lewis, -Hunt, Hodges, Wickliffe, Anderson, Burns, Cobb and last but by no means -least, Governor George W. Johnson whose patriotic example was -unsurpassed and whose tragic death was one of the most pathetic -incidents of the great battle. A conspicuous figure indeed was he, so -much so that when found on the field mortally wounded by the enemy, they -believed him to be General Breckinridge. Private John Vaughn, of my old -Company H of the Fourth Regiment, relates this story in regard to this -sad and lamentable incident. Vaughn was severely wounded and was lying -on the field near where Governor Johnston fell and from which he had -just been removed by the enemy, when General Grant rode up and inquired -to what command he belonged. When told by Vaughn to what command he -belonged, Grant said: "And<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> it is Kentuckians, is it, that have been -fighting my men so desperately at this point?" Here is where the four -desperate charges and counter-charges were made on the Seventh and noted -by Colonel Trabue as commander of the Kentucky Brigade in his official -report of the great battle, the bloodiest part of the field where -Kentucky gave up many of her noblest and best. This is the field to -which General Grant refers in his "Memoirs," when in writing of the -desperate fighting of the Confederates, he says: "I saw an open field on -the second day's battle over which the Confederates had made repeated -charges, so thickly covered with their dead that it might have been -possible to have walked across the clearing in any direction stepping on -dead bodies without touching a foot to the ground."</p> - -<p>Here were enacted scenes of sublime courage and heroism that elicited -the admiration and comment of the civilized world; here the soil of -Tennessee drank freely the blood of her elder sister, Kentucky.</p> - -<p>But Grant, when told by Vaughn that he belonged to the Kentucky Brigade, -turned to one of his aids and ordered a litter to be brought and had -Vaughn placed upon it saying, "We have killed your General Breckinridge -and have him down yonder," pointing in the direction of their field -hospital. He then had him taken down to where the supposed General -Breckinridge lay. It seems that they were doubtful of and wished to -establish his identity. Pointing to the body of the dying Governor he -asked Vaughn if he was not his general. When Vaughn told him that it was -Governor Johnson and not General Breckinridge, Grant turned away quickly -with a look of disappointment upon discovering his mistake and learning -who he was. Vaughn used to relate this incident with considerable -feeling and pride as connecting him with General Grant at this -particular time and under such peculiar and painful circumstances. I -mention it because it contains more than ordinary interest to some of us -Kentuckians,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> who had the opportunity of witnessing the heroic conduct -and sublime courage of this noble citizen of Kentucky.</p> - -<p>But let us notice while passing some of the sacrifices Kentucky made in -this first great battle of the war in the West and the compliment -incidently and unintentionally paid us (as Kentuckians), by the greatest -general that ever commanded the Federal army.</p> - -<p>First among whom was the great general and peerless leader, Albert -Sidney Johnston, whose name I always mention with feelings of profound -pride and admiration, I would liked to have said veneration. George W. -Johnson, the noble beloved citizen and patriotic Governor, whose -voluntary example of sublime courage and heroism was without a parallel -in the great battle. Thomas B. Monroe, the youthful and distinguished -journalist, statesman and accomplished soldier, a man with scarce a peer -at his age in either civil or military life. Charles N. Wickliffe, the -gallant and dashing colonel of the Seventh Kentucky, and a thousand -other Kentuckians many less distinguished but equally brave—the flower -of Kentucky youth and manhood. Is it any wonder I am partial to -Kentuckians and proud of their record in this great and memorable -battle?</p> - -<p>Oh, how well I remember the morning of that eventful Easter Sabbath, -April 6, 1862. So beautiful and lovely that all nature seemed proud and -happy. Trees budding, flowers blooming, birds singing, everything -seemingly joyful and happy in the bright sunshine of early spring, save -man alone. But with what awfulness the scene changes when we contemplate -man's actions at this hour and time bent upon the overthrow and -destruction of his fellowman and how ominously significant the -preparation.</p> - -<p>Just at early dawn we were quietly awakened by our officers—many a -noble and brave boy from his last sleep on earth; the bugle not sounding -the reveille, for fear of attracting the attention of the enemy, it -being part of the great general's plan to take him by surprise, which -succeeded admirably, notwithstanding the oft repeated <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>denials of -General Grant to the contrary. Quickly arranging our toilets and having -hastily despatched breakfast from our haversacks we formed in double -column by company, the band in front leading, playing "Dixie," which -sounded upon the early morning stillness in this deep wildwood, as it -never before sounded, soul-stirring and inspiring. What patriotic -soldier could fail to be moved by its charm and pathos? The veil of -caution and silence now removed by the band, down through the woods of -massive oaks we moved at quick-step, every man doubtless believing -himself the equal of half a dozen Yankees. A very erroneous notion -indeed, soon dispelled by hard and stubborn facts to the contrary. But -on we moved stopping but once to unsling knapsacks, which with our -Sunday clothes and precious jewels we never saw again. Ah, some of those -precious jewels! Still on we moved. Now the roll of the Skirmishers' -rifles away out in front told that the issue of battle was being joined, -not Greek against Greek, but American against American in one of the -most desperate and sanguinary conflicts of the great war. Led by two of -the greatest military chieftains of the age; here the high spirited and -chivalrous youth from the Southern plantations and the daring, hardy -Western boy from the prairies of the West, had met in battle array.</p> - -<p>Here was to be a display of courage and chivalry unsurpassed in the -annals of war. Now an occasional boom, boom, of the big guns, began to -echo up and down the valley of the Tennessee as Hardee's batteries -seemingly in chorus with those of the enemy in reply, began to open on -Grant's battalions now hurriedly forming, having recovered from their -surprise caused by the sudden and unexpected attack of Hardee's advanced -lines. Stirred by the highest ambition of our youthful hearts on toward -the front rapidly and steadily, now in column of fours, moved the -Kentucky Brigade. Passing down a little narrow valley just to the left -and on the higher ground, we passed that gallant little band of -Kentuckians known as Morgan's Squadron<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> at the head of which, seated on -"Black Bess" the real (not the mythical "Black Bess" that some of you -fellows sometimes talk so loudly about and never saw), but the <i>real</i> -Black Bess—was that grandest specimen of a Kentucky soldier, save -one—the immortal Breckinridge—Captain John H. Morgan. The Kentucky -Brigade was proud to find itself in such noble, such royal company, -though for a passing moment only. Oh, how it thrilled our hearts as -these Kentucky boys, Morgan's men, greeted us by waving their hats, -cheering and singing their famous battle song;</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"Cheer, boys, cheer; we'll march away to battle;</div> -<div>Cheer, boys, cheer, for our sweethearts and our wives;</div> -<div>Cheer, boys, cheer; we'll nobly do our duty,</div> -<div>And give to Kentucky our arms, our hearts, our lives."</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>General Duke, you remember this incident. Do you not, sir? More than -happy am I with such a noble witness to attest the correctness of this -part of my story. It was the second line of this famous stanza that -touched my soul most and sunk deepest into my youthful heart, for I had -left back in old Nicholas a little, black-eyed, curly-haired maiden -whose image at that very moment seemed fairer than all the angels in -heaven. My old heart still beats quick when I think of this thrilling -incident and those charming eyes. Now there are doubtless some of you -old veterans who are listening to me that left home under similar -circumstances as myself kissing farewell, as you thought, perhaps for -the last time, the dear little girl you were leaving behind and who felt -on the battle's verge as I did and was tempted to exclaim with me in the -anguish of your heart, "Oh cruel, cruel relentless war, what sad havoc -you have wrought with lovers and lovers' lives." Verily, old comrades, I -believe I am growing sentimental as well as very childish, but these -thoughts crowd my memory and must have vent. Still to the battle's -breach I must go where the "pride, pomp and circumstances of glorious -war" invite.</p> - -<p>Pressing rapidly forward we quickly passed through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> the enemy's outer -encampments from which they had fled when attacked and surprised by -Hardee's skirmishers, leaving behind them untouched, their breakfasts of -steaming hot coffee, fried ham and other good things with which their -improvised tables seemed to be heavily ladened, and which under other -and more favorable circumstances, we would have quickly appropriated. -But the scenes of greatest moment and absorbing interest were on the -front toward which we were rapidly hurrying where the clash of steel, -shot and shell was resounding with the fury of desperation.</p> - -<p>How well I remember the first victim of war—a Confederate—I saw on -this eventful morning. How well, too, I remember the hiss and scream of -the first shells of the enemy's guns that passed closely above our -heads, and how quickly and ungracefully we bowed in acknowledgment. How -well, also, I remember the first volley fired at us by Colonel -Worthington's Forty-sixth, Ohio, our neighbors from just across the -river. We had hardly completed the formation of changing "front to rear" -on our first company in order to confront them squarely by bringing our -line parallel with theirs, when they opened fire on us, getting the drop -on us, if you please.</p> - -<p>Now I need not say much about this experience, for I am sure that every -old veteran remembers well the first fire to which he was exposed, but I -do believe that my hair must have stood on end and fairly lifted my cap -for I felt as they leveled their rifles, that every man of us would -surely be killed. Not many however, were killed or seriously hurt, for -the enemy in their eagerness and great excitement fired wildly over our -heads. The next was ours, and as we had been previously cautioned by -Major Monroe to fire low, we made it count. Quickly reloading our rifles -we had hardly fired the second volley when the sharp shrill voice of -Major Monroe rang out amid the roar and din of battle, "Fix bayonet" and -was quickly repeated by the company commanders. My, my; oh Lord; but the -cold<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> chills darted up and down my spinal column as I contemplated the -use of the bayonet. Now if there is any scene upon the battle-field more -exciting and more terrifying than the glimmer and glitter of a fixed -bayonet in the hands of a desperate and determined enemy, pointed -directly at your throat or your stomach, I have never seen it. Terrified -at the gleam and clatter of our bayonets Worthington's men broke and -fled through the woods rallying on their reserves, stationed some -distance in rear of their original position. It was well perhaps for -them that they did, for thoroughly drilled as we were in the bayonet -exercise, they would doubtless have found themselves at a great -disadvantage in the use of this weapon, had they stood to make the test. -But with fixed bayonets, accelerated by the Rebel yell, we followed at a -double-quick, passing over their dead and wounded halting just beyond. -What a ghastly sight; what a terrible scene! Here was pictured for the -first time in our experience the horrors of the battle-field in all of -its hideousness. How well the new Enfield rifles, with which we had been -armed just before leaving Burnsville for the battlefield two days -before, following the reading of General Johnston's famous battle order, -were used upon this occasion, the dead and severely wounded of more than -three hundred of the enemy grimly told. Colonel Trabue in his official -report says more than four hundred but I hardly think there were so -many. There were enough at least to attest the efficiency of our new -Enfields and the correctness of our aim. Many of these poor fellows -begged us piteously not to kill them as though we were a band of savages -without pity or compassion, knowing nothing of the usages and customs of -civilized warfare. It was an insult to our sense of honor and chivalry. -But we soon convinced them by every act of kindness possible under the -circumstances that we were both civilized and chivalrous, -notwithstanding the teachings of the Northern press to the contrary. How -false, absurd and ridiculous these charges by some of these -stayed-at-home sycophants<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> of the Northern press accusing us with brutal -and inhuman treatment of their wounded that fell into our hands.</p> - -<p>But, just before the encounter of the Fourth Kentucky, which occupied -the extreme left of the Confederate battle line, with the Forty-sixth -Ohio, the roll of musketry and the roar of artillery came down the -battle line from right to left (a distance of more than three miles), -like the successive waves of the ocean as Grant hurled his battalions in -echelon against the extended lines of Johnston, opening fire in rapid -succession as they deployed and struck our lines, to which, the -Confederates in like successive manner instantly replied. Oh, I tell you -this was sublimely grand beyond the power of man to describe. As Grant's -battalions were successfully met and hurled back, that terrible and -ominous sound, the "Rebel yell" heard by us for the first time on the -battle field told that the day was surely and steadily becoming ours. -The enemy made another desperate and determined stand and from their -advantageous position occupied by their reserves on which their broken -columns had rallied, they poured a deadly and destructive fire into our -ranks killing and wounding many of our men. We had been pushed forward -under the enemy's fire and halted to await the movement of our -reinforcements moving in our rear and to our left, and while awaiting -the execution of this movement we learned quickly for the first time the -importance of lying flat on our faces as a means of protection from this -deadly fire of the enemy. This was trying indeed under orders not to -fire; compelled to remain passive and see your comrades being killed all -around you, momentarily expecting the same fate yourself. At last -co-operating with the flanking column on our left, with fixed bayonets -we made a desperate direct attack and drove the enemy from this very -formidable position which they had been holding for some time, not -however until we had lost in killed and wounded more than two score of -our brave and gallant boys. I am now speaking of the operations of my -own regiment—matters were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> too absorbing to pay much attention to what -others were doing.</p> - -<p>Again pushing forward we quickly encountered the enemy's reinforcements, -which they had thrown forward to resist our advance and were again -exposed to another scathing and deadly fire. Again resorting to our -former tactics of lying flat on our faces, we returned their fire, -turning upon our backs to reload our rifles, then again upon our faces -to deliver fire, here the battle raged furiously, for some time and here -again we lost a number more of our gallant boys. I shall never forget -the anguish of the boy immediately to my left, as he expired from the -effects of a ball that passed through his body. In the meantime and -while the battle was raging at this point, Burns' and Cobb's Kentucky -batteries of fourteen pieces, which were stationed upon the extreme -right of the Kentucky Brigade, were hurling shot and shell, grape and -canister, with terrific and deadly force into the enemy's moving -columns, as they shifted from right to left of the battle line. Grant -seemed anxious to turn our left, but was anticipated and promptly met by -counter-movements of the Confederates, he having a most worthy rival in -the art and skill of maneuvering troops upon the battlefield. Finally -the terrible and desperate assault of the Tennesseans away to our right, -led by the gallant Breckinridge and the peerless Johnston against the -enemy's center and his stronghold, known as the "Hornet's Nest," -compelled Grant to yield every position he had taken and seek shelter -and protection under the banks of the Tennessee. This was the sad and -fatal moment, for here in this desperate charge the great general fell.</p> - -<p>Co-operating with the troops on our left the Kentucky Brigade hinged -upon Burns' battery, the whole left wing of the army swinging like a -massive gate to the right, joined in this last desperate charge and had -the proud satisfaction of participating in the capture and impounding of -Prentiss' division of more than three thousand men, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>including the -celebrated Watterhouse battery of Chicago with its magnificent equipment -of new guns and fine horses. This magnificent battery had been equipped -by this great millionaire for whom it was named, we wondered how he felt -when he learned the fate of his pets. I never in my entire experience as -a soldier saw such a humiliated and crestfallen body of soldiers as -these men were; prisoners driving their own magnificent battery from the -field. It looked really cruel to thus humiliate them. But then you know -it is said, that all's fair in love and war. To the first of which -saying I am compelled to demur for I know that all is not fair in love, -however, it may be in war. But in striking contrast what a jubilant and -overjoyed set of fellows we Confederates were, what a time for -rejoicing!</p> - -<p>This was one of the proudest moments of my soldier life, exciting and -thrilling almost beyond description. Their artillery being driven from -the field by their own gunners; their infantry formed in a hollow square -stacking arms and lowering their colors; their officers dismounting and -turning over their horses and side arms; Confederate officers and -orderlies galloping to and fro in every direction; excitement unbounded -and uncontrolled everywhere. Imagine these transcendent and rapidly -transpiring scenes and think for a moment if you can, how these "boys" -unused to such tragedies must have felt amid such stupendous and -overwhelming surroundings. Why we made the very Heaven and earth tremble -with our triumphant shouts. And I doubt not, I know they did, for -General Grant intimates they did, the enemy routed and hurrying to the -banks of the Tennessee for protection, trembled also.</p> - -<p>Now the scene changes somewhat, reforming our lines and filing to the -right and left around this enclosed square in which these prisoners were -held, we again moved forward to the front expecting to deliver the last -and final blow. Four o'clock three-quarters of an hour later, with more -than two hours of sunshine in which to deliver the last and final blow, -found us drawn up in the most <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>magnificent line of battle I ever beheld, -extending up and down the river bottom to the right and left as far as -we could see, straight as an arrow; every man in place standing at -"attention" exuberant with joy, flushed with victory, all understanding -the situation, eager for the signal to be given that they knew would -finish the glorious day's work. Grant's army cowering beneath the banks -of the Tennessee awaiting the final summons to surrender. What a moment -of grand anticipation and oh, how quick the heart beat! But at what -fearful cost to the Confederate cause, the apparent great victory! The -voice of the great commander, now silent with a successor unwilling to -finish the day's work so gloriously begun and so successfully executed -up to the hour of his fall. And oh, how important the hour to the new -born nation! How portentous the signs! Here and in this hour was -sacrificed the opportunity of the Southland's cause, here was thrown -away, so to speak—the grandest opportunity ever offered to any general -in modern times. Here the "green-eyed monster," jealousy, must have -whispered into the ear of Beauregard. Here I must draw the black curtain -of disappointment and despair to which I never can be reconciled. But -let it rest as lost opportunity and bury it in the oblivion of -forgetfulness. Paradoxically speaking here was lost the opportunity of -the "Lost Cause." But what followed, many, yes all of us know too well.</p> - -<p>It is strange what momentous events sometimes turn upon seemingly -trifling and insignificant circumstances. With the prevailing tenseness -of the moment, if one man had leaped to the front of that battle line -and shouted "forward," Grant's army as a consequence would have been -overrun and captured. Grant known no more in history; the "Stars and -Bars" would have been planted upon the banks of the Ohio; Kentucky -redeemed and history differently written. Had Johnston the great -captain, lived,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> this would have been accomplished. But it seems that -Providence decreed it otherwise by removing the master mind.</p> - -<p>From this magnificent battle line which I have attempted to describe and -this moment of proud hope and expectancy we were by order of Beauregard, -withdrawn to the camps of the enemy from which we had driven them during -the day—<i>not worn out and exhausted</i>—which Beauregard gave as his -excuse for failing to carry out the plans of the great commander to -crush Grant before Buell could come to his rescue.</p> - -<p>Passing the night in the camps of the enemy; recounting the exciting -incidents of the day; indulging in the rich and bountiful supplies of a -plethoric commissary, and no less rich and bountiful supply of sutlers -stores in great variety, just received from the North, we enjoyed a -"Balshazzar" feast not knowing, and little thinking of the "handwriting -on the wall" in the form of 30,000 reinforcements then crossing the -Tennessee to be met and reckoned with on the morrow.</p> - -<p>Why, oh why, did Beauregard not allow us to finish the day's work so -gloriously begun by Johnston? Every man must answer this question for -himself. Beauregard did not answer it satisfactorily to the soldiers who -were engaged, whatever the opinion of the world. What, but the spirit of -envy and jealousy and an overweening ambition to divide the honors of -victory with Johnston, which he hoped and expected to win on the morrow -could have controlled his course? That and that alone, answers the sad -question in the mind of your humble friend and comrade. I am aware that -this will be considered presumption in me, but it is history in part and -as observer and participant, I have the right to criticize.</p> - -<p>The morning of the fateful 7th came and with it the direful results that -followed. The arrival of Buell, the Blucher of the day, turned the tide -and sealed the fate of the cause—the golden opportunity lost, lost -forever! The history of that day is well known to all students of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> -great war and to none better than the few survivors of that little band -of Kentuckians afterward known in history, as the Orphan Brigade, and -whose part in the grand tragedy was such an important factor. It needs -no studied eulogium or lofty peroration to tell the story of the part -played by this little band. A loss of forty per cent in killed and -wounded tells the story, and is the panegyric offered by Kentucky on -this memorable and bloody field.</p> - -<p>I might speak more in detail of this last day's bloody work and describe -more at length many of the horrible sights witnessed and the terrible -suffering of our wounded in their transfer to Corinth during the next -three days over almost impassable roads—the most horrible the mind -could possibly picture, exposed to the almost continuous downpour of -rain and the awful, awful sadness that filled our hearts in the loss of -so many of our comrades, kinsmen and school-fellow friends and the -further deep humiliation of final defeat, but the story would be too -horrible and sad to elaborate.</p> - -<p>I have already taken too much of your time in relating a little of -personal romance in connection with something of history and in -conclusion will say I am here in part for what may be, though I hope -not, a last farewell handclasp with these dear "Old Boys," Morgan's men, -the equals of whom as soldiers and citizens, Kentucky and the world will -never again see. I thank you for your attention and the courtesy you -have shown me.</p> - -<p>It seems altogether natural and opportune now that a large part of the -world is engaged in war that our minds should revert to the past and the -historic battle scenes in which we engaged should be renewed in -reminiscence.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER IV.</span> <span class="smaller">THE BOMBARDMENT OF VICKSBURG.</span></h2> - -<p>Because of the similarity of scenes now transpiring on the Western front -in France I am tempted to describe a scene that occurred and that I -witnessed during the siege of Vicksburg in July, 1862. My regiment (4th -Ky.) had been detailed and sent on detached service down to Warrenton, -some miles below Vicksburg, leaving in camp a number of sick that were -unable to go, among whom was Capt. Bramblett and myself. On the morning -of the 15th of July just at sunrise, suddenly, unexpectedly, as if the -infernal regions had suffered an eruption, the earth rocked and -trembled, the Heavens seemed pierced and rent with the roar and thunder -of cannon of all sizes, mortars from gunboats, siege guns, land -batteries and everything of a terrifying and destructive character, that -man was capable of inventing appeared to be turned loose, an explanation -of which no one would venture to make.</p> - -<p>Directly however, news came that the Confederate ram "Arkansas" had run -the blockade of the upper fleet of federal gunboats and transports, and -was lying at the wharf in Vicksburg. The news was magical on some of us -sick fellows, and myself and Sergeant Knox started immediately, without -breakfast, to see the wonder and learn the news of the exciting episode. -Arriving at the wharf we soon saw the cause of the terrible outburst of -excitement and terror.</p> - -<p>The Arkansas had been constructed at Yazoo City. Whisperings of its -existence and probable descent upon the blockading fleet in the -Mississippi had been heard for sometime, and now we could see the -monster (so to speak) in her grim and battered condition with numerous -holes in her smoke stack, made by shots from the enemy's guns,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> and a -large piece torn out of her cast prow. Her crew was composed of the most -daring despicable smoke-begrimed, looking set I ever beheld, but who -were elated at their successful victory. It was both interesting and -amusing to hear them discussing their recent experiences.</p> - -<p>That night the world went wild and pandemonium reigned supreme in and -around Vicksburg; for every gun and mortar in both the upper and lower -fleets turned loose every element of hell and terror they possessed, -with the seeming determination to destroy everything in and around the -devoted old city. The Confederate siege-guns with "Whistling Dick" for -leader joining in the grand Orchestral chorus of ruin and chaos.</p> - -<p>The scene was the most spectacular and pyrotechnical event of the war -and has never been equaled unless it has occurred in the awful -experiences on the Western front or at the Dardanelles. It was sublimely -grand and tests the wildest imagination of the mind to describe it.</p> - -<p>The air was literally burdened, with ascending and descending shells -which were easily traced in their course upward and downward, shells -from the upper and lower fleets, crossing each other in their flight -Heavenward, before they reached their zenith, others in their downward -course and a few at the apex and still others, that failed to explode -reached the ground destroying everything with which they came in -contact. The flashes from these guns illumined the surroundings for -miles, and reminded you of a terrific thunderstorm with continuous -flashes of lightning. Every color of the rainbow could be seen in this -terrible and grand display. Balloon shaped clouds of smoke from -exploding shells could be seen, floating slowly, softly, through the -air, adding amazement and wonder to the grand aerial tragedy taking -place in the Heavens.</p> - -<p>In reading of the terrific bombardments in the great war now raging, and -comprehending these descriptions and pictures, I count myself no -stranger, and this scene I have attempted to describe I am sure will -compare favorably<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> with anything in the great world-war of today. Not -all the wonders and terrors of war are yours, boys! Some of us older -warriors have seen something of war too. But it's all grand and -glorious, isn't it boys?</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER V.</span> <span class="smaller">MURFREESBORO</span></h2> - -<p class="bold2">(<span class="smcap">Stone River</span>).</p> - -<p>It is to the great and interesting battle of Murfreesboro and some of -the incidents and circumstances preceding it, that I shall devote this -article. History will some day accord it but one name, whereas it now -has two—Murfreesboro and Stone River—but I shall use the former.</p> - -<p>Here a mile or so Southeast of the city, on a beautiful little plain or -suburban scope of country, was encamped for a period of three months, -the Orphan Brigade. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed both it and -the many good things we had to eat and the hospitable greetings of the -good people of the town and surrounding country. But while we were -enjoying these good things, we were undergoing a strict military -training, being drilled in the school of the company, battalion and the -more comprehensive and enlarged movements of the brigade and division -maneuvers, some of which we had seen employed at Shiloh and elsewhere by -exigencies in actual battle. It was a matter of general pride in which -as a member, I still glory that the Orphan Brigade was the most -thoroughly drilled and best disciplined body of men in the Confederate -army. In substantiation of this claim, I refer to the compliment paid us -a little later on by General Hardee, in a trial drill with the First -Louisiana Brigade, held at Beech Grove in the Spring following, and at -which trial drill General Hardee was one of the judges, and was heard to -say that to excel our drilling would require the construction of a -different and better code than was laid down in the system of tactics -bearing his name. The truth was we were determined to allow no body of -troops to excel us in anything pertaining to these accomplishments or -history of the soldier. This was accomplished in a great measure by the -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>requirements and training of that military martinet, "Old" Roger -Hanson. I use the appellation with the most profound respect. The facts -as to these accomplishments can be attested by numbers of men still -living and who often refer to General Hanson's rigid discipline and -requirements with feelings of respect and pride. I must instance one -circumstance, in support of this assertion.</p> - -<p>Some time after he took command he issued an order that all officers and -privates alike should be in full dress and in proper places at roll call -in the morning after the sounding of the reveille. This did not suit -many of the officers who wanted to take a morning snooze, but "Roger's" -orders were inexorable to officers and soldiers alike and it was for a -few mornings laughable to see these officers hustling on their clothes -and into line. There was nothing that pertained to discipline and order -that escaped his notice. It was sometimes amusing to hear some fellow -relate his experience in attempting to outwit and fool him, and the -fellow that attempted it was always caught. It just could not be done.</p> - -<p>But the whirligig of time was rapidly turning and bringing with it -lively and exciting times; big with importance to the country and the -Confederate cause and especially and particularly to these dear Orphans -of mine.</p> - -<p>While in Mississippi and preceding his disastrous Kentucky campaign and -in which his malevolent nature was displayed, Bragg refused us the great -joy we so earnestly and hopefully prayed for viz, the return to Kentucky -with his army, where we might see the dear ones at home, and -incidentally aid the cause by inducing enlistments.</p> - -<p>But the fact that quite a number of our fellow Kentuckians were coming -out with the newly enlisted cavalry commands and bringing with them the -news from home and friends—the first of consequence for a year or -more—gave us some comfort and consolation. In the meantime some -interesting matters of thrilling moment were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>transpiring down here, -"Where the oak, the ash and red elm tree, all grow green in old -Tennessee."</p> - -<p>Rosecrans, not satisfied with results at Perryville, was cutting across -the country for another opportunity to test his military skill and -prowess, and to punish these unrepentant rebels for daring to offer -resistance to the "old flag" and trying to "break up the best Government -the world ever saw," and over which Government some of these same people -are now fussing among themselves.</p> - -<p>Excuse me, please. I see I am again off my base. Back to my beloved -Orphans I must go. Oh, how I do love them!</p> - -<p>The change from the ordinary routine of drill maneuver and review was -brought about by the plan of General Morgan to attack the enemy's -advance post at Hartsville, North of the Cumberland and about thirty -miles or more from Murfreesboro. This movement included in its plan the -co-operation of the Orphan Brigade and making it a distinctly Kentucky -command, planned, led and fought by Kentuckians, and which was one of -the most complete and brilliant affairs of the war. Some of us to this -day feel the sting of disappointment of not being privileged to share in -this "<i>coupe de grace</i>," as the Fourth and Sixth Regiments were left at -Baird's mill to guard against the possibility of an intercepting column -from Nashville. My heart went out in sympathy (practically) to these -boys on their return to our encampment, worn out with fatigue, exhausted -and hungry and almost frozen, the weather being bitter cold and the -ground covered with snow to a depth of several inches. I confess also to -a feeling of sorrow for the poor blanketless prisoners who passed a -night of suffering, though we did the best we could for them by -furnishing them with fires.</p> - -<p>But here again the Orphans engaged in this fight paid dearly for their -honors, especially the Second Regiment, which lost heavily in both -officers and men, the Ninth Regiment also losing considerable. But this -seemed but the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> prelude to the grand Christmas entertainment staged to -come off later and when Breckinridge's Kentuckians received the -soubriquet Orphan Brigade by which they have ever since been known and -which will pass into the annals of history, alongside that of the "Tenth -Legion," the "Old Guard" and "Light Brigade."</p> - -<p>With a sense of feeling that impresses me with my utter inability to at -all do justice to the subject of Murfreesboro (or Stone River), I fear -to undertake the task.</p> - -<p>To the writer this was in some respects one of the most interesting, -exciting and captivating battles of the war in which he took part. -Captivating, because the great battle of the 31st was witnessed from my -vantage point of view—the left of our entrenchments on Swain's -hill—overlooking the stretch of country on which the battle was fought, -extending as it did from the Nashville turnpike and railroad, which at -this point are parallel, and at which point also stood the famous -"Cowans' burnt house," referred to by historians and which I saw burn, -the afternoon before. From this knoll I could see the principal part of -the field.</p> - -<p>Before attempting to describe the battle on this part of the field, I -must look up my Orphans and see what they are now, and have been doing -these last few hours. On the afternoon of Monday, the 29th they took -possession of this hill, which was the acknowledged key to Bragg's -position of defense. And herein lies a kind of mystery, why he would -trust to these men, in the judgment of whose officers he showed later on -he had so little confidence, this the most important point in his whole -line, and why should it be entrusted to them—the Kentucky Brigade. Some -were wicked enough to say, and his course toward us later, as that of -Friday, strengthens this belief that he wanted us all killed, hence -placing us in the most perilous position. Now mind you, gentle reader, I -am not giving this as my opinion, but others have given it as theirs. -While "bivouacking" a little behind this hill the enemy's skirmishers a -little after dark made quite a determined onset on our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> skirmishers in -front of the hill, but were driven back finally with considerable loss -to both parties. It was a daring and courageous move and created no -little excitement and concern and looked for a time like a night attack -was pending. The 30th was spent in getting ready by both parties to the -battle.</p> - -<p>And early on the morrow we took our position on Swain's hill in support -of Cobb's and the Washington artillery. From my vantage position I could -see more plainly the Confederate lines than the Federal, because the -Confederates were on a direct line extending Southward, while the -Federals were obliquely to the front and partially obscured by an -intervening cedar glade and in the afternoon the Confederates swung like -a great gate on their pivotal position, while just behind and to the -left of this was the enemy's strong point of resistance, to which he had -finally been driven. The smoke from the guns of the long lines of -infantry, as they moved forward to the attack and the counter stroke -from the enemy's resisting columns, the dashing to and fro, up and down -the lines and over the field by officers, orderlies, aides and couriers, -carrying orders and dispatches, with here and there a battery belching -forth shot and shell was a sight wonderful to behold and never to be -forgotten. The most thrilling incident to that view was early in the day -when a body of cavalry, supposed to be "Dragoons," swung into line from -behind the cedar glade with drawn sabers, gleaming and waving in the -crisp chill sunlit air, dashed down over the open fields in a grand -charge upon the Confederate infantry, whose movements a few moments -before convinced me of this approaching cavalry charge.</p> - -<p>We had been instructed by Buckner, Monroe and others on the drill field -in the formation of the "hollow square" to resist the charge of cavalry -and when I saw these regiments doubling column at half distance I knew -what was coming. To see the field officers on horseback rushing within -the squares as they closed and the front rank <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>kneeling, all with fixed -bayonets glittering in the frosty sunlight, and these oncoming charges -with waving sabers and glittering helmets was a sight unsurpassed by -anything I witnessed during the war. The nearest approaching it was by -Sherman's charge at Resaca. As soon as the squares were formed the -artillery in the rear opened fire through these intervening spaces made -by the formation of the square, whereupon artillery and infantry -combined swept the field and the charging column turned in confusion and -route, skurrying helter skelter back over the field, leaving numbers of -men horseless.</p> - -<p>Soon the "Rebel yell" down the line told us that things were going our -way and looking we could see our friends moving forward like a mighty -serpent drawing his coils.</p> - -<p>While this was transpiring on the left a battery in our front on the -opposite side of the river was industriously employed in shelling Cobb's -and Slocum's batteries stationed on Swain's hill, and whose business for -the time it was the Orphans to support. When I saw this cavalry charge, -to which I have referred, the thought instantly and involuntarily came -to my mind of the repeated attacks of Napoleon's cavalry on the squares -of Wellington's infantry at Waterloo. The sight was so thrilling that I -hoped they would repeat it. But how foolish, I thought this was, in this -body of cavalry attempting to ride down regiments of veteran infantry. -Their officers must surely have thought that they could reach the -Confederate line before they could complete this formation. If so, they -paid dearly for their mistake.</p> - -<p>The battle progressed steadily and satisfactorily to the Confederates -until about four o'clock, when they, in the language of the "bum," "run -against a snag." Woods' and Sheridan's divisions, with other of -Rosecrans' forces had concentrated upon his extreme left, which was his -strongest position for a final and last stand. The conflict here<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> was -desperate and bloody, neither party seeming to have much the advantage.</p> - -<p>The National cemetery now occupies this identical ground and in which -there are more than 6,000 Federal soldiers buried. A beautiful and fit -place for the remains of these brave Western soldiers to rest, for here -upon this field was displayed a courage that all men must admire.</p> - -<p>Both armies slept that night upon the field with the greater part of the -field in possession of the Confederates and the advantages and results -of the day almost wholly in their favor.</p> - -<p>The Orphans spent the night in the rear of and among the artillery they -had been supporting. When morning came we found that the enemy was still -in our front instead of on the road to Nashville as Bragg believed. Both -parties seemed willing that a truce should prevail for the day and -scarcely a shot was heard. Bragg believed that Rosecrans' army was -"demolished" and would surely retreat to his base (Nashville), and so -informed President Davis.</p> - -<p>But old "Rosy" had something else in his mind. He was planning and -scheming and matured a plan for a trap and Bragg walked right into it -with the innocence of a lamb and the ignorance of a man that had never -known anything of the art of war, and the butchery of the next day -followed as a result of his obstinacy and the lack of military skill. -Had he listened to the protestations of General Breckinridge and his -officers he might have saved for the time being his military reputation -and the lives of several hundred brave and noble men.</p> - -<p>The recounting of the steps that led up to this ill-conceived and fatal -denouement and the efforts by General Breckinridge to prevent its -consummation, by one while not high in rank, but who claims to know -something of the facts in the case, may not go amiss even at this late -day.</p> - -<p>Early on the morning of January 2, Captain Bramblett, commanding Company -H, Fourth Kentucky, and who had served with General Breckinridge in -Mexico, received <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>orders from him (Breckinridge), to make a thorough -reconnaissance of the enemy's position, Company H being at that time on -the skirmish line. Captain Bramblett with two of his lieutenants, myself -one of them, crawled through the weeds a distance of several hundred -yards to a prominent point of observation from which through his field -glass and even the naked eye we could see the enemy's concentrated -forces near and above the lower ford on the opposite side of the river, -his artillery being thrown forward and nearest to the river. His -artillery appeared to be close together and covering quite a space of -ground; we could not tell how many guns, but there was quite a number. -The infantry was seemingly in large force and extended farther down -toward the ford. Captain Bramblett was a man of no mean order of -military genius and information, and after looking at, and studying the -situation in silence for some minutes, he said to us boys, "that he -believed Rosecrans was setting a trap for Bragg." Continuing, he said, -"If he means to attack us on this side, why does he not reinforce on -this side? Why concentrate so much artillery on the bluff yonder? He -must be expecting us to attack that force yonder, pointing to Beatty's -position on the hill North of us, and if we do, he will use that -artillery on us as we move to the attack." At another time during the -afternoon I heard him while discussing the situation with other officers -of the regiment use substantially the same argument. I accompanied -Captain Bramblett to General Breckinridge's headquarters and heard him -make substantially in detail a report containing the facts above -recited. Captain Tom Steele was ordered (his company having relieved -ours) on the skirmish line to make a reconnaissance also, and made a -similar report, and lastly General Breckinridge, to thoroughly and -unmistakably understand the situation and satisfy himself, in company -with one or two of his staff examined the situation as best he could and -I presume reached the same conclusion, and when he (Breckinridge) -repaired to Bragg's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> headquarters and vouchsafed this information and -suggested the presumptive plan of the enemy, Bragg said: "Sir, my -information is different. I have given the order to attack the enemy in -your front and expect it to be obeyed."</p> - -<p>What was General Breckinridge to do but attempt to carry out his orders, -though in carrying out this unwise and ill-conceived order it should -cost in one hour and ten minutes 1,700 of as brave and chivalrous -soldiers as the world ever saw. What a terrible blunder, what a bloody -and useless sacrifice! And all because General Breckinridge had resented -the imputation that the cause of the failure of Bragg's Kentucky -campaign was the "disloyalty of her people to the Confederate cause." -Could anyone of the thousands of Kentuckians that espoused the cause of -the South, complacently acquiesce in this erroneous charge and endorse -the spirit that prompted this order and led to the slaughter of so many -of her noble boys? This was the view that many of us took of Bragg's -course.</p> - -<p>How was this wicked and useless sacrifice brought about? "That -subordinate must always obey his superior"—is the military law. In -furtherance of Bragg's order we were assembled about three o'clock on -the afternoon of January 2, 1863 (Friday, a day of ill luck) in a line -North of and to the right of Swain's hill, confronting Beatty's and -Growes' brigades, with a battery or two of artillery as support. They -being intended for the bait that had been thrown across the river at the -lower ford, and now occupied an eminence some three-quarters of a mile -to the right-front of the Orphan's position on Swain's hill.</p> - -<p>This was the force, small as it was that Bragg was so anxious to -dislodge. Between the attacking line and federal position was a -considerable scope of open ground, fields and pastures, with here and -there a clump of bushes or briars, but the entire space was in full view -of and covered by the enemy's batteries to the left of the line on the -opposite side of the river previously referred to. If<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> the reader will -only carry these positions in his eye, he can readily discover the jaws -of the trap in this murderous scheme.</p> - -<p>A more imposing and thoroughly disciplined line of soldiers never moved -to the attack of an enemy than responded to the signal gun stationed -immediately in our rear, which was fired exactly at four o'clock. Every -man vieing with his fellowman, in steadiness of step and correct -alignment, with the officers giving low and cautionary commands, many -knowing that it was their last hour on earth, but without hesitating -moved forward to their inevitable doom and defeat. We had gotten only -fairly started, when the great jaws of the trap on the bluff from the -opposite side of the river were sprung, and bursting shells that -completely drowned the voice of man were plunging and tearing through -our columns, ploughing up the earth at our feet in front and behind, -everywhere. But with steadiness of step we moved on. Two companies of -the Fourth regiment, my own and adjoining company, encountered a pond, -and with a dexterous movement known to the skilled officer and soldier -was cleared in a manner that was perfectly charming, obliquing to the -right and left into line as soon as passed.</p> - -<p>By reason of the shorter line held by the enemy, our line, which was -much longer and the colors of each of our battalions being directed -against this shorter line, caused our lines to interlap, making it -necessary, in order to prevent confusion and crowding, that some of the -regiments halt, until the others had passed forward out of the way. When -thus halted they would lie down in order to shield themselves from the -enemy infantry fire in front, who had by this time opened a lively -fusillade from behind their temporary works.</p> - -<p>While lying on the ground momentarily a very shocking and disastrous -occurrence took place in Company E, immediately on my left and within a -few feet of where I lay. A shell exploded right in the middle of the -company, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>almost literally tearing it to pieces. When I recovered from -the shock the sight I witnessed was appalling. Some eighteen or twenty -men hurled in every direction, including my dear friend, Lieut. George -Burnley of Frankfort. But these circumstances were occurring every -minute now while the battle was raging all around and about us. Men -moved intuitively—the voice being silenced by the whizzing and bursting -shells. On we moved, Beatty's and Growes' lines giving way seemingly to -allow the jaws of the trap to press with more and ever increasing vigor -upon its unfortunate and discomfited victims. But, on we moved, until -the survivors of the decoy had passed the river and over the lines -stationed on the other side of the river, when their new line of -infantry opened on our confused and disordered columns another -destructive and ruinous fire.</p> - -<p>Coupled with this condition and correlative to it, a battery of Growes -and a part of their infantry had been cut off from the ford and seeing -our confused condition, rallied, reformed and opened fire on our -advanced right now along the river bank. Confronted in front by their -infantry, with the river intervening; swept by their artillery from the -left and now attacked by both infantry and artillery by an oblique fire -from the right, we found ourselves in a helpless condition, from which -it looked like an impossibility to escape; and but for the fact that two -or three batteries had been ordered into position to check the -threatened advance of the enemy and thereby distract their attention, we -doubtless would have fared still worse.</p> - -<p>We rallied some distance to the right of where we started and found that -many, very many, of our noblest, truest and best had fallen. Some of -them were left on the field, among whom was my military preceptor, -adviser and dear friend, Captain Bramblett, who fell into the hands of -the enemy and who died a few days after in Nashville. I shall never -forget our parting, a moment or two before, he received his wound—never -forget the last quick glance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> and the circumstances that called it -forth. He was a splendid soldier and his loss grieved me very much. Many -another gallant Kentuckian, some of our finest line and field officers, -were left on the field, a sacrifice to stupidity and revenge. -Thirty-seven per cent in one hour and ten minutes—some say one -hour—was the frightful summary. Among the first of these was the -gallant and illustrious Hanson, whose coolness and bearing was -unsurpassed and whose loss was irreparable. He with Breckinridge, -understood and was fully sensible of—as indicated by the very -seriousness of his countenance—the unwisdom of this move and as shown -in their protest to Bragg. What a pity that a strict observance of -military rule compelled it to be obeyed against his mature military mind -and judgment, causing the loss of such a magnificent soldier and -gentleman—uselessly and foolishly.</p> - -<p>Contemplating this awful sacrifice, as he rode by the dead and dying in -the rear of our lines, General Breckinridge, with tears falling from his -eyes, was heard to say in tones of anguish, "My poor Orphans! My poor -Orphans!" little thinking that he was dedicating to them a name that -will live throughout the annals of time and crown the history of that -dear little band with everlasting immortality.</p> - -<p>I have tried to give you above a description from memory's tablet—of -the battle of Murfreesboro, and I shall now relate some of my -observations made on my recent visit together with further references, -to the events that transpired on that eventful field—the study of which -is of almost overwhelming interest.</p> - -<h3>A VISIT TO MURFREESBORO IN 1912.</h3> - -<p>Here, as elsewhere and on other fields, the view is especially and -particularly interesting, because of the country being more level and -more open with the view much less obstructed. It was worth a half dozen -years to live over,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> in reminiscence, this week of intense excitement, -interest and danger. And here too, as at Chickamauga, memory refused to -be satisfied, and I find myself wishing I could see it again. I feel -that I could never tire looking at the different aspects of the view and -studying the tragic scenes as they transpired on this eventful closing -of this eventful year of 1862, and the no less eventful opening of the -year 1863. To those who lived in this historic decade and participated -in these events of bygone years are of intense and ever thrilling -interest, but few realize that these things happened a half century ago.</p> - -<p>Here as elsewhere events came back to me and I had but little or no -difficulty in locating the leading and many of the minor places of -interest.</p> - -<p>The immediate vicinity of our long encampment is changed considerably by -houses being erected nearby and on the ground where our camps stood, but -the big spring house, however, still does duty as of yore. The place on -the Shelbyville turnpike where we held guard mount and review is much -changed. So also are the grounds on the East side of the city where we -held brigade and division drill, it now being "built up." But one of the -leading landmarks of the town and of special interest to the Orphans and -other Kentuckians is still intact and but little changed in appearance -but now used for a different purpose. I refer to the Judge Ready -residence where General Morgan captured his grand prize. There is not an -old Orphan now living, that does not remember how he used to primp for -the march by this house, and how proudly he stepped and with what -perfect mien he marched to Billy McQuown's best pieces, all to have the -privilege of "showing off," and having the opportunity for a sly glance -at the beautiful Queen sisters standing on the upper veranda. You know, -old boys, just how this was, don't you?</p> - -<p>But my mind is taking me back to the battlefield where the things of -real excitement were transpiring, where "the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> pride, pomp and -circumstances of glorious war are to be found."</p> - -<p>Starting out in company with Rev. Everett Smith, we took the Nashville -pike crossing the river at the same place we crossed when on the retreat -from Bowling Green to Shiloh in February, 1862, and where I had crossed -several times while encamped later, near the town and over and beyond -which I saw the celebrated cavalry charge and the victorious columns of -the Confederates move on December 31. My mind was so completely occupied -and crowded that I scarcely knew what to do or say. I know I must have -been a study, to my young friend for a time at least.</p> - -<p>I could see again in imagination the smoke and red fire and could hear -the crackling flames as they leaped high in air of the famous "Cowan" -house as we rode by. I imagined as we rode on that I could hear the -yells and shouts of the contending lines as they surged forward and -across the turnpike to the famous cut in the railroad, where Wood and -Sheridan saved the day to the Federals against the last grand charge of -Cleburne, Preston and Pillow of the Confederates.</p> - -<p>As before stated here is a fitting place for the six thousand Federals -who rest here. Here at the cemetery, I was introduced to Captain Thomas, -the officer in charge, who was exceedingly polite and courteous and whom -I found by conversing with, that I had faced at Shiloh and who had the -most perfect recollection of many of the chief points and incidents of -that battle. I regretted very much that I could not spend more time with -him, as he impressed me as being a man after my own heart. But my young -friend and myself had promised to be back at the dinner hour and I was -therefore, compelled to close my interview.</p> - -<p>I spent the afternoon in glancing over town and meeting and conversing -with old soldiers and others whom I found interested in my mission, and -willing and anxious to give me any information I desired.</p> - -<p>I met and arranged with Captain Mitchell, who now owns a part of the -field over which the celebrated charge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> of Breckinridge was made, to go -out with me next morning and in company with him and a young friend, W. -H. Hohgatt, of Pittsburgh, Pa. We started early, going over the same -road, crossing the same bridge, as the day before to a point near the -cemetery where the road to McFadden's ford leaves the turnpike and runs -North by the bluff, the famous bluff where Rosecrans' fifty-eight pieces -of artillery were stationed that wrought such dreadful havoc upon -Breckinridge's men as they moved across the fields to attack Beatty and -Growes (the decoy) on the other side of the river, here we crossed the -river at the lower ford, so famous in history but which is properly -known as McFadden's. Here we "tied up" and in company with my companions -we took to the fields and woods, which latter exist now in fancy only. -Up the gradual slope we go to the crest of the ridge (now a cotton -patch) to where Beatty and Growes were stationed, swinging around as we -go to the point overlooking the river on which stood the massive oaks -where the Sixth Kentucky, led by that incarnate demon of war, "Old Joe" -Lewis, with flashing sword and blazing eyes, more terrible than the eyes -of a raging lion and who impressed me as I was never impressed before or -since, with the devil in human form. He presented a picture at that time -I shall never forget. It is as grimly and immovably fixed in my mind as -the sun and the stars and I become enthusiastic whenever I think of him -and the incident. Now we move along the crest Northward to the point -where the Fourth Kentucky struck Beatty's line. Looking East and South -towards the Lebanon pike, we can see the vicinity where we started in -the charge about midway between the crest and the pike. Turning around -we can look down the North slope of the ridge and over which we pressed -Beatty and the right of Growes' brigade to McFadden's ford, dropping -into, as we move down the narrow sag or depression that leads from the -top of the hill straight to the ford and which furnished the only -protection from the murderous fire of the fifty-eight guns<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> massed on -the bluff. Out of this depression, going or coming, we were exposed to -this dreadful and incessant fire. Opposite to and some forty yards from -this ford is the picket fence where we were compelled to halt and which -is so well remembered by many of the Orphans.</p> - -<p>The Federals passed around the end of this fence, they being acquainted -with the situation, but we struck it square and were compelled to halt. -Just outside and along this picketing were piled the enemy's drums and -upon which the minnie balls from their new and supporting line on the -opposite side of the river were beating a funeral dirge for many of our -dear boys who were here compelled to halt and die to no purpose -whatever. I walked along this picket fence, which looks just as it did -then, but of course has been rebuilt, and over the very ground on which -my dear Captain Bramblett fell and with whom I exchanged glances a -moment before. To give expression to my feelings as I contemplated this -last glance, this look in life at my dear friend and leader is -impossible and I turn away with sickened heart from the fatal spot and -retrace my steps over the field to the rallying point, every step of the -way marked by exploding shells and flying shot from the enemy's battery -of fifty-eight guns which seemed determined to show no mercy at all.</p> - -<p>Lest some one may say I am magnifying this story of the "battery on the -bluff" I will quote here verbatim from the tablet on the twenty-foot -granite monument which marks the place occupied by these guns to mark -the place from which the death-dealing shot and shell were hurled that -resulted in the death of so many of Kentucky's noble and brave boys.</p> - -<p>I understand this monument was erected by the president of one of the -great railway systems, the N. C. & St. L., who had participated in the -famous charge. It is the most interesting and historic point of all the -very interesting points of this eventful field. It was with awe and -overpowering wonder and feeling that I indulged the scenes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> of fifty -years ago, enacted on this spot. Here the very earth trembled beneath -the thunderings of these fifty-eight cannon, sending death and -destruction into the ranks of us poor unfortunate Confederates.</p> - -<p>The tablet upon this monument reads as follows:</p> - -<p>"On January 2, 1863, at three p. m., there were stationed on this hill, -fifty-eight cannon commanding the field across the river and as the -Confederates advanced over this field the shot and shell from these guns -resulted in a loss of 1,800 killed and wounded in less than one hour."</p> - -<p>What a harvest of death in so short a time was wrought by shot and -shell! The most of whose victims were mutilated and lacerated beyond -recognition or description. Had the earth been torn by an earthquake the -scene would not have been more terrible and hideously appalling.</p> - -<p>On a board marker, near by, in faded letters is this indefinite -inscription:</p> - -<p>"Col. S. Mat——, Third Division 14th A. C. Fed——, Col. S. W. Price -commanding. Holding Lower Ford, Dec. 31, 1862."</p> - -<p>This evidently refers to the battery that played upon Cobb and Slocum on -Swain's Hill.</p> - -<p>It would seem from these last words of this poster that the Federals -were afraid on the first day's fight that the Confederates would attempt -to turn their left by crossing at this ford, hence the placing of this -battery here. Bragg, it seems, had no such thought, and, however, it was -stationed in our immediate front, West from Swain's Hill and as the -battle progressed on the plain South of the railroad and turnpike it -played upon Cobb and Slocum with increasing vigor and spirit. As before -stated, the Orphans were stationed at this time in support to these -batteries, and it was from this point that I witnessed the thrilling -sights on the West side of the river.</p> - -<p>In company with my new-made genial and accommodating friend, W. G. -Beatty, whose father owned the land on which the battle of the 2nd was -fought, I visited<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> Swain's Hill, which is evidently a mistaken name for -the place, no one with whom I conversed, old or young, knew it by that -name. I found on the hill, which I very readily recognized from the -distance, the old entrenchments intact, save from the leveling effects -of time, and on which an occasional locust sapling is growing with quite -a thicket of the same in the immediate front. But from the left of this -line of works and where I was stationed on the 31st the view overlooking -the railroad, turnpike and plain is perfectly clear. From here I looked, -studied and wondered. Why should I not linger and contemplate? Never -until the great day of judgment do I ever expect to witness such a -thrilling and awe-inspiring scene as I here witnessed on that eventful -day of December 31, 1862.</p> - -<p>Beatty contemplated me with interest, if not astonishment. So intensely -interesting were these scenes and recollections I was almost tempted to -spend another day contemplating and reviewing them. But we returned to -the city at night to attend a church affair at the instance and -invitation of my young friend from Bourbon, Rev. Everett Smith, whose -guest I had been while here.</p> - -<p>I tried hard to forget and partially succeeded in forgetting the -thoughts and reminiscences the day had suggested—in the presence of so -many charming ladies and gallant gentlemen of Brother Smith's -congregation and the additional enjoyment of the ice cream, cakes and -strawberries, my appetite of fifty years ago suddenly returning to -remind me of the difference twixt now and then.</p> - -<p>Next morning my friend Beatty was on hand early with his automobile and -speeded me over the city which I am frank to say is one of the most -beautiful little cities I ever saw. I was charmed by the old time warmth -and hospitality of its people and the greeting given me and I shall -remember them as among the happiest of my life. And if I were young once -more, I would be almost tempted to cast<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> my lot with these good people -in this good country, both of which are the next best to Kentucky.</p> - -<p>I must not forget to remind the old Orphans and others who may read this -paper that after considerable inquiry I was able to find the old Haynes -home, in which General Hanson died, and which is now occupied by Hon. -Jesse C. Beasley, the present Democratic nominee for Congress in this -district. I was shown through the house by his good little wife who -although taken somewhat by surprise at my sudden and unexpected visit, -but who courteously invited me to examine and inspect until fully -satisfied. I stood in the room in which he died almost dumfounded with -emotion. Here, in the presence of his heart-broken wife, and sorrowing -friends his life gradually ebbed away and took its flight to the realms -above.</p> - -<p>I was reminded to tread lightly and speak softly on this solemn -occasion, for here, passed away into the Great Beyond one of Kentucky's -grandest and greatest noblemen.</p> - -<p>I attended that afternoon, in company with Captain Baird, Beatty and -others, the anniversary decoration of the Confederate graves and -listened to a fine oration and the delightful rendering of several -appropriate songs by the Murfreesboro quartette. When they sang "My Old -Kentucky Home," I hugged tightly, the tree against which I leaned and -fear I betrayed a weakness for which I am not altogether ashamed, for -what Kentuckian that lives, especially when away from home, whose soul -is not moved, when he hears the sweet strains of this touching and soul -inspiring song. How can he, when thus reminded of his old Kentucky home, -keep from exclaiming (in mind at least) in the language of the poet:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>"Lives there a man (Kentuckian) with soul so dead,</div> -<div>Who to himself hath not said, this is my own, my native land."</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Before closing this chapter I must not fail to say that I found on this -trip a manifestation of the same liberal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> hospitable and magnanimous -spirit, that has ever characterized this noble and self-sacrificing -people. To the good women of the South I owe my life; to them I bow and -acknowledge obeisance as the truest, purest, sweetest and best of all -God's creatures.</p> - -<p>No sacrifice, that mortal man could make is, too great a recompense for -the love and devotion of these dear women who sacrificed, wept and -suffered during the four long years of midnight darkness. They are the -angels of the earth today; to them, as such I uncover my head and I hail -them.</p> - -<p>Finally I wish to acknowledge my thanks to Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Ivie, at -whose home I was the guest of my friend, Rev. Smith and his charming -little wife. To Editor Williams, W. G. Beatty, Captains Baird and -Mitchell, Dr. Campbell and others, I am indebted for many courtesies and favors.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER VI.</span> <span class="smaller">LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN.</span></h2> - -<h3>BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA—1863.</h3> - -<p>I am now attempting to write from this Lookout Mountain, one of the most -picturesque as well as interesting places on the American continent. -Near by and round about here some of the greatest episodes in the -world's history transpired near the close of that eventful year, 1863.</p> - -<p>Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, where the lives of -sixty-five thousand Americans were either destroyed or more or less -wrecked.</p> - -<p>A feeling of philosophy and awe prompts me to ask why all this great -sacrifice of human life, misery and suffering?</p> - -<p>Was the Great God that made man now looking on this awful scene of -carnage and woe again repenting that He had made wicked, rebellious and -murderous man; or was it a part of His omnipotent plan for man's -inherent folly and wickedness driving him to destroy his fellowman?</p> - -<p>Whatever it was it seems to have been accomplished here amid these -towering mountains.</p> - -<p>But so it was and I, one insignificant actor in the grand drama, am -still permitted to live and recount some of the thrilling scenes as they -were enacted. It is beyond my power to describe minutely and correctly -all the thrilling sights that I witnessed on this eventful occasion -(Battle of Chickamauga) and I shall refer to those only that concern -myself and my Kentucky comrades, unless incidentally it shall appear -necessary to my story.</p> - -<p>I will, therefore, not attempt to note the maneuvering, the marching and -counter-marching, back and forth, up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> and down the Chickamauga Valley, -in and about Rossville and Crawfish Springs and their vicinity; all of -which, at that time, seemed to me was but the waving of the red flag in -the face of Rosecrans in "<i>I dare you to come out</i>" spirit on the part -of Bragg.</p> - -<p>Whatever motives, schemes and strategy it contained we all knew, rank -and file, field and staff, that we were on the eve of momentous events. -We all knew that here the question of "Greek meeting Greek" would soon -again be tested and two of the mightiest armies of modern times would be -locked in mortal combat. We had not long to wait for on the morning of -the nineteenth (September, 1863) an occasional boom, boom, away to the -right and front told us of the coming storm that was about to break over -and sweep Chickamauga Valley with a mighty avalanche of thunder and -horror that shook the very earth itself. Slowly but steadily the roar of -artillery increased and by the middle of the afternoon became almost -incessant.</p> - -<p>Longstreet's Virginians had come out to show the Western army how to -fight and they were now learning that Rosecrans' Western veterans could -give instructions in the art of war as well as they and that they were -not facing the aliens and wage soldiers that constituted a large part of -the Army of the Potomac. They also found, as the battle progressed, that -the Western army of the South knew as well and were as willing to "stand -up Johnnie" and give and take blow for blow as they. The evening wore on -and occasional reports from the front brought news that the Confederates -were holding their own and a little better.</p> - -<p>Meantime the "Orphans" were on the move toward the front and facing the -enemy's moving column on the Chattanooga road, which led to Rossville -and near Glass' Mill, at which place the artillery of Breckinridge's -division, commanded by the gallant Major Graves, engaged the enemies in -one of the fiercest artillery duels it was my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> pleasure to witness -during the war. I say pleasure advisedly, for it was a magnificent sight -to see from where I was stationed Graves moving among his men and -directing their every action, which was done with an admirable celerity -and precision that was perfectly charming. I must here do Graves the -honor to say that he was the most perfect military man I ever saw. But -this was but the prelude to the play of the morrow; both parties seeming -(after a half hour's engagement) to say we will settle tomorrow. "Sunday -is a better day."</p> - -<p>Shifting our position to Lee and Gordon's Mill, further down the -Chickamauga, in the afternoon, we here awaited developments and that -night made a long detour and crossed at Alexander's Bridge, several -miles down the river. Next morning we found ourselves on the extreme -right of the dividing line of the stage of action marked out by the -respective commanders for the grand tragedy that day to be enacted upon -the stage of war. Early, very early the Fourth Kentucky Skirmishers (and -I here glory in the fact) had the honor of firing the first shots in the -opening that day of the greatest battle ever fought on the American -continent, if not the greatest in modern times. This assertion may be -called in question by critics, but if I mistake not there were more men -killed and wounded at Chickamauga than in any other engagement of the war.</p> - -<p>Here the old and somewhat sacrilegious saying of "Hell broke loose in -Georgia" was fully and forcefully emphasized by the almost continuous -thundering of 200 cannons that made the very earth tremble, besides the -constant rattle of musketry and the shouts of more than a hundred -thousand struggling combatants determined on each other's destruction. -Americans all, and all for what? That a God-made inferior race might -occupy the same plane with the superior was the object of one, while -that right was disputed by the other. But I fear I may be digressing -somewhat from the original purpose in these chapters. Still these -thoughts are hard to suppress. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>Reviewing the incidents of the great -battle and the part played by Kentucky Confederates I return to the -skirmish line of the Fourth Kentucky, which covered the front of the -Orphan Brigade and which was commanded by Col. Joe Nuckols, who was -wounded at the very outset of the engagement and compelled to leave the field.</p> - -<p>The writer was the subject at this particular time and place of the most -ridiculous and practical joke of his entire war experience, but which -(thanks to the Bill of Rights) he is not here compelled to relate. This -was the beginning of that chapter in the history of the Orphan Brigade, -which took the lives and blood of so many noble Kentuckians to write. In -the first and desperate onset, led by the noble and intrepid Helm, whose -name is a household word with almost all Kentuckians, fell here, -together with Graves, Hewitt, Dedman, Daniel, Madeira and other officers -of the line, and many splendid men of the Second and Ninth Regiments, -who paid with their lives tribute to Mars and added to Kentucky's old -traditional glory and renown.</p> - -<p>Three regiments on the right, Fourth, Sixth and Forty-First Alabama, -swept everything before them—the enemy being in the open field. But the -Second and Ninth encountered the enemies' breastworks and were repulsed -with terrible slaughter. Here was where the officers just mentioned fell -in one of the most desperate struggles of the day. Here "Pap Thomas'" -veterans took advantage of their works and exacted deep and merciless -toll. More than once during the day was this position assailed by other -bodies of Confederates with similar results. About the middle of the -afternoon the assembling of Cheatham's and Walker's division in -conjunction with Breckinridge warned us that the fatal moment had -arrived and the hour of desperation was at hand.</p> - -<p>The old veteran needs no one to tell him when a crisis is approaching, -he instinctively and otherwise comprehends the meaning of these -movements and nerves himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> for the desperate work before him. His -countenance would convince the stoic of what his mind contained, in -modern parlance he "understands the game." When the signal gun was fired -we knew its meaning, so also did the enemy. Then three lines in solid -phalanx, desperate and determined men, moved forward on the Federal -stronghold to be met by a withering and blighting fire from the enemy -behind their works. But so furious and desperate was the onslaught that -Thomas' veterans, who had withstood all previous attempts to dislodge -them, could no longer face the line of gleaming bayonets of the -Confederates as they leaped over the breastworks the Federals had so -successfully defended up to that hour.</p> - -<p>Some surrendered, others made their escape and still others met their -doom—many, not hearing the shouts of the victorious Confederates as -they rushed over and among them.</p> - -<p>This was the culmination of the struggle. Similar movements with similar -results were taking place simultaneously all along the line, closing the -most stupendous struggle of the war. But at this particular point and at -Snodgrass Hill, where the Fifth Kentucky contributed additional and -unsurpassed glory to Kentucky's part in the great battle, were the keys -to Rosecrans' position, and here the fighting was the hardest and the -losses heaviest.</p> - -<p>In the first charge in the morning where the right of the brigade was so -successful, we captured a section of the enemy's artillery. The writer -seized the trunnion of one of the guns and with assistance turned it on -them while the other was turned by others of our men; but we could find -no ammunition to fire them and were deprived of the anticipated glory of -firing on the enemy as they fled from the field. I wish here, and in my -feeble way, to lift my hat to do honor to the gallantry of the captain -commanding that battery (who I learned was from Indiana) as doing the -most daring and chivalrous act I ever saw performed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> by an enemy during -my entire war experience. Both his lieutenants and a number of his men -having been killed before he abandoned his guns, which were in a battery -just on the West side of the Chickamauga road and in the face of us -Confederates, who had reached the East side of the road, he dashed into -the road and past us, lifting his hat and waving us a salute that would -have put to shame a Chesterfield or a Prince Rupert. The act was almost -paralyzing and not a man of the fifty or more who fired at him point -blank touched him or his horse. If there is such a thing as a charmed -life, this captain must have possessed it on that occasion. If living I -would gladly travel miles to shake his hand.</p> - -<p>Our next move was to unite our separated line which we did by retiring -later on to the point from where we started.</p> - -<p>During the occasional lulls in the musketry firing the artillery from -left to right and especially on the left about Snodgrass Hill, was -thundering defiance and sending death into each other's ranks that -seemingly made old earth shake from center to circumference, set the -birds to flight, caused reptiles, lizzards and all manner of wild -animals to flee from the wrath of murderous man, among which was a -cotton-tail deer that was seen by some of the men running in a -bewildered and dazed manner in the rear of the contending lines, not -knowing which way to flee or what it all meant.</p> - -<p>The enemy routed, the conflict ceased—about dark—with the Orphans -(those left) on the West side of the Chickamauga road, some of the men -playfully astride the enemy's guns—several in number—that had been -abandoned at this point, others prostrate on the ground resting and -recounting incidents of the day, <span class="smaller">ALL</span> glad enough that it was over.</p> - -<p>Here General Buckner rode up, he having come over from the left where -his artillery and division of infantry had done such splendid work and -who was greeted with a cheer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> from the surviving Orphans that must have -done his soul good and which he acknowledged with a smile, lifting his -hat gracefully in acknowledgment of the greeting.</p> - -<p>What next! We all expected that we would follow immediately without an -hour's delay on the heels of the retreating and discomfited Federals and -overtake and completely route and possibly capture them before they -could get settled behind their fortifications around Chattanooga. But -here the fatal mistake of Beauregard at Shiloh (and for which Bragg -censured him) was duplicated by Bragg himself.</p> - -<p>Back to the field among the boys where we spent the night among the dead -and wounded; and awaiting orders from Bragg, who was spending his time -in sending congratulations to President Davis while Rosecrans was busy -preparing to receive and entertain him from his fortifications around -Chattanooga.</p> - -<p>The writer having learned that we would likely spend the day on the -field resting—"<i>resting</i>" (I toss my head in derision of the thought), -obtained permission to visit and inspect the field of battle, and in -company with one or two comrades started early next morning from the -extreme right, where we opened the battle, and traversed the entire -length of the field, a distance of seven miles or more. This was the -first time such an enviable opportunity had ever presented itself and I -seized it gladly, notwithstanding the many horrible and ghastly sights I -knew I would see. On every hand, in every direction, were evidences of -the desperate conflict of the preceding day. The forest trees splintered -and torn by the plunging shot and shell from the cannon's deadly throat, -dismantled caissons and artillery wheels, dead horses, guns, cartridge -boxes, bayonets and almost every kind of war paraphernalia imaginable -were strewn promiscuously over the field. Trees and saplings, not larger -than a man's body to a height of six or eight feet, contained from a -dozen to as high as sixty rifle balls. But worst of all with upturned -faces and glaring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> eyes, torn and mangled bodies of not less than four -thousand dead men on the field and at the hospitals. At the latter, -especially at the Snodgrass place, there were acres covered with wounded -and many dead. Here I witnessed the most appalling sight my eyes ever -beheld, a description from which I shudder and shrink at this distant -day, and which is too terrible for delicate and sensitive natures to -ponder; and which involuntarily reminds me of Sherman's saying again. -The citizens of today will doubtless wonder how any man could escape -such a rain of shot and shell, but by the old soldier it is readily -understood. While ninety per cent of these shots were being fired the -men were lying flat on their faces and were overshooting each other when -suddenly one or the other would spring to his feet and with a bound and -a yell rush at a double-quick upon their foe, giving him time to fire -one or at most two rounds when his ranks would be broken and compelled -to retire.</p> - -<p>After seeing these appalling sights I retraced my steps and reached the -starting point about twilight to find that my command had been ordered -forward toward Chattanooga and the vicinity of Missionary Ridge, which -we reached next day to find Rosecrans occupying his fortifications and -redoubts ready to receive and entertain us. We were formed in line of -battle at or near the foot of Missionary Ridge and expected when the -formation was completed to be hurled against the forts and redoubts to -certain and inevitable destruction.</p> - -<p>Many expressions of evil and forebodings of disaster were indulged in -and anathemas were hurled at the commander without stint for holding us -back for this, the hour of our doom. Many farewells were being -exchanged, mingled with jeers and sarcasm, all knowing and understanding -fully the gravity of the situation. It was an hour of intense, of -dreadful suspense, which could only be felt and not described.</p> - -<p>But thanks to an allwise and merciful Providence which at the last -moment withheld the hand and changed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> the mind that commanded. But for -this change of mind he who writes this story would doubtless now be -"sleeping the sleep that knows no waking on fame's eternal camping -ground." When we were ordered to retire to Missionary Ridge many were -the longdrawn sighs of relief that we had escaped from this threatened -and, as we felt, certain doom.</p> - -<h3>THE WRITER'S VISIT TO CHICKAMAUGA—IN MAY, 1912.</h3> - -<p>I have visited scenes of the great conflict twice, traversed the very -ground from the point where we formed line of battle and moved to the -charge against "Pap" Thomas' veterans and am still unsatisfied. Not that -the points of greatest interest have been lost to memory, but because -memory will not be satisfied. I can see in my mind the anxious look in -the faces of those brave Kentucky boys, as they stepped into line and -touched elbows in obedience to the commands "dress to the right; dress -to the left; steady, steady, men; quick step, forward, march!"</p> - -<p>Tell me I shall ever forget these commands or this hour! Never, while -"memory lasts and reason holds sway."</p> - -<p>From this very starting point I traced the ground over which we moved -(in 1863) taking the monument erected to the memory of General Helm as a -guide and allowing for the space of the two regiments to occupy the -right, coursing Westward, the exact direction we moved, crossing the -LaFayette road at or near the very point where the two pieces of -artillery were captured and previously referred to. The tablet here -tells me who my gallant captain of Indiana (Bridges) was and recites the -facts of the capture correctly. There, too, is the open field through -which the broken regiments of infantry were fleeing that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> I was so -anxious to assist with shots from their own battery.</p> - -<p>Here I must criticise a little at the risk of censure. I will do so by -quoting from memory, not literally, from Gen. Breckinridge's official -report saying, "That a strong supporting line at this moment, thrown on -Thomas' flank and rear, would have resulted in dislodging and -overthrowing Thomas early in the day." This was plain to line and field -officer alike. The opportunity was presented but not availed of; why, I -know not.</p> - -<p>The tablets here with their historic record briefly stamped in metal are -substantially correct. My version of the battle previously stated to the -guides while going out (I. P. Thoeford, an old Confederate) and S. P. -Black were so nearly identical that these men threw up their hands in -amazement when I read from the tablet. It was no trouble to convince -them that I had been there and knew something about the battle and the -positions of the troops on that part of the line. Here stands nearby the -Glenn House, some old log houses. Not far away is the Kentucky monument, -a fitting memorial to Kentuckians of both sides crowned with the Goddess -of Love and Peace. Northeast is the monument to that gallant, lovable -character, Ben Hardin Helm—my hand trembles as I write his name, for I -really believe he was one of the kindest-hearted and best men I ever -knew. Near this spot was where so many of the Second and Ninth fell, -some of whose names are already mentioned in this chapter on -Chickamauga. I could write much, very much, more of this very -interesting and historic field, but will not trespass further on your -time and space.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER VII.</span> <span class="smaller">MISSIONARY RIDGE.</span></h2> - -<h3>KENTUCKY CONFEDERATE VISITS SCENES OF BATTLE AND SIEGE DURING CIVIL WAR.</h3> - -<p>From here (Missionary Ridge) about the last of September the Orphans -were sent to Tyner Station as a base from which to guard the commissary -stores at Chickamauga Station, that place being the depot of supplies -for the army investing Chattanooga.</p> - -<p>But when it was seen that Grant, who had arrived and assumed command of -the Federal Army, was planning to move on our lines on Lookout and -Missionary Ridge, we were ordered back to our original position on the -Ridge, not far from Bragg's headquarters. From this point we could see -on the night of the 24th of November the flashes from the rifles of the -contending lines on Lookout, like so many fireflies on a hot July evening.</p> - -<p>The extravagant talk about Hooker's "battle above the clouds" is a -misnomer, that has found its way into print, and for a long time filled -the papers and magazines and is nothing but a magnified myth -(unsupported by facts) that is absolutely incredible. At no time were -the contending forces more than half way up the mountain, and all the -glory arrogated by the Federals was achieved over a light line deployed -as skirmishers, composed of Alabamans. For a long time this twaddle was -absolutely and positively sickening.</p> - -<p>But I must return to my beloved Orphans. Next morning (25th) before -daylight we were ordered to the extreme right (Northern point of the -Ridge) as support to Cleburne's division, a man who was never known to -ask for support. This move was a complete waste of that important -element of strength at this critical and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>all-important time, for we, -the Orphans, rendered practically no service at all on that eventful -day. But here I conjecture and philosophize again. May be and perhaps it -was providential, for had we kept our place in the line between and -among Cobb's guns, "Lady Breckinridge," "Lady Buckner" and "Lady Helm," -and his other guns to which the Orphans were lovingly endeared, they -would never have been surrendered while a man was on his feet. Lucky -indeed for Sheridan and Wood that day that the Orphans were away from -home, and perhaps equally lucky for some, if not all, of us, for we had -sworn never to abandon this position while a man of us lived.</p> - -<p>This, in my mind, was the strongest natural position with one exception -(Rockyface Gap) ever held by the Confederate forces in the West, and its -abandonment was a disgrace to Confederate arms. Imagine our -mortification and deep chagrin when we learned that our -battery—Cobb's—with the endearing names inscribed thereon, had been -cowardly abandoned after we had successfully defended them at Shiloh, -Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Murfreesboro, Jackson, Chickamauga and other -places. It was enough to make an angel weep and justified the anathemas -hurled at the commander and the cowardly troops that were left to defend -them. The circumstance left a sting that never can be forgotten while an -Orphan survives.</p> - -<p>We never knew what had happened until about dark, when we were ordered -from our position toward Chickamauga Station. Then the truth took first -the form of conjecture, then misgiving and lastly the sad news that we -were to cover the retreat of the army. Then all was explained.</p> - -<p>The retreat that night was one of intense hardship and excitement, and -it was entrusted to the Orphan Brigade, with the help of Cleburne's -division, to protect the retreating army. We were in their grasp had -they only known it. Passing so near one of their pursuing columns we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> -could actually hear them talking and see them moving around the camp -fires they were kindling. To prevent being ambushed we threw out a -string of guards on both sides of the road, who moved along parallel -with the road and near it. Every moment we expected an attack.</p> - -<p>The feeling was one of intenseness and we were greatly relieved when at -last we became assured of our escape.</p> - -<p>Had the Federals only known it, they had our retreating column cut in -two and could have made a finish of the day's work and probably the -Confederacy as well.</p> - -<p>But they, too, as well as the Confederates, failed sometimes to grasp -their opportunities. One of the pleasant and enjoyable features of this -night's experience was the wading of Chickamauga River, waist deep, -which had a tendency to further exasperate us and cause the men to -express themselves in anything but Sunday school phrase and song.</p> - -<p>Next day was but little less exciting. The Federal advance was pressing -us with unusual vigor and compelled us to turn time and again from the -line of march and check their advance. It was fight and run until -Cleburne determined to, and did, put an end to it, ambushing them at -Ringgold Gap, where they paid for their persistence with the lives of -several hundred men.</p> - -<p>After this costly warning from Cleburne we were permitted to continue -our retreat unmolested and reached, the next day, that haven of rest, -Dalton, about which I have written in a subsequent chapter.</p> - -<p>I am making my chapter on Mission Ridge short because there is nothing -pertaining to it that is to the credit of the Confederate soldier as a -whole. Yet there were some commands of the army that did their duty well -and creditably.</p> - -<p>In looking at the tablets of many—in fact most of the Federal regiments -and brigades which contain a summary of their losses—I was struck with -amazement at the very light loss sustained in this memorable -engagement,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> so disgraceful to the Confederates. Some regiments losing -only one man killed and ten or twelve wounded, and no brigade, so far as -I noticed, lost more than thirteen men, which was an average of three to -the regiment. We had a single company, Company I, of the Fourth -Kentucky, that lost more men at Shiloh than a whole brigade here.</p> - -<p>When considering the great advantage of position held by them and the -insignificant losses inflicted upon the Federals, the losses but -emphasize the fact that the Confederates must have been badly rattled on -this summit and would no doubt have made a better fight from their -entrenchments at the base of the mountain bordering the valley, over -which the columns of Grant moved to the attack.</p> - -<p>But let us think and reason for the moment, and if possible find some -excuse for this miserable failure. It is well known to the expert -marksman and sportsman as well, that in shooting on a steep decline you -are much more apt to overshoot than when directing a shot horizontally -or upward. This was the case there on these steep mountain sides, which -furnishes the one excuse only for such bad marksmanship and the low per -cent of casualties just noticed. But notwithstanding this fact a much -more creditable record could have been made by rolling the huge boulders -that were abundant down upon the Federals, whose progress was, of -course, necessarily slow; and, lastly, when the enemy reached the summit -exhausted, what were their bayonets for and why did they not use them? -These are questions that suggest themselves to the mind of the writer at -this distant day, while looking at this natural and seeming impregnable -position. As stated before, the history on one part of the field would -have been differently written had not the Orphans been taken away from -their pets—"Lady Buckner," "Lady Breckinridge," "Lady Helm," "Lady -Hanson," "Lady Lyon" and others of their companions in war. A feeling -of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> chagrin creeps over me when I think of the surrender of these guns -with their endearing names and hitherto immortal history.</p> - -<p>But General Bragg, in his wisdom—no, his unwisdom—thought it best to -send us away from our idols and hazard them in the keeping of those who -betrayed their trust, and left us, like Rachael, weeping, because they -were lost and we "also refused to be comforted."</p> - -<p>I find almost innumerable tablets, markers and monuments placed here to -commemorate the deeds of valor here performed by the Federals; but I -find very few (which is well) to mark the Confederates and <i>their</i> -deeds. But could I have my way every one of these would be removed and -in their stead I would place the Goddess of Liberty, weeping for shame -that her children had so dishonored their heritage.</p> - -<p>I have said that I would be brief, and choking back the feeling of -remorse and disgrace that this one incident in the history of the -Confederate soldier has fixed upon their otherwise brilliant and -incomparable record, I close by referring the reader to Murfreesboro.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER VIII.</span> <span class="smaller">DALTON.</span></h2> - -<p>Who that spent the winter of '63-'64 at Dalton does not recall some -circumstance or incident to remind him of the dreary "winter of -discontent" spent in this mountain fastness of Northern Georgia? To many -of us it seemed like an age, but withal it was a season of much needed -rest and recuperation. Here in and around this little city flanked by -majestic mountains, pondering over the disasters of Lookout and -Missionary Ridge, we spent the time in comparative comfort and ease, -some planning in mind the future campaign and its outcome, others -indifferent as to the future and caring but little, willing to entrust -all to those at the helm, and making the most of circumstances and the -ever present, little thinking or caring for the great dangers and -hardships that awaited us.</p> - -<p>There was from the time we turned our faces Southward from Bowling Green -to the very close of the war an air of indifference, a "devil may care," -happy-go-lucky spirit, about these young Kentuckians that made them -ready to cheerfully undertake any enterprise, no matter how dangerous or -exacting the duty or perilous the undertaking. They had become so -accustomed to all these things, and so thoroughly inured to hardships, -that they felt themselves prepared for and rather coveted them, no -matter how great or trying. While here we enjoyed more liberty and -recreation than any time during or since the war began. Some of the men -were furloughed and enjoyed a few days of rest with relatives and -friends (if perchance they had any) in the South. The writer spent his -in gay old Richmond on the James, in company with General Lewis, Captain -McKendrie and other Kentuckians there assembled. All amused themselves -as best they could in camp and town.</p> - -<p>Drilling had been dispensed with—no need now for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> that, for in this we -were perfect. Dress parade, guard mount and review were about the only -exercises now required. A great sham battle broke the monotony once, and -a snowball battle at another time was a diversion indulged for one day. -A very pertinent question was often asked toward the close of the -winter—"Who would command in the next campaign?" When at last it was -given out that General Johnson would command, the spirits of the men -revived and hope was again renewed. While contemplating the future, news -came that the enemy were now moving Daltonward. We indulged the hope and -wondered whether Sherman would undertake to force the pass in Rockyface -Mountain through which the railroad and wagon road both ran. We thought -of Leonidas and his Spartans and hoped for an opportunity to imitate and -if possible to eclipse that immortal event at Thermopylae. But not so -the wily Sherman. That "old fox" was too cunning to be caught in that or -any other trap.</p> - -<p>We were ordered out to meet him and took position in the gap and on the -mountain, from which we could see extending for miles his grand -encampment of infantry and artillery, the stars and stripes floating -from every regimental brigade, division and corps headquarters and -presenting the greatest panorama I ever beheld. Softly and sweetly the -music from their bands as they played the national airs were wafted up -and over the summit of the mountain. Somehow, some way, in some -inexplicable and unseen manner, "Hail Columbia," "America" and "The Star -Spangled Banner" sounded sweeter than I had ever before heard them, and -filled my soul with feelings that I could not describe or forget. It -haunted me for days, but never shook my loyalty to the Stars and Bars or -relaxed my efforts in behalf of our cause.</p> - -<p>While thus arrayed in his grand encampment, his banners flying and bands -playing, a part of his force (McPherson's Corps), like a gladiator, was -rapidly and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> stealthily gliding over the plain West of the mountains to -seize Snake Creek and Dug Gaps and strike Johnson in the rear at Resaca. -But you know "the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley." We -arrived there first and gave him a hearty welcome, as described in my -chapter on Resaca.</p> - -<p>Dalton, like other towns and cities, has changed wonderfully in the days -since the war. From a quaint old mountain town of a half century ago to -the modern and thrifty little city of today, putting on airs like many -other towns. To me no landmarks are visible save the old stone -springhouse, near where General Lewis had his headquarters and Captain -Phillips, A. Q. M. of the Fourth, had his quartermaster store and where -his lovely little wife graced his "marquee" with the air and dignity of -the queen that she was. I walked over the ground on which the Fourth was -encamped and stood upon the very spot where Captain Hugh Henry's tent -was pitched, and in which we were often entertained by the Kentucky Glee -Club, which was composed of some of the finest talent in the army. While -it may not be altogether relevant to the purpose of these chapters, I -cannot refrain from referring to and mentioning the fact that the Fourth -Kentucky was admitted to have the finest band in the Western Army, led -by that accomplished and expert musician who (after the war) became a -teacher in the Boston Conservatory of Music—Billy McQuown. Many, many -times were we regaled by the music of our band and carried back to the -bosom of friends by the sweet strains of "My Old Kentucky Home" and -other familiar and inspiring airs played by this band. It is no -stranger, than it is true, that music exercises a wonderful and -inspiring influence over the soldier, making him forget the hardships, -trials and dangers to which he is almost constantly exposed, and troops -are never happier than when being entertained in this way, unless it be -at a full mess table.</p> - -<p>I have been reluctantly compelled to pass by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>Kennesaw and Pine -Mountains, both of which are places of much interest to surviving -Orphans. On the former we left several of our best officers and men. -Among the former was Major John Bird Rogers of the Fourth Kentucky -Regiment, and Lieutenant Bob Innis of the Second. Than the former there -was not a more capable and gallant officer identified with the history -of the Orphan Brigade as was also Lieutenant Innis.</p> - -<p>Pine Mountain, a lone sentinel of nature, was made sacredly historic by -the blood of the great preacher, General Bishop Polk. I saw the "grand -old man" as he, Generals Johnston and Bates and others rode by the -Orphans' position to the summit of the mountain to view and examine the -enemy's position in front, and could not but admire the graceful and -dignified bearing of the grand old man as he saluted in true military -style as he passed. I saw the smoke from and heard the thunder of -Simonson's guns as they sent the fatal shot that tore his body and ended -his earthly career. Sad and awful moment for the Confederacy! But we -have here presented one of the most noted and conspicuous characters in -America history. I stood on the very spot on which he fell not twenty -minutes after the sad occurrence—Burton's sharpshooters with their Kerr -rifles having driven Simonson and his gunners to cover. I believe the -sacred spot should have erected on it a monument commemorative of this -tragic incident and the life and character of this great man. It is -certainly a picturesque and interesting spot.</p> - -<p>But before I go I must tell of my visit to Rockyface Gap. Here is one of -the grand sentinels of nature—a lofty and stone-crowned mountain -towering above and looking contemplatively down upon his neighbors and -the low-bending valleys upon whose bosom Sherman pitched his grand and -imposing encampment in the make-believe that he was going South through -this impregnable pass held by Johnson. Next to Lookout it is the -grandest mountain in the Appalachian chain, and one well worthy of a -visit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> by the tourist lover of nature. I climbed to the top of it this -morning, going over the same identical path traveled by us while doing -picket and observation duty. Here we had the only human telegraph line I -ever saw, which was made by placing the operator (an officer) on the -summit to report the operations and movements of the enemy to the first -man in the line, he repeating it to the next in line and so on down the -mountain to its base where the general had his staff officers and -couriers to receive the message and report to him at his headquarters. -The scheme worked like a charm, notwithstanding its uniqueness.</p> - -<p>I was impelled to make this trip—although I felt when I reached the -summit I was about to collapse—to see the resting place of a noble and -brave old Orphan who was killed while on duty here—George Disney of -Company K, Fourth Kentucky—an account of whose singular death is noted -by Virginius Hutchings in the history of the Orphan Brigade. I learned -before going on this trip that the Boy Scouts of Dalton, under Captain -Sapp, county clerk, had only two days before gone up and placed a marble -headstone to the grave to take the place of the board that had so long -marked his resting place—a place that a monarch or king might envy, -hundreds of feet above common man.</p> - -<p>I wished while there, so high upward toward Heaven, that I could wield -the pen of a Gray or a Kipling, that I might do this subject of my -thoughts justice. The subject, the inspiration, was here, but language -to express it was lacking. Poor George! You have had one friend after -these long years to leave a tear of tribute to your memory.</p> - -<p>I cannot close without first thanking the good daughters of Dalton for -the compliment they paid me by really forcing upon me undeserved -attentions in a very fine lunch set before and out of time specially for -me just before taking the train at 11:50 a. m., and who I think had a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> -scheme to force me to make them a speech—it being Decoration Day—but I -slipped through their fingers and got away.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER IX.</span> <span class="smaller">VISIT TO RESACA—1912.</span></h2> - -<p>May 14th found us after a tiresome night's march at Resaca, from which -point I again write you.</p> - -<p>Here today and on the morrow was fought the first battle of magnitude in -the great hundred and twenty days' battle of the celebrated Georgia -campaign from Dalton to Atlanta. I say hundred and twenty days' battle, -which may seem a little far-fetched, but which is almost literally true, -for there was not a day or night, yes scarcely an hour, that we did not -hear the crack of a rifle or roar of a cannon. Their sounds were our -lullaby, sleeping or waking—to their music we slept, by their -thunderings we were awakened, and to the accompanying call of the bugle -we responded on the morning of May 14 to engage in the death grapple -with Sherman's well clothed, well fed and thoroughly rested veterans—a -matter "of Greek meeting Greek again." Sherman had pushed down the West -side of Rockyface Mountain and through Snake Creek Gap the day and night -before in an effort to cut Johnston's communications and take him in the -rear. But we had been doing some marching and digging, too, and when -Sherman's columns four or five deep debouched from their positions—a -long, heavily wooded ridge—into the narrow valley, on the East side of -which we had constructed rifle pits, he found us ready to receive his -gay and awe-inspiring columns, who moved in perfect step, with banners -flying and bands playing, as though he expected to charm us.</p> - -<p>The eagerness of our own men could scarcely be restrained until they had -reached the point to which our orders had been given, seventy-five to -eighty yards, when our lines opened almost simultaneously a deadly and -murderous fire from both infantry and double-shotted artillery, that -flesh and blood could not withstand. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>Retiring in disorder to their -original position in the woods, they rallied and reformed, while their -artillery was busy playing upon our batteries, from which they received -no response whatever, a mystery at the time to many of us, but which we -understood a little later on when they again moved down to the attack, -to be met in the same manner with both infantry and artillery, and with -similar results. Three times during the morning and early afternoon were -these attacks made upon our lines, with the same results. It was a -veritable picnic for the Confederates and was the second time in the -history of the war, up to this time, that we had presented such a -glorious opportunity, protected as we were by earthworks, with clear and -open ground in front. Had Sherman continued this business during the -entire day (as we hoped he would) the campaign would have ended right -here, as we had not called into requisition any of our reserve force. -The principal part of the afternoon was spent by the artillery—after -the infantry had gotten enough of it—on both sides pounding away at -each other in a lively and entertaining fashion.</p> - -<p>Some daring and courageous deeds were performed by the Federal officers -and men on this occasion, the recollection of which is refreshing and -exhilarating to the writer, but for want of time I shall be compelled to -pass over. However, one instance, I will relate as being somewhat -interesting to Kentuckians as showing the home spirit and natural -feeling existing between them as Kentuckians, although now engaged in -the deadly breach. That night some of our boys of the Fourth Kentucky -learned from inquiry of our "friends" in our front that we were -confronting the Federal Fourth Kentucky (Colonel Tom Croxton), whereupon -a bantering of epithets and compliments was at once begun and exchanged -in a very amusing and interesting way. I listened to the colloquy with -great interest and amusement, which was conducted on our side by -Lieutenant Horace Watts, who was a noted wit and humorist. But I regret -that I have forgotten the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> name of his interrogator, whom I recall, -however, was from Vanceburg, Ky.</p> - -<p>That night was spent in strengthening our works and preparing for the -work of the morrow, which work we well knew was coming. When morning -came the appearance of Old Sol was greeted with a signal from a battery -immediately in our front, which had been stationed there during the -night and protected by substantial and elaborate earthworks. The shots -from this battery were directed against Hotchkiss' battalion of -artillery, and which the Fourth Kentucky Infantry was supporting. The -enemy's guns from every part of the line kept up a continuous fire -throughout the entire day and was the greatest open field bombardment of -the war. We were much amused at the manner of firing of the battery in -our front, which was done by bugle signal, the meaning of which our men -soon learned, for a moment later our works would be pierced by their -shells and when they exploded threw high in the air a cloud of dirt and -smoke from the embankment that almost covered us up. At intervals of -about every five or ten minutes the bugle's "whe-whee-deedle-dee-dee" -told us of the crash that was coming and almost lifted our scalps and -rendered some of us deaf for weeks. Had the day been an hour longer we -would have been compelled to abandon our works, for the embankments were -almost leveled and the trenches filled.</p> - -<p>Two of Hotchkiss' guns were cut down and had to be abandoned, and but -for the fact that they had been run back beyond the crest, not a -splinter of them would have been left.</p> - -<p>Our batteries did not fire a gun that day, having been ordered to -withhold their fire in anticipation of another attack by the enemy's -infantry. This day's work was a very clever ruse of Sherman's and -demonstrated the cunning of that wily general, for while he was thus -entertaining us with the main part of his army, especially his -artillery, like the sly old fox that he was, he was planning our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> -undoing by sending down the river to our rear Dodge's Corps to fall on -our rear and cut our communications and intercept our retreat.</p> - -<p>Had his plan been expedited by Dodge, as it might have been, it would -surely have been "all day" with us poor devils of Confederates. It was -certainly a "close shave," for which we were all very thankful. But we -here on the 14th enjoyed the "picnic" for which we Orphans paid most -dearly on the 28th at Dallas, and which I shall describe in another -place. War, it seems from my experience and observation, may be -described as a dreadful and costly game of "tit-for-tat."</p> - -<p>The losses sustained by the Orphans in this engagement at Resaca were -insignificant compared with that inflicted upon the enemy in their -front. There is not a single recognizable object here save the ground -where we fought, from the fact that we arrived here in the night and -took our departure in the night. The narrow valley and the long extended -ridge in its front and the spur occupied by Hotchkiss and the Fourth -Kentucky, is all that I see to remind me of the two days of "pride, pomp -and circumstance of glorious war." But how's this, we fighting behind -entrenchments and the enemy in the open, four or five lines deep?</p> - -<p>"Our loss was 2,747, and his (Johnson's) 2,800. I fought offensively and -he defensively, aided by earthwork parapets."—[General Sherman's -statement.] There must have been some bad shooting on this occasion—the -advantages all on one side, but results so nearly even.</p> - -<p>Today, May 16 (1912), marks the forty-eighth anniversary of this -important event, and finds me on the ground. Here, as at other places -previously mentioned and described, things came back to me and I see -them being reenacted. I was accompanied on this inspection by an old -comrade (J. H. Norton), who lost an arm at Chancellorsville, and who has -lived here in Resaca almost all his life and who was at home at the -time, having been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> discharged on account of the loss of his arm, and who -assisted in burying the dead, and he pooh-poohed Sherman's statement as -to relative losses. Another old comrade, who is a merchant in the town, -told me that he had bought over a hundred thousand pounds of minnie -balls picked up on the ground where the battle was fought. I saw a -three-bushel box full in his store today. How many poor devils were -killed by these would be impossible to tell. They have a neat little -cemetery near the town, in which there are nine Kentuckians -(Confederates) buried, some of whose names I have copied.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER X.</span> <span class="smaller">DALLAS.</span></h2> - -<p>Here, as at Balaklava, "some one blundered," and while we have not had a -Tennyson to immortalize the event, it is of more than ordinary interest -to Kentuckians, especially those who participated in the bloody event. -More because of the fearful slaughter and the mournful fact that it was -the result of a failure to deliver orders at the proper time. The -official report showed a loss of 51 per cent, a loss, considering the -time actually engaged, unparalleled in the history of the war. To my -mind it was the most desperate and disastrous of all the many -engagements in which the Orphans took part during their four years of -experience.</p> - -<p>The actual time under fire did not in my judgment exceed thirty minutes. -To describe accurately the position of the enemy at this distant day -would be a difficult task, but when the reader is told that they -occupied two parallel lines of entrenchments, from both of which he -delivered simultaneously a destructive and murderous fire, that was so -fatal that nothing but the protecting hand of an all-wise and merciful -Providence could save. The first of these lines was a few yards below, -and in front of the second, which ran along the summit of the ridge and -enabled the second line to fire directly overhead without endangering -the first. Besides this double advantage, they were able to enfilade our -line with their artillery from both extremes of their line. Smith's -brigade, on our left, having received orders (which were also intended -for us and which failed of delivery) to withhold the attack, enabled the -enemy to deliver an oblique fire upon us from his infantry on the left, -as well as from his two lines directly in front. At every step Kentucky -was paying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> double toll with the lives of her noblest and best. To push -forward meant certain and complete annihilation; to remain where we were -some seventy-five or eighty yards in their front, meant the same, only a -little slower death.</p> - -<p>The order to "fall back" having been given, we were only too glad to -attempt our escape from the death trap into which we had been ordered. -Many of our wounded and all of our dead were left on the field or -intervening space between the entrenched lines of the opposing forces. -Several of the wounded crawled back after nightfall and in this way made -their escape. The grounds in the rear of our works presented an -appalling sight when I reached them with my burden on my back—Sergeant -W. E. Knox, who had a broken leg. Nothing but a miracle saved us both -from the murderous fire of the enemy. Here fell the gallant and polished -Major Millett within ten paces of our entrenchment, he being the third -major of the Fourth Regiment to be killed on the field.</p> - -<p>Several incidents of a thrilling and miraculous character occurred on -this field, as afterward related. Some of our wounded who approached -nearest the enemy's works and fell into their hands were taken to the -little town of Dallas, a mile or two distant, where they were found two -days later, and left in a shamefully neglected condition. Among them was -one of the most noble gentlemen and gallant soldiers it was ever my good -fortune to know, Captain D. E. McKendrie of the Sixth Kentucky, and who -died a few days later.</p> - -<p>There were really only two brigades engaged in this encounter, the -Orphan Brigade and Findlay's Florida Brigade. The burden of the -encounter fell upon the Orphans, as shown by their greater loss. But -here again was displayed that daring, regardless of consequences, which -had been so often displayed by this little band of Kentuckians on so -many fields from Fort Donaldson to this eventful day. I hope I shall not -be accused of egotism for seeming to arrogate to myself and my fellow -Kentuckians honors to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> which we are not entitled and of which all of her -people may be justly proud. The loss of 51 per cent tells the story more -graphically than anything I may say by way of compliment or eulogy.</p> - -<p>The reader may wonder why this attack was ordered against a force so -strongly and irresistibly posted. The answer is easy to the old veteran -who knows the difficulty in ascertaining an enemy's position in a -heavily timbered country like this, with trees and bushes in full leaf, -and how great the danger from the ever alert sharpshooter to the man -attempting a reconnaissance. The object was to develop his strength at -this point, the commander believing Sherman to be only feigning while he -was carrying out other and ulterior plans. But so it was, we paid dearly -for the desired information.</p> - -<p>I have reviewed every foot of this ground the second time, stopping here -and there to pick up a minnie ball lodged in the enemy's works, fired at -them by my dear old "Orphan" boys, and while thus engaged the familiar -faces of many a noble comrade and in one or two instances school -fellows' images passed before my mind in panorama that almost unnerved -and dumfounded me. Studying coolly at this time the great advantage the -enemy had in position and numbers, I am surprised that any of us escaped -at all. I had no difficulty whatever in locating at once the position of -both parties and the exact spot on which my regiment and company fought. -Most of the Confederate lines have been partly and in some places -completely obliterated by the plow, but hills and hollows are still -there. The enemy's lines have been little disturbed and are mostly -intact even at this distant day.</p> - -<p>I must confess that I am wont to linger about this hallowed spot and my -heart beats heavily when I think of the comrades and friends who died -here and whose bodies I assisted in giving the last rude sepulchre. I -turn away from it with tearful eyes and sorrowful heart.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XI.</span> <span class="smaller">ATLANTA—MAY, 1912.</span></h2> - -<p>I am writing this from historic Atlanta, the "gateway of the South." How -very different to the Atlanta I knew in the days gone by when her -streets were filled with the tramp, tramp of marching armies, when her -walls were rocked by the thunders of the cannon's mighty roar, when the -rockets' "red glare gave proof through the night that our new flag was -still there." Oh! what a wonderful change 'twixt now and then. "Lovely -city now, quiet and mighty in her peaceful ways, may the God of war -never again sound his bugle calls over her peaceful slumbers, and may -she know the ways of war no more forever."</p> - -<p>How very, very different to the Atlanta I saw in June, 1865, when on my -way home from the South, returning disabled, discomfited, defeated. What -darker picture could be imagined unless it be "Dante's Inferno," than a -city of destroyed homes with blackened walls and chimneys punctuating -the fiendish spirit that prompted the ruin of its people and their -homes. When General Sherman first gave expression to his oft-repeated -apothegm he must have had in mind the ruin he had accomplished in the -destruction of this fair city of the South. Certainly nothing but a -fiendish spirit could have prompted it.</p> - -<p>But two buildings of prominence were left—the Masonic Temple and a -hotel. But her people are now enjoying the blessings of peace and -prosperity, having risen, Phoenix-like, from her ashes.</p> - -<p>I must now return to some of the incidents and events of the defense of -Atlanta in which I was an humble participant. On the 9th of July General -Johnston's army crossed the Chattahoochee River on pontoons and the time -until the 22d was employed by Johnston and Hood chiefly in marching and -counter-marching to checkmate the movements of Sherman. A circumstance -happened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> about this time that gave Sherman great pleasure (he says so) -and correspondingly great sorrow and despondency to the Confederates, -heretofore so successfully led by General Johnston, viz., the removal of -Johnston and the substitution of Hood.</p> - -<p>While Hood was a Kentuckian as well as we Orphans, and we priding in -everything pertaining to the history of Kentucky, we had unbounded -confidence in General Johnston. But once before had we felt such sadness -and regret—when General Breckinridge was taken from us and sent to -Virginia. This feeling was intensified by the belief that Bragg was -responsible.</p> - -<p>On the 20th the battle of Peach Tree Creek was fought and given a -prominence in excess of the facts as the writer saw it; a straggling, -haphazard kind of hide and seek affair, magnified into a battle. On the -22d of July was fought what is known in history as the battle of -Atlanta.</p> - -<p>The night march of the 21st from our place in the line of defense on the -left and to the extreme right near Decatur, where this battle was -fought, was the most trying, with one exception, the writer remembers to -have ever experienced, occupying the entire night in dust ankle deep, -without a drop of water or an hour's rest. It is remembered to this day -with a distinctness that makes me fairly shudder. When morning came we -looked like the imaginary Adam "of the earth earthy," so completely were -we encased in dust. But for the nerve stimulus that imminent and great -danger gives a man on the eve of a great battle, I don't think I could -have rendered much service, on this occasion, after such exhaustion and -suffering from thirst. In fact were it not an indispensable part of my -plan I should have little to say about this whole affair, for it was to -me the most ill-conceived and unsatisfactory executed plan of battle of -the whole war in which I participated.</p> - -<p>There were difficulties to overcome that might easily have been avoided -had the proper engineering skill been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> employed in time and the -necessary reconnaissance been made. So far as results accomplished were -concerned, it was barren and fruitless. Especially was this the case on -the extreme right, where Bates' division fought and where the Orphans -took part. Not that any man or body of men proved recreant, but there -was a lack of understanding and co-operation of movement, coupled with -almost insurmountable obstacles that might have been avoided. For -instance, the Kentucky Brigade was compelled to struggle through the -mire of a slough and millpond filled with logs, stumps, brush and -what-not in water and mire knee-deep, the men in many instances being -compelled to extricate their comrades by pulling them onto logs and -other footings before we could pass the obstruction. This so deranged -our battle alignment that in the press and excitement of the moment, -caused by the enemy firing at this critical moment, we were never able -to correct it and present a solid front. Out of dust ankle deep into -water and mire knee-deep was too much for the nerves and patience of the -strongest man and most patient Christian. And then, to be finally -pitched in one disordered and confused mass against a well disciplined -and strongly posted line of veterans, behind earthworks, was too much -for the best soldiers of the times. And yet with the proper use of -artillery at the right time and place, we might have accomplished more -decisive results.</p> - -<p>This affair was the more lamentable to the Orphans because of the loss -of quite a number of our best officers and men without any tangible -results. The whole thing was disappointing and to me really disgusting. -Hood at Atlanta, like Bragg at Murfreesboro, might profitably have spent -more time with his engineers in examining and surveying the ground on -which he expected to fight. General Johnson was doubtless better posted. -But the final result would have been the same; Atlanta was doomed—by -Sherman's force of three to one. After summing up results and exchanging -regrets and expressing sorrow for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> the loss of comrades, we returned to -our original places in the lines of defense to await the next scene in -the grand drama.</p> - -<p>This came on August 6th at Utoy Creek on the Sandtown road leading -Southwest from Atlanta. The Orphan Brigade and Tyler's Tennessee Brigade -had been pushed forward on a kind of salient to the left and front of -the main line and touching the little stream known as Utoy Creek. Here -occurred the battle known by the above name. I here recognize more -distinctly than any other place, so far visited, the general appearance -of the ground and especially the falls of the little creek at which on -the day previous to the battle I enjoyed the only refreshing bath for -several days. It is quite an interesting place to the writer. I here -witnessed on the morning of the battle the capture of Lieut. Isham -Dudley, in command of the videttes, together with some half dozen men of -the Orphan Brigade, they having been completely surprised just at -daybreak by a sudden and unexpected rush of the enemy.</p> - -<p>The writer had the honor to command the skirmish line covering the -Confederate position and had a fine opportunity to witness the charge of -the two Federal brigades, which were composed chiefly of East -Tennesseans, as they swept past the right of our skirmish line, they -doubtless not knowing that they were about to encounter breastworks of a -formidable character, receiving at the same time a scathing flank fire -from the Fourth Kentucky and the skirmish line above alluded to. But -they were plucky fellows and charged to within a few yards of our works, -paying dearly for their courage and temerity. In this affair we were -attacked by a force somewhat superior in numbers, but the advantage that -our breastworks afforded us made the victory easily won. I here quote -the order of General S. D. Lee, commanding corps, congratulating them -and incidentally complimenting the defenders.</p> - -<p>"The lieutenant general commanding takes pleasure<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> in announcing to the -officers and men of this corps the splendid conduct of a portion of -Bates' Division, particularly Tyler's Brigade and the Second and Fourth -Kentucky regiments of Lewis' Brigade, in sustaining and repulsing on -yesterday afternoon three assaults of the enemy in which his loss in -killed, wounded and prisoners was from eight hundred to a thousand men, -with three stands of colors, three or four hundred small arms and all of -his entrenching tools. Soldiers who fight with the coolness and -determination that these men did will always be victorious over any -reasonable number."</p> - -<p>In this engagement we lost only about eighteen men all told, while the -enemy's loss in killed alone was 160. I walked over the ground ten -minutes after it occurred and found the crest of the hill covered with -the dead and wounded, swords, guns, cartridge boxes and other -paraphernalia of war.</p> - -<p>I found here the thing I need and coveted most of all at this time, a -fine black sombrero, which furnished me ample protection thereafter from -the intense rays of the August sun. I "swapped" my spoon-bill cap with -the fellow who had worn this hat, to which he, of course, raised no -objection. Others provided themselves in like manner, which was entirely -legitimate, of course, the original owners having no further use for -such things. But a flanking column that night, as usual, compelled us to -abandon the position of our recent victory and we retired to our -original position in the circle of entrenchments.</p> - -<p>I have this day, May 13, 1912, carefully and studiously reviewed the -very spot on which those 160 men lay dead, and I feel safe in saying -that it is not larger than one-half a city block. They were met square -in front and were fired on from both flanks, and had they attempted to -remain there as much as one hour there would not have been a man of them -left on his feet. It was a death trap similar to the one into which we -Orphans fell at Dallas.</p> - -<p>I could hardly control my emotions when viewing this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> place, and my mind -was almost overwhelmed as I walked along on top of these still distinct -and undisturbed parapets, stopping now and then to pick up a "Yankee -bullet" lodged in them, or a small stone that had been thrown out by the -Confederates. The surroundings here are perfectly familiar to me, -notwithstanding opinions of friends at home to the contrary. So -interesting is this spot that I have made the second visit to it.</p> - -<p>Here the time from August 7 to 29, 1864, was spent in listening to the -music of the rifle and the cannon and an occasional sweet, faint and -harmonious symphony from the enemy's brass bands as they played, -seemingly for our entertainment, "The Star Spangled Banner," "Hail -Columbia," "Yankee Doodle" and, to taunt us, "Dixie." At night they -would vary the entertainment by sending up innumerable rockets, which -some of the men interpreted to mean the arrival of a new command or -shift of position, but to most of us it was "Greek and Hebrew."</p> - -<p>But this condition was not to last; Sherman's definition of war was in -him and must come out. On the 29th we packed our knapsacks and bidding -good-bye to the Atlanta of the day, soon to be no more, we again turned -Southward to meet the flanking columns of Sherman at Jonesboro, with a -description of which I shall close these recollections.</p> - -<p>Before leaving this dear old city I must take one more last look at her -steeples, her walls and her streets, shake the hand of friends in the -last farewell grasp and say good-bye forever.</p> - -<p>I find Atlanta so wonderfully changed, commercially, assuming -metropolitan airs and wearing her honors so gracefully that I dare not -attempt a description of her present status. Besides, these things are -well known now by the whole American people. Still I find myself -comparing her (in mind) with what she was "before and during the war."</p> - -<p>The fact that I am now looking upon her for the last<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> time, and the -further fact that she contains many warm and true friends whom I shall -never see again, causes a feeling of sadness I wish I could resist. But -I break camp and take up my line of march for Jonesboro.</p> - -<p>But before I leave I must tender my thanks to my young friend from -Bourbon, W. H. Letton (who is now a prosperous business man here), for -many favors and courtesies so cheerfully extended me. It were cruel to -allow him to spend with me so much of his time from his lovely little -Georgia bride, so recently taken to himself. But this is Kentucky, you -know, and he inherits it. I am also indebted to my old comrades, J. W. -McWilliams of the Forty-Second Georgia; J. M. Mills of the Soldiers' -Home, and C. L. Ingram of Fort McPherson; ex-Sheriff Barnes, Major Jones -of the Seventeenth Infantry at the fort (McPherson), and last, though -not least by any means, Mrs. Jones of the city at whose boarding house I -was a guest.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p> - -<h2><span>CHAPTER XII.</span> <span class="smaller">JONESBORO.</span></h2> - -<p>I begin here the last inspection and reminiscence, on my return trip -from attending the recent Confederate reunion at Macon, May, 1912, and -while I distrust my ability to do the theme proper justice, I am tempted -to undertake the task through the love of the brave "old boys" who still -survive and the memory of several hundred noble young Kentuckians whose -life blood consecrates the soil of Georgia on every field from -Chattanooga to Jonesboro.</p> - -<p>My mind becomes a whirlpool of recollections as I stand here and "view -the landscape o'er" and contemplate the horrible scenes enacted here -forty-eight years ago, and in which the Confederacy was surely and -rapidly expiring in the throes of dissolution.</p> - -<p>It is not my purpose or aim to controvert in any instance the -descriptions and recitals of the historians, but merely as a pastime to -revert to some of my personal experiences and recollections. Nor shall I -attempt to enlarge upon or embellish the history of that glorious little -band of Kentuckians known as the "Orphan Brigade." That has been done by -others, done by such men as Prof. N. S. Shaler, Gens. Joseph E. Johnson, -W. J. Hardee, Stephen D. Lee, Ed. Porter Thompson and many others, able -and eloquent men, historians and statesmen, and in whose history -Kentuckians of all beliefs must ever rejoice as one of the brightest and -most interesting pages in her history. And why not, since they -represented so many of the noblest and best young men of the state and -were led by such men as Breckinridge, Hanson, Helm, Lewis, Monroe and -others whose names are a synonym of glory and greatness.</p> - -<p>When we arrived here (Jonesboro) in the great campaign there were many -absent—not without leave, thank<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> God, but with honor, whose brows had -been crowned with everlasting wreaths of honor—in death "on Fame's -eternal camping ground." When the roll was called no response came from -many. Hanson, Helm, Hewitt, Graves, Rogers, Dedman, Madeira, Daniel, -McKendrie, Millett, Williams, Innis, Bramblett, Bell and three thousand -others failed to answer. But as the "blood of martyrs is the seed of the -church," so the sacrifice of these Kentuckians is a diadem in the wreath -that encircles her history.</p> - -<p>But now I stand on this historic spot where forty-eight years ago the -unequal, almost suicidal conflict raged with destruction and fury, and -see, in my mind's eye, the raging conflict and hear the cannon's mighty -roar, the screaming shot and shell and the ping and whistle of the -deadly minnie, the shouts and yells of the combatants as they grapple in -the deadly conflict. Here I experienced the pangs of a painful wound -from a minnie ball, while assisting a dear friend (Lieutenant Neal), -being in the throes of death, both he and the man on my left falling -simultaneously. How well I remember the look of anguish upon his noble -countenance as he held up both hands, imploring my assistance. Brave, -noble fellow and Christian gentleman, I trust and believe his soul rests -in peace among the angels.</p> - -<p>Imagine my grief on reaching the ambulance (assisted by comrades) to -find my bosom friend (and by many said to be my double), Ensign Robert -H. Lindsay of Scott County, in the ambulance, he having received a -mortal wound from which he died that night while lying upon the same -blanket with myself. The reader can imagine my feelings when the dawn of -morning came and I threw back the blanket that covered us and beheld his -noble countenance cold in death, with the fixed glare of the eyes that -told me that my beloved comrade and friend had passed to the realms of -eternal glory. Poor Bob! I tried in vain, while on the way to the field -hospital, to extort a parting message, a last farewell to mother and -family,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> but the messenger of death held him in his grasp and refused -compliance with this last request of his friend who loved him as a -brother. A circumstance coincident with his death was the fact that we -prepared and ate our dinners together that day, meantime talking over -the probable results of the approaching battle and making certain -requests of each other in the event that one or the other should fall. -Hence my anxiety to hear a last farewell from his dying lips. Memory -takes me back over the intervening years and I am tempted to exclaim:</p> - -<div class="center"><div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<div>Sing thou music of the spheres</div> -<div>The song of the weeping pines</div> -<div>As the days and years go by,</div> -<div>But let me, Oh! let me not forget,</div> -<div>The dear friend who 'neath them lies.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>I have always thought this a singular circumstance, that the three -friends—boon companions—holding the same rank, should be stricken down -almost at the same moment—that "two should be taken and the one left," -but such are the vicissitudes of war.</p> - -<p>I can recognize only two landmarks of this historic spot and its -surroundings—the old stone depot and the prominent knoll, occupied by -the enemy's skirmishers on the morning of the battle (August 31st) and -which Lieut. Heck Burden, the commander of that gang of army sleuths, -that Sherman and his officers admitted they dreaded—known as the -Kentucky sharpshooters—and myself, in a spirit of daring, approached -within easy rifle range, by means of a deep gully, and which terminated -in one less Federal officer reporting to his commander. I have looked -upon this particular spot with no little concern, for it was near this -my two dear friends just noted fell, and where I also received my -quietus—as a reward, perhaps, for my daring of the morning. This -circumstance (my wounding) precludes the mention from personal -experience a description of the second day's fight and in which the -Orphans sustained the loss of a number of men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> and officers and resulted -in the capture of the greater part of the survivors, Sherman's -overwhelming numbers enabling him to outflank and overpower the left of -the Confederate line. But they were held as prisoners but a short time -and were exchanged and returned to service almost immediately. Here, as -in other instances, the enemy outnumbered us three to one and enabled -them to envelop our flanks more readily than in previous engagements, -the country being without the natural barriers and obstructions that had -previously favored us in the mountain section of the country through -which we had passed.</p> - -<p>Here at Jonesboro ended my service to the Confederacy and my experience -as a soldier in the field. The next six months, which brought the war to -a close, were spent by me in hospitals, which also came near bringing my -earthly career to a close. But, thank God, I am still here and now -engaged in reviewing our movements of the past. And I shall be happy if -what I may have written should fall under the eye of some old comrade or -friend and afford him pleasure or food for contemplation.</p> - -<blockquote><p>(<span class="smcap">Note</span>—<i>The author takes the liberty and desires to thank Genl. W. -B. Haldeman, of the Orphan Brigade, the Courier-Journal Job -Printing Co., and others, for their kind assistance in the -publication and introduction of this little booklet.</i>)</p></blockquote> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/logo.jpg" alt="logo" /></div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Reminiscences of a Soldier of the -Orphan Brigade, by L. D. 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D. Young - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan Brigade - -Author: L. D. Young - -Release Date: November 18, 2015 [EBook #50483] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMINISCENCES OF A SOLDIER *** - - - - -Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -Reminiscences of a Soldier -of the Orphan Brigade - -By LIEUT. L. D. YOUNG - -Paris, Kentucky - - -TO THOSE WHO WORE THE GRAY AND TO THEIR CHILDREN AND CHILDREN'S -CHILDREN, THIS BOOKLET IS DEDICATED. - - -_The Richard Hawes Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy warmly -recommends Col. L. D. Young's "Reminiscences of the Orphan Brigade" as a -most worthy addition to the literature of the South._ - -_It is an interesting recital of the author's personal experiences and -contains much valuable historic information._ - -_The Chapter commends Mr. Young, a splendid Christian gentleman--a -gallant Confederate soldier--to all lovers of history--and especially to -the brave soldiers of the present great war._ - - - - - THE ORPHAN BRIGADE. - - By Prof. N. S. Shaler of the Federal Army. - - Eighteen hundred and sixty-one: - There in the echo of Sumter's gun - Marches the host of the Orphan Brigade, - Lit by their banners, in hope's best arrayed. - Five thousand strong, never legion hath borne - Might as this bears it forth in that morn: - Hastings and Crecy, Naseby, Dunbar, - Cowpens and Yorktown, Thousand Years' War, - Is writ on their hearts as onward afar - They shout to the roar of their drums. - - Eighteen hundred and sixty-two: - Well have they paid to the earth its due. - Close up, steady! the half are yet here - And all of the might, for the living bear - The dead in their hearts over Shiloh's field-- - Rich, O God, is thy harvest's yield! - Where faith swings the sickle, trust binds the sheaves, - To the roll of the surging drums. - - Eighteen hundred and sixty-three: - Barring Sherman's march to the sea-- - Shorn to a thousand; face to the foe - Back, ever back, but stubborn and slow. - Nineteen hundred wounds they take - In that service of Hell, yet the hills they shake - With the roar of their charge as onward they go - To the roar of their throbbing drums. - - Eighteen hundred and sixty-four: - Their banners are tattered, and scarce twelve score, - Battered and wearied and seared and old, - Stay by the staves where the Orphans hold - Firm as a rock when the surges break-- - Shield of a land where men die for His sake, - For the sake of the brothers whom they have laid low, - To the roll of their muffled drums. - - Eighteen hundred and sixty-five: - The Devil is dead and the Lord is alive, - In the earth that springs where the heroes sleep, - And in love new born where the stricken weep. - That legion hath marched past the setting of sun: - Beaten? nay, victors: the realms they have won - Are the hearts of men who forever shall hear - The throb of their far-off drums. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - -CHAPTER I. - - -It is for the amusement and entertainment of the thousands of young -Kentuckians now enlisted beneath the Stars and Stripes in the world -cataclysm of war for the cause of humanity and righteousness that these -recollections and reminiscences are published. The author believing they -will enable the "boys" to pass what might otherwise be at times lonesome -and monotonous hours. - -And while refused by the Secretary of War (by reason of age) the -opportunity to participate in the great struggle now raging, it is his -province now only to watch their career, to pray for them and their -success, for their successful and triumphant return. - -And by reason of his experience as a soldier he can enter into fully -their aspirations and ambitions and share their hopes, rejoice in their -victories and their triumphs. He understands the dread suspense of the -impending conflict, the thrill and shock of battle, the victorious -shout, the gloom and chagrin of defeat, the pangs of hunger and -suffering from wounds and disease--for he has seen war in all its -horrors. - -And he knows that when the supreme moment comes that Kentucky blood will -assert itself; that her traditional honor will be upheld, her renown -glorified anew. - -He knows that these inspirations will insure steadiness of step, -strength of arm and force of stroke. - -He rejoices that the ever assertive blood of the Anglo-Saxon flows -through the veins of these young Kentuckians, ready at all times and -under all circumstances to be dedicated to the cause of humanity and -righteousness. - -As will be readily seen, at the time of the writing of these chapters, -there was no thought of the great war in which the world is now -engulfed and it was mainly a work of pastime and personal satisfaction -that they were then written and published. But the suggestion has been -made that if published in suitable form for distribution and donated by -friends to the Kentucky boys now in service that it might be appreciated -by the boys "over there," some of whom are doubtless the sons or -grandsons of those who composed this little band of "immortals" and who -contributed so much to Kentucky's history in the unfortunate fratricidal -conflict of almost sixty years ago. Thank God that the animosities of -that unhappy period have long since been banished, and there is now but -one thought, one aim, animating the hearts and minds of these sons and -grandsons, viz., the overthrow of autocracy and the avenging of the -outrages of the Huns--and a readjustment and regeneration of the -relationship and affairs of men. - -In the changed conditions that confront us today we see the history of -the Commonwealth being absorbed by the Nation and almost imperceptibly -blended into a Nationalized, Americanized whole. - -And whatever of history the sons of the Commonwealth achieve in the -great war will be accredited to the nation America, and not Kentucky. -And recognizing this unification as a fixed policy of our government, -the writer takes advantage of the opportunity in this little booklet -(lest we forget) to individualize and compliment the magnificent record -of that little band of Kentuckians, known in history as the "Orphan -Brigade" and whose achievements form one of the most brilliant chapters -in the history of the State and Nation. Hence the publication of this -booklet. The writer does not for a moment stop to criticise the wisdom -of this change (from the volunteer to the conscript system) and he hopes -he may be pardoned for expressing pride in Kentucky's unexcelled past -history. Henceforth it will not be what Kentucky or Ohio -accomplished--in war, but what the Nation, unified America, -accomplished. It will now be "liberty enlightening" and leading the -world. - - - Then let the battle rage and onward move, - Count not the cost nor falter in the breach, - God, the Great Commander, wields the righteous wand, - And bids you _His Love_ the tyrant teach. - - -When that shall have been accomplished (should the author be living) he -will be tempted to exclaim in the language of old Moses when from Mt. -Nebo he beheld the land of Canaan and exclaimed "Now Lord, I am ready." - -In writing these recollections and reminiscences he has aimed as much as -possible to avoid aspersions, reflections and criticisms and confine -himself to a personal knowledge, which, of course, was more or less -limited, because of the restricted sphere of his activities and -operations. But he assures the "boys" that his stories, while not -classic, are substantially true. He could not afford to, at his advanced -age, attempt to misrepresent or deceive, and he hopes the reader will -excuse any irregularities in the order of publication in book form for, -as previously stated, that was not originally contemplated. - -In comparing conditions and surroundings of that day with those of the -soldier of today, we find them so radically different as to be -incomparable. And for this the soldier of today should be truly -thankful, since in the case of these isolated Kentuckians--none of whom -could communicate with friends and receive a message or word of cheer -from the dear ones at home, circumstances today are so very, very -different. And while you are called upon to meet and face many and more -trying dangers, because of the new and more modern instruments of war, -you are in many ways much better provided for than were your sires and -grandsires. Now when sick or wounded you have every attention that -modern skill and science can command. You have also the angelic help and -ministrations of that greatest of all help and comfort, the Red Cross, -and many other sources of help and aid that the soldiers of the past did -not have. - -So that while the dangers may be greater, the casualties more numerous, -relief has multiplied proportionately. And you are today soldiers -engaged in war which has the same meaning it has always had. Because of -the gloom and sorrow that now enshrouds the world, it would be well if -we could forget the past--for the events of today are but a portrayal of -the past, a renewal of man's "inhumanity to man." But it has been so -decreed by Him who "moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform, -Who plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm." - -And let us hope--as many believe--that out of "Much tribulation cometh -great joy." If it were not for a great and wise purpose, how could it -be? It is God's will and submission to His will is man's only choice. - - - So let your spirits as they rise and fall, - Ever cling to the Faith that Right will prevail, - That God will be with you to the end and is all in all, - And no foeman, freedom's banner shall assail. - - -It is at the instance of the Richard Hawes Chapter of the U. D. C. -chiefly that the writer of these recollections and reminiscences has -collected and published them. - -If in contributing this history of experiences and recollections he -shall give in any degree pleasure and furnish entertainment to the "dear -Kentucky boys" over the seas he shall feel happy to have had that -privilege and opportunity. - -He assures them that none more sincerely, more prayerfully hopes for -their safe and triumphant return. He knows that this triumph will be the -grandest chapter in the world's history and that America will have -played her part gloriously in the grand tragedy. - -Oh! that he could be one of the actors! - -Then will the dark and gloomy days of your absence hallowed by the blood -of your lost comrades be made glorious by a triumphant return, the like -of which the world has never before seen nor never will see again. - -Then will every hilltop and mountain peak blaze with the bonfires of a -glorious greeting. - -Then will the dear old mother's heart thrill with joy and happiness, -then will the old father say "Welcome! Welcome! my dear boy, I knew you -would come." Then too will she who promised, watched, hoped and prayed -be found seeking the opportunity to say "I am now ready to redeem my -promise." - -Then will the old soldier (God permitting him to live) who dedicates -these lines extend the glad hand of greeting to the noble boys of his -acquaintance and say, "well done ye noble sons! I rejoice in your -achievements, your victories, your triumphs. - -"Welcome, thrice welcome, and again welcome, God smiles and the land is -yours. Let justice and righteousness prevail now, henceforth and -forever." - -It is conceivable that forty or fifty years hence some of these soldier -boys now participating in the great war will find themselves wandering -over these fields upon which the greatest tragedies in the world's -history are now being enacted, and it is in full comprehension (because -of similar experiences) that the writer can extend the imaginations of -the mind to that time. - -It will be for him, who may be so fortunate, a glorious day, a thrilling -and inspiring reminiscence. To be one of the actors in this stupendous -tragedy in the history and affairs of the world; to see, to participate -in and realize these grand events is to see things that have heretofore -seemed impossible, or inconceivable. - -But the times are full of wonders and amazements, and things are -happening faster and faster day by day. - -If the early history of the writer, read before the U. D. C.'s, contains -matter that would seem more appropriate for a novel, because of its -romantic character he justifies himself by saying that "youth is full of -romance" and he believes, yea he knows, that many a brave boy today -feels the impulse and touch of these thoughts and suggestions--and not -alone the soldier boy, but the modest, timid, retiring maiden whose -heart quavered when she said good-bye. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -(An address delivered at Paris, Ky., June 26, 1916.) - - -_Madame President_, _Ladies_, _Daughters of the Confederacy_: - -I have several times promised your ex-president, Mrs. Leer, that I would -furnish her with a brief history of my observations and experiences as a -soldier, and have so far failed; but will now, ere it is too late, try -to comply with this promise. - -But for the life of me I cannot see how I shall comply with this request -without (seemingly at least) appearing in the role of one given to self -praise or eulogy, and, modest man that I am, I hesitate; this will -explain why I have been so long complying with your request, and shall -constitute my apology. - -The history of Kentucky Confederates was in most instances very similar -and their duties likewise similar. All were imbued with the spirit of -patriotism and love for the cause in which they had engaged, each -determined to do whatever he could to promote and advance the cause in -which he was enlisted. In this I claim to have done no more than other -Kentucky soldiers who fought under the "Stars and Bars." - -And yet there may be some incidents, some experiences in my history so -different from others as to make them somewhat interesting by contrast, -and as others have kindly furnished you with a history of their -experience, you may be somewhat interested in making comparisons. - -Now, so far as relates to my history as a _real_ soldier, the beginning -of that career was on the 8th of September, 1861. On the 22d of January -following I was twenty years old--quite a youth you are ready to say. -But I had been a soldier almost two years, being a charter member of -that little band of "Sunday" soldiers--the "Flat Rock Grays"--and which -constituted an integral part of what was known at that time as the -Kentucky "State Guard." - -This little company of citizen soldiers were in their conceit and -imagination very important and consequential fellows. Invited to all the -noted gatherings and public affairs of the day, dressed in gaudy and -flashy uniforms and flying plumes, filled with pride and _conceit_, they -did not know they were nursing their pride against the day of wrath. One -only of two now living, I look back upon those days and scenes of -youthful pride and ambition, with a feeling of awe and reminiscence, and -wonder why and wherefore have I been spared through the labyrinth of -time elapsed and for what, alas! I am wondering. - -The most of the "Grays" left home for the scenes of the war in August, -but I had not completed my arrangements and did not reach "Camp -Burnett," Tennessee, until September 7. Now the most trying and -impressing circumstances of these preparations was the last "good-bye" -to my dear old mother and sweetheart, both of whom survived the war; the -dear old mother greeting me on my return in a manner I shall leave to -the imagination of you ladies to describe. I was her "baby" and had been -mourned as lost more than once. But the sweetheart in the meantime had -become the wife of another and gone to a distant state to make her home. -Oh! the fickleness of woman and the _uncertainties of war_. Pardon me, -ladies, I mean no reflection, but it hurts to this day; yet God in His -wisdom and goodness knows I forgave her. Perhaps schoolday love is -remembered and still lingers in the heart of some of those I am -addressing, then she, at least, can appreciate this sentiment. - -The 6th of September found me in this town (Paris, Ky.), where I began -preparations for the life of a soldier, by substituting my "pumps" for -"Brogans," which I knew would be more suitable, really indispensable for -a soldier on the march over rough and rugged roads. I sent back home my -pumps and horse, the latter afterward confiscated and appropriated by -the Yanks. Now I am sure my brogans presented a striking and ludicrous -contrast to my "clawhammer" blue broadcloth and gold buttons, and to -which I shall have occasion to refer again. But I was going to the war -and why should I care for comment or criticism? That night found me in -Louisville, a shy, cringing guest of the old Louisville Hotel, my -brogans giving me more concern than anything else, being in such -striking contrast to my clawhammer broadcloth and gold buttons. I recall -the scenes of that night and next morning with a distinctness that makes -me almost shudder to this day. If it were possible for you ladies to -imagine the excitement of those days, filled with the thousands of -exciting rumors that were heard every hour in the day, turn in whatever -direction you might, and the clangor and preparation for war, you might -have some idea of, and appreciate, my predicament. A solitary country -boy, who had seen but little of the world, on his road South in quest of -Southern rights on the field of battle. Were it not fraught with fearful -recollections it would now seem ridiculous. But the night was spent, not -in sleep, but in wild imaginings as to the outcome on the morrow and -what the morning would develop. Morning came and with reddened eyes and -unsteady step, I came down the winding stairs of the old hotel, my mind -filled with fearful misgivings. Going up to the office shyly I began -instinctively to turn the leaves of the register; imagine my surprise -when I read the names of Generals W. T. Sherman, L. J. Rousseau, Major -Anderson of Fort Sumter fame and other Federal officers, aides and -orderlies, who were stopping there; that humbug Kentucky "neutrality" no -longer being observed. I was now almost ready to call on the Lord to -save me. But my fears were intensified when a gentleman of middle age, -whom I had noticed eyeing me closely, walked across the room, putting -his hand on my shoulder and asked me to a corner of the room. "Angels -and ministers of grace defend me"--in the hands of a detective. I'm gone -now! Noticing my look of fear and trepidation, he said, "Compose -yourself young man, _I am_ your friend--the shoes you wear (Oh, the -tell-tale shoes! Why didn't I keep my pumps) lead me to believe you -meditate joining the army, and if I am not mistaken you are aiming to go -South to join the Confederates." I was now halting between two opinions; -was he aiming to have me commit myself, or was he really a friend? But -proceeding, he said, "It is but natural you should suspect me, but I am -your friend nevertheless, and am here to advise and assist young men -like you in getting through the lines (a somewhat calmer feeling came -over me now) and you will have to be very cautious, for I fear your -brogans are a tell-tale--(I had already realized THAT). You see," said -he, "excitement is running high and almost everybody is under suspicion, -myself with others." I ventured to ask his name, which he readily gave -me as Captain Coffee of Tennessee, to me a very singular name. - -Feeling sure of his man and continuing, he said, "The train that leaves -here this morning will likely be the last for the state line (and sure -enough it was) and you will find excitement running high at the station; -they have guards to examine all passengers and their baggage, and when -you reach the station go straight to the ticket office, secure your -ticket and go to the rear of the train. Go in and take the first vacant -seat and for Heaven's sake, if possible, hide your brogans, for I fear -they may tell on you." I had by this time become thoroughly convinced -that he was really my friend and decided to take his advice. - -But now the climax to the situation was, as I thought, about to be -reached. Looking toward the winding stairs I saw coming down them -(Coffee told me who they were) dressed in their gaudy regimentals (the -regulation blue and gold lace), Generals W. T. Sherman and L. J. -Rousseau, side by side, arm in arm, behind them the short, chubby figure -of Major Anderson of Fort Sumter fame and some other prominent officers -whose names I have forgotten, accompanied by their staff officers and -orderlies. A "pretty kettle of fish" for me to be caught with--I -thought. They passed into the dining room immediately. I shall never -forget the hook-nose, lank, lean and hungry look of General Sherman, -reminding me of Julius Caesar's description of Cassius. Later on I was -often reminded of this incident, when Sherman was pushing us through -Georgia, toward the sea in the celebrated campaign of '64. I was then -almost wicked enough to wish that I had at this time and there ended his -career. But, exchanging a few more words with Capt. Coffee, I called for -my satchel and took the "bus" for the station; arriving there I acted -upon the advice of my new made friend and adviser. Quickly procuring my -ticket and entering the car, I secured the rear seat and with fear and -trembling attempted to hide my brogans by setting my satchel on them. -(We had no suit cases then.) This was a morning of wonderful excitement -in the station for it was the last train to leave Louisville for the -State line and Memphis. There were thousands of people there crowding -every available foot of space--excitement ran high. The train guards or -inspectors--fully armed--were busy examining passengers and their -baggage. My heart almost leaped from my bosom as they came down the -aisle. But just before they reached the rear of the car the bell rang -and the train started. The guards rushed for the door, leaving me and -one or two others unquestioned and unmolested. Like "Paul, when he -reached the three taverns," I thanked God and took courage. I doubt if -the old station ever before or since saw such excitement and heard such -a shout as went up from the people therein assembled as the train pulled -out for Dixie. Many of these people were Southern sympathizers and -wished us God-speed and a safe journey. - -That evening I joined my schoolboy friends and soldier comrades, the -"Flat Rock Grays," in Camp Burnett, Tennessee, the Grays dropping their -name and acquiring the letter "H" in the regimental formation of that -celebrated regiment commanded by Col. Robert P. Trabue and known as the -Fourth Kentucky, C. S. A. That night I slept in camp for the first -time--as to what I dreamed I am unable to say--it might have been of the -sweetheart. The next day was spent in getting acquainted with the dear -fellows whose comradeship I was to have and share for the next four -years. Here began the experiences of the _real_ soldier, that was to -include some of the most momentous events in American history. Only one -day, however, was spent in Burnett, for that night orders came for those -companies that had been supplied with arms to break camp early next -morning and take the train for Bowling Green--to "invade Kentucky." The -companies without arms, among which was Company H, was to repair to -Nashville where we procured arms, joining the rest of the regiment a few -weeks later at Bowling Green. - -I have told you of the beginning, now it is proper and altogether -pertinent that I should refer to some of the closing scenes of my career -as a soldier. But I am here leaving a gap in my history, the most -important part of it, which will be found in other parts of this little -book. - -Having received my furlough at Jonesboro, where I was wounded on August -31, 1864, the following six months were spent in hospitals; first at -Barnesville, later at Macon and then Cuthbert, Ga., and later still at -Eufaula, Ala. I had as companions in hospital experiences three other -Kentuckians, Captain E. F. Spears of this city, Paris, whom you all know -to have been a gentleman of the highest honor and noblest emotions--a -gentleman--Oh, how I loved him; and Lieutenants Hanks and Eales, noble -fellows and companionable comrades. Here were formed ties of -friendship--that death alone could sever. - -But having sufficiently recovered from my wound, I decided the last of -March that I would make an effort to reach my command (the Orphan -Brigade) now engaged in a desperate effort to stay the progress of -Sherman's devastating columns now operating in South Carolina. The -"Orphans" in the meantime and during my absence had been converted into -cavalry. I was still on crutches and bidding Eufaula friends good-bye -(with regret) I started once more for the front. - -The times were now fraught with gloomy forebodings and misgivings, -excitement running high. The South was in tears, terror stricken--the -Confederacy surely and rapidly was reeling to her doom. General Wilson's -cavalry was raiding through Alabama and Georgia with but little -opposition, destroying the railroads and almost everything else of value -as they moved across the country. - -On the train I had very distinguished company in the person of General -"Bob" Toombs, who commanded the Georgia militia, a mythical organization -of the times, and Mrs. L. Q. C. Lamar of Mississippi, whose husband was -afterward a member of Cleveland's Cabinet. I was very much impressed -with the remarkable personality of this lady and felt sorry for her and -her family of seven children, fleeing terror stricken from the raiders. -Pandemonium seemed to reign supreme among these fleeing refugees, the -air being literally alive with all sorts of rumors about the -depredations and atrocities of the raiders. Numerous delays occurred to -the train, everybody on board fearing the raiders and anxious to move -on. General Toombs, excited and worried at these delays, determined to -take charge of the situation and see that the train moved on. With a -navy revolver in each hand he leaped from the train and with an oath -that meant business said _he_ would see that the train moved on--which -it did rather promptly, the General taking due credit to himself for its -moving, which the passengers willingly accorded him. Inquiring who this -moving spirit was, I was told that it was General "Bob" Toombs (by this -name, _"Bob" Toombs_, he was known throughout the United States). -Instantly there flashed into my mind the celebrated speech he made in -the United States Senate, in which he said that "erelong he expected to -call the roll of his slaves beneath the shadow of Bunker Hill -Monument"--and which speech did more to fire the hearts of the North -than almost anything said or done prior to the war. - -But finally we reached Macon--where I had been in the hospital--and on -the afternoon of the second day after our arrival, Wilson's cavalry took -possession of the city. That night some of the fiends, that are to be -found in every army, applied the torch to the home of Senator Howell -Cobb, the Lanier Hotel and a number of other prominent buildings. I -could realize the excitement from the Confederate hospital on College -Hill, which overlooks the city, and which was terrifying and appalling -beyond anything I had ever before seen. The shrieks and cries of the -women and children almost unnerved me. Woe of woes! Horror of horrors! I -thought. - -But I must do General Wilson the honor to say that he did not order or -approve of this fiendish piece of work, for he did all in his power to -prevent and stop it; and but for his efforts the city would no doubt -have been completely destroyed. - -Of course I abandoned my attempt to join the old boys of the "Orphan -Brigade." I was now a prisoner, everything lost (save honor), gloom and -chaos were everywhere. Obtaining a parole from the Federal officer in -command (something new), I decided to join my comrades Knox and Harp, -each of whom, like myself, had been put out of business by wounds -received sometime before and who were sojourning with a friend in the -country near Forsythe, intending to counsel with them as to the best -course to be pursued next. Having enjoyed the hospitality of our host -and his good wife for several days, Knox and myself decided to go down -to Augusta for a last and final parting with the remnant of these dear -"old boys" of the "Orphan Brigade" whom we learned were to be paroled in -that city. We soon learned upon our arrival in the city that General -Lewis and staff would arrive next morning. Next morning the General and -staff rode through the city, the most sorrowful and forlorn looking men -my eyes ever looked upon; it was enough to make a savage weep. The cause -for which we had so long fought, sacrificed and suffered, lost, -everything lost, God and the world apparently against us, without -country, without home or hope, the old family being broken up and -separated forever, our very souls sinking within us, gloom and sorrow -overhanging the world; what would we do; what could we do? Learning from -General Lewis that the remnant of the little band of immortals who had -contributed so much to the history and renown of Kentucky in the great -conflict would be paroled at Washington, some twenty miles from Augusta, -Knox and myself proceeded to that place for a last and final farewell. - -The associations of almost four years of the bloodiest war in modern -times up to that day were here, to be forever broken up. The eyes that -gleamed defiance in the battles' rage were now filled with tears of -sorrow at parting. The hand that knew no trembling in the bloody -onslaught now wavered and trembled--the hour for the last parting had -arrived, the long struggle ended forever--good-bye, John; farewell, -Henry; it is all over and all is lost, ended at last; good-bye, boys; -good-bye. - -Are their deeds worth recording, worth remembering? It is for you, dear -ladies, rather than men, to say whether it shall be done or not, and in -what way. _I_ am content to leave it to you, knowing that it will be -well and faithfully done. - -Resuming the closing scenes of my experiences at Washington and the -final sad leave-taking of these dear old "Orphans," I must revert to my -friend and well wisher (as he proved to be), General Toombs. - -The Confederate Government had saved from the ruin that befell and -overtook it several thousand dollars in coin and which was being -transported across the country, whither, no one seemed to know--in -charge of a certain major. - -Now Washington was the home of my hero of the train incident. The powers -that were left decided to distribute a part of this coin among the -faithful veterans who were being paroled at this point. The cavalry, who -did not enlist until later in '62, receiving $26, in some instances -more, while the Orphans received as their share only $3.50, a very -unfair and inequitable distribution, character of service and time being -considered. The cavalry in this, as in some other instances, receiving -the lion's share and getting the most of the good things that fell to -the lot of the "pooh" soldier. This money consisted mainly of "double -eagles," three of which fell to the remnant of my company. The -perplexing question now was how could we divide this money. The matter -was finally settled by the boys commissioning me to go down into the -town (a mile or more away) to see if I could exchange it for smaller -coins. Still on crutches, I finally consented, but it was a task. Going -into town and from home to home--all business houses long since -closed--I at last staggered on the home of General Toombs--not knowing -he lived there. I recognized at once the moving spirit of the train -incident. He and another gentleman were seated on the veranda engaged in -earnest and animated conversation. Saluting in military style, I at once -made known my business. The General protested that _he_ had no change, -but referring me to his guest, Major ----, who, he said, was in charge -of some funds in the house belonging to the government. The Major -remarked if I would wait awhile he would furnish me with the required -change, at the same time retiring to a back room of the house where I -soon heard the sound of a hammer or hatchet, presumably in the hand of -the Major, who was engaged in opening a box or chest. In the meantime -the General invited me to a seat on the veranda and began plying me with -numerous and pertinent questions--not giving me a chance to refer to -the train incident--asking to what command I belonged, when and where I -was wounded and how I expected to get home and many other questions, not -forgetting in his vigorous and vehement way (for which he was noted) to -deplore the fate of the Confederacy and denouncing the Yankee in -unmeasured and vigorous terms. - -Finally after so long a time the Major returned with the required -change--all in silver and while not much, it gave me (already tired out) -great worry before I reached camp on my crutches. Of course I thanked -the Major and apologized for having put him to so much trouble, and -saluting him good day, I started for the gate, the General preceding me -and still asking questions. Opening the gate, for which I thanked him, I -tipped a military salute and started up the sidewalk. But the General -seemed very much interested in me and walking alongside the yard fence -he suddenly thrust his hand into his vest pocket, pulling out a twenty -dollar coin and quickly reaching across the fence, he said, "Here, -Lieutenant, take this from me. You will doubtless need it." Dumfounded -at this sudden change of affairs, I politely declined it, but the -General, in a spirit of earnest command, forcefully said, "Here, take -it, sir; you are a d--n long way from home and you will need it before -you get there." Comprehending the spirit which prompted it, I accepted -it and thanked him, extending him my hand, which he grasped with a -warmth that thrilled my soul to its very depths. - -Thus the diamond in the rough that I had seen on the train at once -became the glittering jewel that sparkled and shed its brilliance to the -depths of my then thankful and weary soul. I love to think of this -incident and this great man (for he was truly a great man of his time) -and transpiring at the time it did and under--to me--such distressing -and discouraging circumstances, it is one of the happy and cheering -oases of my soldier life. - -Going from Washington back to Augusta I met and spent the following -night in company with Hon. E. M. Bruce, one of the best friends I ever -had, whose friendship, magnanimity and generosity toward myself and -other Kentuckians was, as in my case, made practical, he presenting me -with three double eagles, which I was _compelled_ to receive as a -recompense for acts of friendship and assistance rendered him during the -trying times of the preceding four years. I have never known a grander -character than E. M. Bruce, a truer friend, a nobler man. - -But now, with more than $80 of _real_ money, I was quite well equipped -for the return to dear "Old Kentucky," which I was glad to see after an -absence of almost four years, spent under the most dangerous and trying -circumstances to which it was possible for man to be exposed. - -There were doubts in my mind as to what our status as citizens would be -and just how we would be received and regarded by some; returning as we -did, overcome, discomfited, defeated. But we well knew how we would be -received by those who loved us and whose sympathies were manifested in a -thousand ways not to be mistaken or misunderstood. Here in these -manifestations was recompense for the long years of absence amid -dangers, trials and suffering. - -And now after a lapse of more than half a century, with its wonderful -history, we are still remembered by some of the kind and gentle spirits -that greeted us on our return, and other charming and lovely spirits of -the U. D. C., descendants of the noblest ancestry that ever lived and -inhabited this, the fairest land that God ever made. - -These circumstances, these surroundings and inspiring scenes make -hallowed the lives of these few surviving old veterans, rendering it a -panacea for all that we as soldiers of the "lost cause" encountered and -suffered. - -From the fulness of my heart I thank you, noble ladies, for your -kindness and patient attention. This opportunity to appear before you -today is more than a pleasure and I feel honored to find myself in your -presence and appreciate your happy greeting. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -RECOLLECTIONS OF THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. - -(From an address delivered at the meeting of the Morgan's Men -Association at Olympian Springs, September 2, 1916.) - - -_Mr. President, Old Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen_: - -I must confess that this is somewhat embarrassing attempting to talk in -public at the age of seventy-two, never having attempted such a thing -before. But the subject upon which I am expected to talk is certainly, -to myself, at least, interesting, and the occasion I am sure is happy -and inspiring, had I only the ability to do them justice. However, by -reason of my inexperience in matters of this kind, I believe I can -safely appeal to the charity of my audience to overlook any failure I -may make to properly interest them in what I shall have to say. - -You ask sir, that I shall relate some of my observations and experiences -of the great battle of Shiloh. Well fifty-two years and more is a long -time and takes us back to that important event in American History that -transpired on the banks of the Tennessee on April 6 and 7, 1862. Some of -these old veterans now seated before me can doubtless remember many of -the exciting and intensely interesting scenes of these two eventful -days. It is more deeply impressed upon my mind, because of the fact that -it was our initial battle and early impressions are said to be always -most lasting. - -This was the first of a series of grand and important events in the -history of that renowned little band of Kentuckians, known in history as -the "Orphan Brigade," but which for the present occasion I shall -designate as the Kentucky Brigade, it not receiving its baptismal or -historic name until the celebrated charge of Breckinridge at -Murfreesboro. But what a grand and thrilling opening chapter in the -lives of these Kentucky boys, as soldiers, for we were only boys, as we -now look back at things, a majority of us being under twenty-one. - -Now, if I were called upon to say which in my judgment was the best -planned, most thoroughly and systematically, fought battle of the war in -which I took part, I would unhesitatingly say Shiloh. As time rolled on -and with subsequent observations and experiences on other important -fields, such as Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Resaca, Atlanta, Jonesboro -and a number of others, I am still constrained to say that Shiloh was -the typical battle. I mean, of course, battles fought in the West and in -which Kentucky troops took a prominent part. - -If in relating my story I shall seem somewhat partial to Kentuckians, I -hope I may be excused for it is of them I shall talk mainly, besides, -you know I love them dearly. And in the exercise of this partiality I -claim to be justified from the fact that a number of the leading -characters in this grand tragedy of war were Kentuckians. First among -whom was the great general and peerless leader; others were -Breckinridge, Preston, Tighlman, Trabue, Helm, Morgan, Monroe, Lewis, -Hunt, Hodges, Wickliffe, Anderson, Burns, Cobb and last but by no means -least, Governor George W. Johnson whose patriotic example was -unsurpassed and whose tragic death was one of the most pathetic -incidents of the great battle. A conspicuous figure indeed was he, so -much so that when found on the field mortally wounded by the enemy, they -believed him to be General Breckinridge. Private John Vaughn, of my old -Company H of the Fourth Regiment, relates this story in regard to this -sad and lamentable incident. Vaughn was severely wounded and was lying -on the field near where Governor Johnston fell and from which he had -just been removed by the enemy, when General Grant rode up and inquired -to what command he belonged. When told by Vaughn to what command he -belonged, Grant said: "And it is Kentuckians, is it, that have been -fighting my men so desperately at this point?" Here is where the four -desperate charges and counter-charges were made on the Seventh and noted -by Colonel Trabue as commander of the Kentucky Brigade in his official -report of the great battle, the bloodiest part of the field where -Kentucky gave up many of her noblest and best. This is the field to -which General Grant refers in his "Memoirs," when in writing of the -desperate fighting of the Confederates, he says: "I saw an open field on -the second day's battle over which the Confederates had made repeated -charges, so thickly covered with their dead that it might have been -possible to have walked across the clearing in any direction stepping on -dead bodies without touching a foot to the ground." - -Here were enacted scenes of sublime courage and heroism that elicited -the admiration and comment of the civilized world; here the soil of -Tennessee drank freely the blood of her elder sister, Kentucky. - -But Grant, when told by Vaughn that he belonged to the Kentucky Brigade, -turned to one of his aids and ordered a litter to be brought and had -Vaughn placed upon it saying, "We have killed your General Breckinridge -and have him down yonder," pointing in the direction of their field -hospital. He then had him taken down to where the supposed General -Breckinridge lay. It seems that they were doubtful of and wished to -establish his identity. Pointing to the body of the dying Governor he -asked Vaughn if he was not his general. When Vaughn told him that it was -Governor Johnson and not General Breckinridge, Grant turned away quickly -with a look of disappointment upon discovering his mistake and learning -who he was. Vaughn used to relate this incident with considerable -feeling and pride as connecting him with General Grant at this -particular time and under such peculiar and painful circumstances. I -mention it because it contains more than ordinary interest to some of us -Kentuckians, who had the opportunity of witnessing the heroic conduct -and sublime courage of this noble citizen of Kentucky. - -But let us notice while passing some of the sacrifices Kentucky made in -this first great battle of the war in the West and the compliment -incidently and unintentionally paid us (as Kentuckians), by the greatest -general that ever commanded the Federal army. - -First among whom was the great general and peerless leader, Albert -Sidney Johnston, whose name I always mention with feelings of profound -pride and admiration, I would liked to have said veneration. George W. -Johnson, the noble beloved citizen and patriotic Governor, whose -voluntary example of sublime courage and heroism was without a parallel -in the great battle. Thomas B. Monroe, the youthful and distinguished -journalist, statesman and accomplished soldier, a man with scarce a peer -at his age in either civil or military life. Charles N. Wickliffe, the -gallant and dashing colonel of the Seventh Kentucky, and a thousand -other Kentuckians many less distinguished but equally brave--the flower -of Kentucky youth and manhood. Is it any wonder I am partial to -Kentuckians and proud of their record in this great and memorable -battle? - -Oh, how well I remember the morning of that eventful Easter Sabbath, -April 6, 1862. So beautiful and lovely that all nature seemed proud and -happy. Trees budding, flowers blooming, birds singing, everything -seemingly joyful and happy in the bright sunshine of early spring, save -man alone. But with what awfulness the scene changes when we contemplate -man's actions at this hour and time bent upon the overthrow and -destruction of his fellowman and how ominously significant the -preparation. - -Just at early dawn we were quietly awakened by our officers--many a -noble and brave boy from his last sleep on earth; the bugle not sounding -the reveille, for fear of attracting the attention of the enemy, it -being part of the great general's plan to take him by surprise, which -succeeded admirably, notwithstanding the oft repeated denials of -General Grant to the contrary. Quickly arranging our toilets and having -hastily despatched breakfast from our haversacks we formed in double -column by company, the band in front leading, playing "Dixie," which -sounded upon the early morning stillness in this deep wildwood, as it -never before sounded, soul-stirring and inspiring. What patriotic -soldier could fail to be moved by its charm and pathos? The veil of -caution and silence now removed by the band, down through the woods of -massive oaks we moved at quick-step, every man doubtless believing -himself the equal of half a dozen Yankees. A very erroneous notion -indeed, soon dispelled by hard and stubborn facts to the contrary. But -on we moved stopping but once to unsling knapsacks, which with our -Sunday clothes and precious jewels we never saw again. Ah, some of those -precious jewels! Still on we moved. Now the roll of the Skirmishers' -rifles away out in front told that the issue of battle was being joined, -not Greek against Greek, but American against American in one of the -most desperate and sanguinary conflicts of the great war. Led by two of -the greatest military chieftains of the age; here the high spirited and -chivalrous youth from the Southern plantations and the daring, hardy -Western boy from the prairies of the West, had met in battle array. - -Here was to be a display of courage and chivalry unsurpassed in the -annals of war. Now an occasional boom, boom, of the big guns, began to -echo up and down the valley of the Tennessee as Hardee's batteries -seemingly in chorus with those of the enemy in reply, began to open on -Grant's battalions now hurriedly forming, having recovered from their -surprise caused by the sudden and unexpected attack of Hardee's advanced -lines. Stirred by the highest ambition of our youthful hearts on toward -the front rapidly and steadily, now in column of fours, moved the -Kentucky Brigade. Passing down a little narrow valley just to the left -and on the higher ground, we passed that gallant little band of -Kentuckians known as Morgan's Squadron at the head of which, seated on -"Black Bess" the real (not the mythical "Black Bess" that some of you -fellows sometimes talk so loudly about and never saw), but the _real_ -Black Bess--was that grandest specimen of a Kentucky soldier, save -one--the immortal Breckinridge--Captain John H. Morgan. The Kentucky -Brigade was proud to find itself in such noble, such royal company, -though for a passing moment only. Oh, how it thrilled our hearts as -these Kentucky boys, Morgan's men, greeted us by waving their hats, -cheering and singing their famous battle song; - - - "Cheer, boys, cheer; we'll march away to battle; - Cheer, boys, cheer, for our sweethearts and our wives; - Cheer, boys, cheer; we'll nobly do our duty, - And give to Kentucky our arms, our hearts, our lives." - - -General Duke, you remember this incident. Do you not, sir? More than -happy am I with such a noble witness to attest the correctness of this -part of my story. It was the second line of this famous stanza that -touched my soul most and sunk deepest into my youthful heart, for I had -left back in old Nicholas a little, black-eyed, curly-haired maiden -whose image at that very moment seemed fairer than all the angels in -heaven. My old heart still beats quick when I think of this thrilling -incident and those charming eyes. Now there are doubtless some of you -old veterans who are listening to me that left home under similar -circumstances as myself kissing farewell, as you thought, perhaps for -the last time, the dear little girl you were leaving behind and who felt -on the battle's verge as I did and was tempted to exclaim with me in the -anguish of your heart, "Oh cruel, cruel relentless war, what sad havoc -you have wrought with lovers and lovers' lives." Verily, old comrades, I -believe I am growing sentimental as well as very childish, but these -thoughts crowd my memory and must have vent. Still to the battle's -breach I must go where the "pride, pomp and circumstances of glorious -war" invite. - -Pressing rapidly forward we quickly passed through the enemy's outer -encampments from which they had fled when attacked and surprised by -Hardee's skirmishers, leaving behind them untouched, their breakfasts of -steaming hot coffee, fried ham and other good things with which their -improvised tables seemed to be heavily ladened, and which under other -and more favorable circumstances, we would have quickly appropriated. -But the scenes of greatest moment and absorbing interest were on the -front toward which we were rapidly hurrying where the clash of steel, -shot and shell was resounding with the fury of desperation. - -How well I remember the first victim of war--a Confederate--I saw on -this eventful morning. How well, too, I remember the hiss and scream of -the first shells of the enemy's guns that passed closely above our -heads, and how quickly and ungracefully we bowed in acknowledgment. How -well, also, I remember the first volley fired at us by Colonel -Worthington's Forty-sixth, Ohio, our neighbors from just across the -river. We had hardly completed the formation of changing "front to rear" -on our first company in order to confront them squarely by bringing our -line parallel with theirs, when they opened fire on us, getting the drop -on us, if you please. - -Now I need not say much about this experience, for I am sure that every -old veteran remembers well the first fire to which he was exposed, but I -do believe that my hair must have stood on end and fairly lifted my cap -for I felt as they leveled their rifles, that every man of us would -surely be killed. Not many however, were killed or seriously hurt, for -the enemy in their eagerness and great excitement fired wildly over our -heads. The next was ours, and as we had been previously cautioned by -Major Monroe to fire low, we made it count. Quickly reloading our rifles -we had hardly fired the second volley when the sharp shrill voice of -Major Monroe rang out amid the roar and din of battle, "Fix bayonet" and -was quickly repeated by the company commanders. My, my; oh Lord; but the -cold chills darted up and down my spinal column as I contemplated the -use of the bayonet. Now if there is any scene upon the battle-field more -exciting and more terrifying than the glimmer and glitter of a fixed -bayonet in the hands of a desperate and determined enemy, pointed -directly at your throat or your stomach, I have never seen it. Terrified -at the gleam and clatter of our bayonets Worthington's men broke and -fled through the woods rallying on their reserves, stationed some -distance in rear of their original position. It was well perhaps for -them that they did, for thoroughly drilled as we were in the bayonet -exercise, they would doubtless have found themselves at a great -disadvantage in the use of this weapon, had they stood to make the test. -But with fixed bayonets, accelerated by the Rebel yell, we followed at a -double-quick, passing over their dead and wounded halting just beyond. -What a ghastly sight; what a terrible scene! Here was pictured for the -first time in our experience the horrors of the battle-field in all of -its hideousness. How well the new Enfield rifles, with which we had been -armed just before leaving Burnsville for the battlefield two days -before, following the reading of General Johnston's famous battle order, -were used upon this occasion, the dead and severely wounded of more than -three hundred of the enemy grimly told. Colonel Trabue in his official -report says more than four hundred but I hardly think there were so -many. There were enough at least to attest the efficiency of our new -Enfields and the correctness of our aim. Many of these poor fellows -begged us piteously not to kill them as though we were a band of savages -without pity or compassion, knowing nothing of the usages and customs of -civilized warfare. It was an insult to our sense of honor and chivalry. -But we soon convinced them by every act of kindness possible under the -circumstances that we were both civilized and chivalrous, -notwithstanding the teachings of the Northern press to the contrary. How -false, absurd and ridiculous these charges by some of these -stayed-at-home sycophants of the Northern press accusing us with brutal -and inhuman treatment of their wounded that fell into our hands. - -But, just before the encounter of the Fourth Kentucky, which occupied -the extreme left of the Confederate battle line, with the Forty-sixth -Ohio, the roll of musketry and the roar of artillery came down the -battle line from right to left (a distance of more than three miles), -like the successive waves of the ocean as Grant hurled his battalions in -echelon against the extended lines of Johnston, opening fire in rapid -succession as they deployed and struck our lines, to which, the -Confederates in like successive manner instantly replied. Oh, I tell you -this was sublimely grand beyond the power of man to describe. As Grant's -battalions were successfully met and hurled back, that terrible and -ominous sound, the "Rebel yell" heard by us for the first time on the -battle field told that the day was surely and steadily becoming ours. -The enemy made another desperate and determined stand and from their -advantageous position occupied by their reserves on which their broken -columns had rallied, they poured a deadly and destructive fire into our -ranks killing and wounding many of our men. We had been pushed forward -under the enemy's fire and halted to await the movement of our -reinforcements moving in our rear and to our left, and while awaiting -the execution of this movement we learned quickly for the first time the -importance of lying flat on our faces as a means of protection from this -deadly fire of the enemy. This was trying indeed under orders not to -fire; compelled to remain passive and see your comrades being killed all -around you, momentarily expecting the same fate yourself. At last -co-operating with the flanking column on our left, with fixed bayonets -we made a desperate direct attack and drove the enemy from this very -formidable position which they had been holding for some time, not -however until we had lost in killed and wounded more than two score of -our brave and gallant boys. I am now speaking of the operations of my -own regiment--matters were too absorbing to pay much attention to what -others were doing. - -Again pushing forward we quickly encountered the enemy's reinforcements, -which they had thrown forward to resist our advance and were again -exposed to another scathing and deadly fire. Again resorting to our -former tactics of lying flat on our faces, we returned their fire, -turning upon our backs to reload our rifles, then again upon our faces -to deliver fire, here the battle raged furiously, for some time and here -again we lost a number more of our gallant boys. I shall never forget -the anguish of the boy immediately to my left, as he expired from the -effects of a ball that passed through his body. In the meantime and -while the battle was raging at this point, Burns' and Cobb's Kentucky -batteries of fourteen pieces, which were stationed upon the extreme -right of the Kentucky Brigade, were hurling shot and shell, grape and -canister, with terrific and deadly force into the enemy's moving -columns, as they shifted from right to left of the battle line. Grant -seemed anxious to turn our left, but was anticipated and promptly met by -counter-movements of the Confederates, he having a most worthy rival in -the art and skill of maneuvering troops upon the battlefield. Finally -the terrible and desperate assault of the Tennesseans away to our right, -led by the gallant Breckinridge and the peerless Johnston against the -enemy's center and his stronghold, known as the "Hornet's Nest," -compelled Grant to yield every position he had taken and seek shelter -and protection under the banks of the Tennessee. This was the sad and -fatal moment, for here in this desperate charge the great general fell. - -Co-operating with the troops on our left the Kentucky Brigade hinged -upon Burns' battery, the whole left wing of the army swinging like a -massive gate to the right, joined in this last desperate charge and had -the proud satisfaction of participating in the capture and impounding of -Prentiss' division of more than three thousand men, including the -celebrated Watterhouse battery of Chicago with its magnificent equipment -of new guns and fine horses. This magnificent battery had been equipped -by this great millionaire for whom it was named, we wondered how he felt -when he learned the fate of his pets. I never in my entire experience as -a soldier saw such a humiliated and crestfallen body of soldiers as -these men were; prisoners driving their own magnificent battery from the -field. It looked really cruel to thus humiliate them. But then you know -it is said, that all's fair in love and war. To the first of which -saying I am compelled to demur for I know that all is not fair in love, -however, it may be in war. But in striking contrast what a jubilant and -overjoyed set of fellows we Confederates were, what a time for -rejoicing! - -This was one of the proudest moments of my soldier life, exciting and -thrilling almost beyond description. Their artillery being driven from -the field by their own gunners; their infantry formed in a hollow square -stacking arms and lowering their colors; their officers dismounting and -turning over their horses and side arms; Confederate officers and -orderlies galloping to and fro in every direction; excitement unbounded -and uncontrolled everywhere. Imagine these transcendent and rapidly -transpiring scenes and think for a moment if you can, how these "boys" -unused to such tragedies must have felt amid such stupendous and -overwhelming surroundings. Why we made the very Heaven and earth tremble -with our triumphant shouts. And I doubt not, I know they did, for -General Grant intimates they did, the enemy routed and hurrying to the -banks of the Tennessee for protection, trembled also. - -Now the scene changes somewhat, reforming our lines and filing to the -right and left around this enclosed square in which these prisoners were -held, we again moved forward to the front expecting to deliver the last -and final blow. Four o'clock three-quarters of an hour later, with more -than two hours of sunshine in which to deliver the last and final blow, -found us drawn up in the most magnificent line of battle I ever beheld, -extending up and down the river bottom to the right and left as far as -we could see, straight as an arrow; every man in place standing at -"attention" exuberant with joy, flushed with victory, all understanding -the situation, eager for the signal to be given that they knew would -finish the glorious day's work. Grant's army cowering beneath the banks -of the Tennessee awaiting the final summons to surrender. What a moment -of grand anticipation and oh, how quick the heart beat! But at what -fearful cost to the Confederate cause, the apparent great victory! The -voice of the great commander, now silent with a successor unwilling to -finish the day's work so gloriously begun and so successfully executed -up to the hour of his fall. And oh, how important the hour to the new -born nation! How portentous the signs! Here and in this hour was -sacrificed the opportunity of the Southland's cause, here was thrown -away, so to speak--the grandest opportunity ever offered to any general -in modern times. Here the "green-eyed monster," jealousy, must have -whispered into the ear of Beauregard. Here I must draw the black curtain -of disappointment and despair to which I never can be reconciled. But -let it rest as lost opportunity and bury it in the oblivion of -forgetfulness. Paradoxically speaking here was lost the opportunity of -the "Lost Cause." But what followed, many, yes all of us know too well. - -It is strange what momentous events sometimes turn upon seemingly -trifling and insignificant circumstances. With the prevailing tenseness -of the moment, if one man had leaped to the front of that battle line -and shouted "forward," Grant's army as a consequence would have been -overrun and captured. Grant known no more in history; the "Stars and -Bars" would have been planted upon the banks of the Ohio; Kentucky -redeemed and history differently written. Had Johnston the great -captain, lived, this would have been accomplished. But it seems that -Providence decreed it otherwise by removing the master mind. - -From this magnificent battle line which I have attempted to describe and -this moment of proud hope and expectancy we were by order of Beauregard, -withdrawn to the camps of the enemy from which we had driven them during -the day--_not worn out and exhausted_--which Beauregard gave as his -excuse for failing to carry out the plans of the great commander to -crush Grant before Buell could come to his rescue. - -Passing the night in the camps of the enemy; recounting the exciting -incidents of the day; indulging in the rich and bountiful supplies of a -plethoric commissary, and no less rich and bountiful supply of sutlers -stores in great variety, just received from the North, we enjoyed a -"Balshazzar" feast not knowing, and little thinking of the "handwriting -on the wall" in the form of 30,000 reinforcements then crossing the -Tennessee to be met and reckoned with on the morrow. - -Why, oh why, did Beauregard not allow us to finish the day's work so -gloriously begun by Johnston? Every man must answer this question for -himself. Beauregard did not answer it satisfactorily to the soldiers who -were engaged, whatever the opinion of the world. What, but the spirit of -envy and jealousy and an overweening ambition to divide the honors of -victory with Johnston, which he hoped and expected to win on the morrow -could have controlled his course? That and that alone, answers the sad -question in the mind of your humble friend and comrade. I am aware that -this will be considered presumption in me, but it is history in part and -as observer and participant, I have the right to criticize. - -The morning of the fateful 7th came and with it the direful results that -followed. The arrival of Buell, the Blucher of the day, turned the tide -and sealed the fate of the cause--the golden opportunity lost, lost -forever! The history of that day is well known to all students of the -great war and to none better than the few survivors of that little band -of Kentuckians afterward known in history, as the Orphan Brigade, and -whose part in the grand tragedy was such an important factor. It needs -no studied eulogium or lofty peroration to tell the story of the part -played by this little band. A loss of forty per cent in killed and -wounded tells the story, and is the panegyric offered by Kentucky on -this memorable and bloody field. - -I might speak more in detail of this last day's bloody work and describe -more at length many of the horrible sights witnessed and the terrible -suffering of our wounded in their transfer to Corinth during the next -three days over almost impassable roads--the most horrible the mind -could possibly picture, exposed to the almost continuous downpour of -rain and the awful, awful sadness that filled our hearts in the loss of -so many of our comrades, kinsmen and school-fellow friends and the -further deep humiliation of final defeat, but the story would be too -horrible and sad to elaborate. - -I have already taken too much of your time in relating a little of -personal romance in connection with something of history and in -conclusion will say I am here in part for what may be, though I hope -not, a last farewell handclasp with these dear "Old Boys," Morgan's men, -the equals of whom as soldiers and citizens, Kentucky and the world will -never again see. I thank you for your attention and the courtesy you -have shown me. - -It seems altogether natural and opportune now that a large part of the -world is engaged in war that our minds should revert to the past and the -historic battle scenes in which we engaged should be renewed in -reminiscence. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE BOMBARDMENT OF VICKSBURG. - - -Because of the similarity of scenes now transpiring on the Western front -in France I am tempted to describe a scene that occurred and that I -witnessed during the siege of Vicksburg in July, 1862. My regiment (4th -Ky.) had been detailed and sent on detached service down to Warrenton, -some miles below Vicksburg, leaving in camp a number of sick that were -unable to go, among whom was Capt. Bramblett and myself. On the morning -of the 15th of July just at sunrise, suddenly, unexpectedly, as if the -infernal regions had suffered an eruption, the earth rocked and -trembled, the Heavens seemed pierced and rent with the roar and thunder -of cannon of all sizes, mortars from gunboats, siege guns, land -batteries and everything of a terrifying and destructive character, that -man was capable of inventing appeared to be turned loose, an explanation -of which no one would venture to make. - -Directly however, news came that the Confederate ram "Arkansas" had run -the blockade of the upper fleet of federal gunboats and transports, and -was lying at the wharf in Vicksburg. The news was magical on some of us -sick fellows, and myself and Sergeant Knox started immediately, without -breakfast, to see the wonder and learn the news of the exciting episode. -Arriving at the wharf we soon saw the cause of the terrible outburst of -excitement and terror. - -The Arkansas had been constructed at Yazoo City. Whisperings of its -existence and probable descent upon the blockading fleet in the -Mississippi had been heard for sometime, and now we could see the -monster (so to speak) in her grim and battered condition with numerous -holes in her smoke stack, made by shots from the enemy's guns, and a -large piece torn out of her cast prow. Her crew was composed of the most -daring despicable smoke-begrimed, looking set I ever beheld, but who -were elated at their successful victory. It was both interesting and -amusing to hear them discussing their recent experiences. - -That night the world went wild and pandemonium reigned supreme in and -around Vicksburg; for every gun and mortar in both the upper and lower -fleets turned loose every element of hell and terror they possessed, -with the seeming determination to destroy everything in and around the -devoted old city. The Confederate siege-guns with "Whistling Dick" for -leader joining in the grand Orchestral chorus of ruin and chaos. - -The scene was the most spectacular and pyrotechnical event of the war -and has never been equaled unless it has occurred in the awful -experiences on the Western front or at the Dardanelles. It was sublimely -grand and tests the wildest imagination of the mind to describe it. - -The air was literally burdened, with ascending and descending shells -which were easily traced in their course upward and downward, shells -from the upper and lower fleets, crossing each other in their flight -Heavenward, before they reached their zenith, others in their downward -course and a few at the apex and still others, that failed to explode -reached the ground destroying everything with which they came in -contact. The flashes from these guns illumined the surroundings for -miles, and reminded you of a terrific thunderstorm with continuous -flashes of lightning. Every color of the rainbow could be seen in this -terrible and grand display. Balloon shaped clouds of smoke from -exploding shells could be seen, floating slowly, softly, through the -air, adding amazement and wonder to the grand aerial tragedy taking -place in the Heavens. - -In reading of the terrific bombardments in the great war now raging, and -comprehending these descriptions and pictures, I count myself no -stranger, and this scene I have attempted to describe I am sure will -compare favorably with anything in the great world-war of today. Not -all the wonders and terrors of war are yours, boys! Some of us older -warriors have seen something of war too. But it's all grand and -glorious, isn't it boys? - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -MURFREESBORO (STONE RIVER). - - -It is to the great and interesting battle of Murfreesboro and some of -the incidents and circumstances preceding it, that I shall devote this -article. History will some day accord it but one name, whereas it now -has two--Murfreesboro and Stone River--but I shall use the former. - -Here a mile or so Southeast of the city, on a beautiful little plain or -suburban scope of country, was encamped for a period of three months, -the Orphan Brigade. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed both it and -the many good things we had to eat and the hospitable greetings of the -good people of the town and surrounding country. But while we were -enjoying these good things, we were undergoing a strict military -training, being drilled in the school of the company, battalion and the -more comprehensive and enlarged movements of the brigade and division -maneuvers, some of which we had seen employed at Shiloh and elsewhere by -exigencies in actual battle. It was a matter of general pride in which -as a member, I still glory that the Orphan Brigade was the most -thoroughly drilled and best disciplined body of men in the Confederate -army. In substantiation of this claim, I refer to the compliment paid us -a little later on by General Hardee, in a trial drill with the First -Louisiana Brigade, held at Beech Grove in the Spring following, and at -which trial drill General Hardee was one of the judges, and was heard to -say that to excel our drilling would require the construction of a -different and better code than was laid down in the system of tactics -bearing his name. The truth was we were determined to allow no body of -troops to excel us in anything pertaining to these accomplishments or -history of the soldier. This was accomplished in a great measure by the -requirements and training of that military martinet, "Old" Roger -Hanson. I use the appellation with the most profound respect. The facts -as to these accomplishments can be attested by numbers of men still -living and who often refer to General Hanson's rigid discipline and -requirements with feelings of respect and pride. I must instance one -circumstance, in support of this assertion. - -Some time after he took command he issued an order that all officers and -privates alike should be in full dress and in proper places at roll call -in the morning after the sounding of the reveille. This did not suit -many of the officers who wanted to take a morning snooze, but "Roger's" -orders were inexorable to officers and soldiers alike and it was for a -few mornings laughable to see these officers hustling on their clothes -and into line. There was nothing that pertained to discipline and order -that escaped his notice. It was sometimes amusing to hear some fellow -relate his experience in attempting to outwit and fool him, and the -fellow that attempted it was always caught. It just could not be done. - -But the whirligig of time was rapidly turning and bringing with it -lively and exciting times; big with importance to the country and the -Confederate cause and especially and particularly to these dear Orphans -of mine. - -While in Mississippi and preceding his disastrous Kentucky campaign and -in which his malevolent nature was displayed, Bragg refused us the great -joy we so earnestly and hopefully prayed for viz, the return to Kentucky -with his army, where we might see the dear ones at home, and -incidentally aid the cause by inducing enlistments. - -But the fact that quite a number of our fellow Kentuckians were coming -out with the newly enlisted cavalry commands and bringing with them the -news from home and friends--the first of consequence for a year or -more--gave us some comfort and consolation. In the meantime some -interesting matters of thrilling moment were transpiring down here, -"Where the oak, the ash and red elm tree, all grow green in old -Tennessee." - -Rosecrans, not satisfied with results at Perryville, was cutting across -the country for another opportunity to test his military skill and -prowess, and to punish these unrepentant rebels for daring to offer -resistance to the "old flag" and trying to "break up the best Government -the world ever saw," and over which Government some of these same people -are now fussing among themselves. - -Excuse me, please. I see I am again off my base. Back to my beloved -Orphans I must go. Oh, how I do love them! - -The change from the ordinary routine of drill maneuver and review was -brought about by the plan of General Morgan to attack the enemy's -advance post at Hartsville, North of the Cumberland and about thirty -miles or more from Murfreesboro. This movement included in its plan the -co-operation of the Orphan Brigade and making it a distinctly Kentucky -command, planned, led and fought by Kentuckians, and which was one of -the most complete and brilliant affairs of the war. Some of us to this -day feel the sting of disappointment of not being privileged to share in -this "_coupe de grace_," as the Fourth and Sixth Regiments were left at -Baird's mill to guard against the possibility of an intercepting column -from Nashville. My heart went out in sympathy (practically) to these -boys on their return to our encampment, worn out with fatigue, exhausted -and hungry and almost frozen, the weather being bitter cold and the -ground covered with snow to a depth of several inches. I confess also to -a feeling of sorrow for the poor blanketless prisoners who passed a -night of suffering, though we did the best we could for them by -furnishing them with fires. - -But here again the Orphans engaged in this fight paid dearly for their -honors, especially the Second Regiment, which lost heavily in both -officers and men, the Ninth Regiment also losing considerable. But this -seemed but the prelude to the grand Christmas entertainment staged to -come off later and when Breckinridge's Kentuckians received the -soubriquet Orphan Brigade by which they have ever since been known and -which will pass into the annals of history, alongside that of the "Tenth -Legion," the "Old Guard" and "Light Brigade." - -With a sense of feeling that impresses me with my utter inability to at -all do justice to the subject of Murfreesboro (or Stone River), I fear -to undertake the task. - -To the writer this was in some respects one of the most interesting, -exciting and captivating battles of the war in which he took part. -Captivating, because the great battle of the 31st was witnessed from my -vantage point of view--the left of our entrenchments on Swain's -hill--overlooking the stretch of country on which the battle was fought, -extending as it did from the Nashville turnpike and railroad, which at -this point are parallel, and at which point also stood the famous -"Cowans' burnt house," referred to by historians and which I saw burn, -the afternoon before. From this knoll I could see the principal part of -the field. - -Before attempting to describe the battle on this part of the field, I -must look up my Orphans and see what they are now, and have been doing -these last few hours. On the afternoon of Monday, the 29th they took -possession of this hill, which was the acknowledged key to Bragg's -position of defense. And herein lies a kind of mystery, why he would -trust to these men, in the judgment of whose officers he showed later on -he had so little confidence, this the most important point in his whole -line, and why should it be entrusted to them--the Kentucky Brigade. Some -were wicked enough to say, and his course toward us later, as that of -Friday, strengthens this belief that he wanted us all killed, hence -placing us in the most perilous position. Now mind you, gentle reader, I -am not giving this as my opinion, but others have given it as theirs. -While "bivouacking" a little behind this hill the enemy's skirmishers a -little after dark made quite a determined onset on our skirmishers in -front of the hill, but were driven back finally with considerable loss -to both parties. It was a daring and courageous move and created no -little excitement and concern and looked for a time like a night attack -was pending. The 30th was spent in getting ready by both parties to the -battle. - -And early on the morrow we took our position on Swain's hill in support -of Cobb's and the Washington artillery. From my vantage position I could -see more plainly the Confederate lines than the Federal, because the -Confederates were on a direct line extending Southward, while the -Federals were obliquely to the front and partially obscured by an -intervening cedar glade and in the afternoon the Confederates swung like -a great gate on their pivotal position, while just behind and to the -left of this was the enemy's strong point of resistance, to which he had -finally been driven. The smoke from the guns of the long lines of -infantry, as they moved forward to the attack and the counter stroke -from the enemy's resisting columns, the dashing to and fro, up and down -the lines and over the field by officers, orderlies, aides and couriers, -carrying orders and dispatches, with here and there a battery belching -forth shot and shell was a sight wonderful to behold and never to be -forgotten. The most thrilling incident to that view was early in the day -when a body of cavalry, supposed to be "Dragoons," swung into line from -behind the cedar glade with drawn sabers, gleaming and waving in the -crisp chill sunlit air, dashed down over the open fields in a grand -charge upon the Confederate infantry, whose movements a few moments -before convinced me of this approaching cavalry charge. - -We had been instructed by Buckner, Monroe and others on the drill field -in the formation of the "hollow square" to resist the charge of cavalry -and when I saw these regiments doubling column at half distance I knew -what was coming. To see the field officers on horseback rushing within -the squares as they closed and the front rank kneeling, all with fixed -bayonets glittering in the frosty sunlight, and these oncoming charges -with waving sabers and glittering helmets was a sight unsurpassed by -anything I witnessed during the war. The nearest approaching it was by -Sherman's charge at Resaca. As soon as the squares were formed the -artillery in the rear opened fire through these intervening spaces made -by the formation of the square, whereupon artillery and infantry -combined swept the field and the charging column turned in confusion and -route, skurrying helter skelter back over the field, leaving numbers of -men horseless. - -Soon the "Rebel yell" down the line told us that things were going our -way and looking we could see our friends moving forward like a mighty -serpent drawing his coils. - -While this was transpiring on the left a battery in our front on the -opposite side of the river was industriously employed in shelling Cobb's -and Slocum's batteries stationed on Swain's hill, and whose business for -the time it was the Orphans to support. When I saw this cavalry charge, -to which I have referred, the thought instantly and involuntarily came -to my mind of the repeated attacks of Napoleon's cavalry on the squares -of Wellington's infantry at Waterloo. The sight was so thrilling that I -hoped they would repeat it. But how foolish, I thought this was, in this -body of cavalry attempting to ride down regiments of veteran infantry. -Their officers must surely have thought that they could reach the -Confederate line before they could complete this formation. If so, they -paid dearly for their mistake. - -The battle progressed steadily and satisfactorily to the Confederates -until about four o'clock, when they, in the language of the "bum," "run -against a snag." Woods' and Sheridan's divisions, with other of -Rosecrans' forces had concentrated upon his extreme left, which was his -strongest position for a final and last stand. The conflict here was -desperate and bloody, neither party seeming to have much the advantage. - -The National cemetery now occupies this identical ground and in which -there are more than 6,000 Federal soldiers buried. A beautiful and fit -place for the remains of these brave Western soldiers to rest, for here -upon this field was displayed a courage that all men must admire. - -Both armies slept that night upon the field with the greater part of the -field in possession of the Confederates and the advantages and results -of the day almost wholly in their favor. - -The Orphans spent the night in the rear of and among the artillery they -had been supporting. When morning came we found that the enemy was still -in our front instead of on the road to Nashville as Bragg believed. Both -parties seemed willing that a truce should prevail for the day and -scarcely a shot was heard. Bragg believed that Rosecrans' army was -"demolished" and would surely retreat to his base (Nashville), and so -informed President Davis. - -But old "Rosy" had something else in his mind. He was planning and -scheming and matured a plan for a trap and Bragg walked right into it -with the innocence of a lamb and the ignorance of a man that had never -known anything of the art of war, and the butchery of the next day -followed as a result of his obstinacy and the lack of military skill. -Had he listened to the protestations of General Breckinridge and his -officers he might have saved for the time being his military reputation -and the lives of several hundred brave and noble men. - -The recounting of the steps that led up to this ill-conceived and fatal -denouement and the efforts by General Breckinridge to prevent its -consummation, by one while not high in rank, but who claims to know -something of the facts in the case, may not go amiss even at this late -day. - -Early on the morning of January 2, Captain Bramblett, commanding Company -H, Fourth Kentucky, and who had served with General Breckinridge in -Mexico, received orders from him (Breckinridge), to make a thorough -reconnaissance of the enemy's position, Company H being at that time on -the skirmish line. Captain Bramblett with two of his lieutenants, myself -one of them, crawled through the weeds a distance of several hundred -yards to a prominent point of observation from which through his field -glass and even the naked eye we could see the enemy's concentrated -forces near and above the lower ford on the opposite side of the river, -his artillery being thrown forward and nearest to the river. His -artillery appeared to be close together and covering quite a space of -ground; we could not tell how many guns, but there was quite a number. -The infantry was seemingly in large force and extended farther down -toward the ford. Captain Bramblett was a man of no mean order of -military genius and information, and after looking at, and studying the -situation in silence for some minutes, he said to us boys, "that he -believed Rosecrans was setting a trap for Bragg." Continuing, he said, -"If he means to attack us on this side, why does he not reinforce on -this side? Why concentrate so much artillery on the bluff yonder? He -must be expecting us to attack that force yonder, pointing to Beatty's -position on the hill North of us, and if we do, he will use that -artillery on us as we move to the attack." At another time during the -afternoon I heard him while discussing the situation with other officers -of the regiment use substantially the same argument. I accompanied -Captain Bramblett to General Breckinridge's headquarters and heard him -make substantially in detail a report containing the facts above -recited. Captain Tom Steele was ordered (his company having relieved -ours) on the skirmish line to make a reconnaissance also, and made a -similar report, and lastly General Breckinridge, to thoroughly and -unmistakably understand the situation and satisfy himself, in company -with one or two of his staff examined the situation as best he could and -I presume reached the same conclusion, and when he (Breckinridge) -repaired to Bragg's headquarters and vouchsafed this information and -suggested the presumptive plan of the enemy, Bragg said: "Sir, my -information is different. I have given the order to attack the enemy in -your front and expect it to be obeyed." - -What was General Breckinridge to do but attempt to carry out his orders, -though in carrying out this unwise and ill-conceived order it should -cost in one hour and ten minutes 1,700 of as brave and chivalrous -soldiers as the world ever saw. What a terrible blunder, what a bloody -and useless sacrifice! And all because General Breckinridge had resented -the imputation that the cause of the failure of Bragg's Kentucky -campaign was the "disloyalty of her people to the Confederate cause." -Could anyone of the thousands of Kentuckians that espoused the cause of -the South, complacently acquiesce in this erroneous charge and endorse -the spirit that prompted this order and led to the slaughter of so many -of her noble boys? This was the view that many of us took of Bragg's -course. - -How was this wicked and useless sacrifice brought about? "That -subordinate must always obey his superior"--is the military law. In -furtherance of Bragg's order we were assembled about three o'clock on -the afternoon of January 2, 1863 (Friday, a day of ill luck) in a line -North of and to the right of Swain's hill, confronting Beatty's and -Growes' brigades, with a battery or two of artillery as support. They -being intended for the bait that had been thrown across the river at the -lower ford, and now occupied an eminence some three-quarters of a mile -to the right-front of the Orphan's position on Swain's hill. - -This was the force, small as it was that Bragg was so anxious to -dislodge. Between the attacking line and federal position was a -considerable scope of open ground, fields and pastures, with here and -there a clump of bushes or briars, but the entire space was in full view -of and covered by the enemy's batteries to the left of the line on the -opposite side of the river previously referred to. If the reader will -only carry these positions in his eye, he can readily discover the jaws -of the trap in this murderous scheme. - -A more imposing and thoroughly disciplined line of soldiers never moved -to the attack of an enemy than responded to the signal gun stationed -immediately in our rear, which was fired exactly at four o'clock. Every -man vieing with his fellowman, in steadiness of step and correct -alignment, with the officers giving low and cautionary commands, many -knowing that it was their last hour on earth, but without hesitating -moved forward to their inevitable doom and defeat. We had gotten only -fairly started, when the great jaws of the trap on the bluff from the -opposite side of the river were sprung, and bursting shells that -completely drowned the voice of man were plunging and tearing through -our columns, ploughing up the earth at our feet in front and behind, -everywhere. But with steadiness of step we moved on. Two companies of -the Fourth regiment, my own and adjoining company, encountered a pond, -and with a dexterous movement known to the skilled officer and soldier -was cleared in a manner that was perfectly charming, obliquing to the -right and left into line as soon as passed. - -By reason of the shorter line held by the enemy, our line, which was -much longer and the colors of each of our battalions being directed -against this shorter line, caused our lines to interlap, making it -necessary, in order to prevent confusion and crowding, that some of the -regiments halt, until the others had passed forward out of the way. When -thus halted they would lie down in order to shield themselves from the -enemy infantry fire in front, who had by this time opened a lively -fusillade from behind their temporary works. - -While lying on the ground momentarily a very shocking and disastrous -occurrence took place in Company E, immediately on my left and within a -few feet of where I lay. A shell exploded right in the middle of the -company, almost literally tearing it to pieces. When I recovered from -the shock the sight I witnessed was appalling. Some eighteen or twenty -men hurled in every direction, including my dear friend, Lieut. George -Burnley of Frankfort. But these circumstances were occurring every -minute now while the battle was raging all around and about us. Men -moved intuitively--the voice being silenced by the whizzing and bursting -shells. On we moved, Beatty's and Growes' lines giving way seemingly to -allow the jaws of the trap to press with more and ever increasing vigor -upon its unfortunate and discomfited victims. But, on we moved, until -the survivors of the decoy had passed the river and over the lines -stationed on the other side of the river, when their new line of -infantry opened on our confused and disordered columns another -destructive and ruinous fire. - -Coupled with this condition and correlative to it, a battery of Growes -and a part of their infantry had been cut off from the ford and seeing -our confused condition, rallied, reformed and opened fire on our -advanced right now along the river bank. Confronted in front by their -infantry, with the river intervening; swept by their artillery from the -left and now attacked by both infantry and artillery by an oblique fire -from the right, we found ourselves in a helpless condition, from which -it looked like an impossibility to escape; and but for the fact that two -or three batteries had been ordered into position to check the -threatened advance of the enemy and thereby distract their attention, we -doubtless would have fared still worse. - -We rallied some distance to the right of where we started and found that -many, very many, of our noblest, truest and best had fallen. Some of -them were left on the field, among whom was my military preceptor, -adviser and dear friend, Captain Bramblett, who fell into the hands of -the enemy and who died a few days after in Nashville. I shall never -forget our parting, a moment or two before, he received his wound--never -forget the last quick glance and the circumstances that called it -forth. He was a splendid soldier and his loss grieved me very much. Many -another gallant Kentuckian, some of our finest line and field officers, -were left on the field, a sacrifice to stupidity and revenge. -Thirty-seven per cent in one hour and ten minutes--some say one -hour--was the frightful summary. Among the first of these was the -gallant and illustrious Hanson, whose coolness and bearing was -unsurpassed and whose loss was irreparable. He with Breckinridge, -understood and was fully sensible of--as indicated by the very -seriousness of his countenance--the unwisdom of this move and as shown -in their protest to Bragg. What a pity that a strict observance of -military rule compelled it to be obeyed against his mature military mind -and judgment, causing the loss of such a magnificent soldier and -gentleman--uselessly and foolishly. - -Contemplating this awful sacrifice, as he rode by the dead and dying in -the rear of our lines, General Breckinridge, with tears falling from his -eyes, was heard to say in tones of anguish, "My poor Orphans! My poor -Orphans!" little thinking that he was dedicating to them a name that -will live throughout the annals of time and crown the history of that -dear little band with everlasting immortality. - -I have tried to give you above a description from memory's tablet--of -the battle of Murfreesboro, and I shall now relate some of my -observations made on my recent visit together with further references, -to the events that transpired on that eventful field--the study of which -is of almost overwhelming interest. - - -A VISIT TO MURFREESBORO IN 1912. - -Here, as elsewhere and on other fields, the view is especially and -particularly interesting, because of the country being more level and -more open with the view much less obstructed. It was worth a half dozen -years to live over, in reminiscence, this week of intense excitement, -interest and danger. And here too, as at Chickamauga, memory refused to -be satisfied, and I find myself wishing I could see it again. I feel -that I could never tire looking at the different aspects of the view and -studying the tragic scenes as they transpired on this eventful closing -of this eventful year of 1862, and the no less eventful opening of the -year 1863. To those who lived in this historic decade and participated -in these events of bygone years are of intense and ever thrilling -interest, but few realize that these things happened a half century ago. - -Here as elsewhere events came back to me and I had but little or no -difficulty in locating the leading and many of the minor places of -interest. - -The immediate vicinity of our long encampment is changed considerably by -houses being erected nearby and on the ground where our camps stood, but -the big spring house, however, still does duty as of yore. The place on -the Shelbyville turnpike where we held guard mount and review is much -changed. So also are the grounds on the East side of the city where we -held brigade and division drill, it now being "built up." But one of the -leading landmarks of the town and of special interest to the Orphans and -other Kentuckians is still intact and but little changed in appearance -but now used for a different purpose. I refer to the Judge Ready -residence where General Morgan captured his grand prize. There is not an -old Orphan now living, that does not remember how he used to primp for -the march by this house, and how proudly he stepped and with what -perfect mien he marched to Billy McQuown's best pieces, all to have the -privilege of "showing off," and having the opportunity for a sly glance -at the beautiful Queen sisters standing on the upper veranda. You know, -old boys, just how this was, don't you? - -But my mind is taking me back to the battlefield where the things of -real excitement were transpiring, where "the pride, pomp and -circumstances of glorious war are to be found." - -Starting out in company with Rev. Everett Smith, we took the Nashville -pike crossing the river at the same place we crossed when on the retreat -from Bowling Green to Shiloh in February, 1862, and where I had crossed -several times while encamped later, near the town and over and beyond -which I saw the celebrated cavalry charge and the victorious columns of -the Confederates move on December 31. My mind was so completely occupied -and crowded that I scarcely knew what to do or say. I know I must have -been a study, to my young friend for a time at least. - -I could see again in imagination the smoke and red fire and could hear -the crackling flames as they leaped high in air of the famous "Cowan" -house as we rode by. I imagined as we rode on that I could hear the -yells and shouts of the contending lines as they surged forward and -across the turnpike to the famous cut in the railroad, where Wood and -Sheridan saved the day to the Federals against the last grand charge of -Cleburne, Preston and Pillow of the Confederates. - -As before stated here is a fitting place for the six thousand Federals -who rest here. Here at the cemetery, I was introduced to Captain Thomas, -the officer in charge, who was exceedingly polite and courteous and whom -I found by conversing with, that I had faced at Shiloh and who had the -most perfect recollection of many of the chief points and incidents of -that battle. I regretted very much that I could not spend more time with -him, as he impressed me as being a man after my own heart. But my young -friend and myself had promised to be back at the dinner hour and I was -therefore, compelled to close my interview. - -I spent the afternoon in glancing over town and meeting and conversing -with old soldiers and others whom I found interested in my mission, and -willing and anxious to give me any information I desired. - -I met and arranged with Captain Mitchell, who now owns a part of the -field over which the celebrated charge of Breckinridge was made, to go -out with me next morning and in company with him and a young friend, W. -H. Hohgatt, of Pittsburgh, Pa. We started early, going over the same -road, crossing the same bridge, as the day before to a point near the -cemetery where the road to McFadden's ford leaves the turnpike and runs -North by the bluff, the famous bluff where Rosecrans' fifty-eight pieces -of artillery were stationed that wrought such dreadful havoc upon -Breckinridge's men as they moved across the fields to attack Beatty and -Growes (the decoy) on the other side of the river, here we crossed the -river at the lower ford, so famous in history but which is properly -known as McFadden's. Here we "tied up" and in company with my companions -we took to the fields and woods, which latter exist now in fancy only. -Up the gradual slope we go to the crest of the ridge (now a cotton -patch) to where Beatty and Growes were stationed, swinging around as we -go to the point overlooking the river on which stood the massive oaks -where the Sixth Kentucky, led by that incarnate demon of war, "Old Joe" -Lewis, with flashing sword and blazing eyes, more terrible than the eyes -of a raging lion and who impressed me as I was never impressed before or -since, with the devil in human form. He presented a picture at that time -I shall never forget. It is as grimly and immovably fixed in my mind as -the sun and the stars and I become enthusiastic whenever I think of him -and the incident. Now we move along the crest Northward to the point -where the Fourth Kentucky struck Beatty's line. Looking East and South -towards the Lebanon pike, we can see the vicinity where we started in -the charge about midway between the crest and the pike. Turning around -we can look down the North slope of the ridge and over which we pressed -Beatty and the right of Growes' brigade to McFadden's ford, dropping -into, as we move down the narrow sag or depression that leads from the -top of the hill straight to the ford and which furnished the only -protection from the murderous fire of the fifty-eight guns massed on -the bluff. Out of this depression, going or coming, we were exposed to -this dreadful and incessant fire. Opposite to and some forty yards from -this ford is the picket fence where we were compelled to halt and which -is so well remembered by many of the Orphans. - -The Federals passed around the end of this fence, they being acquainted -with the situation, but we struck it square and were compelled to halt. -Just outside and along this picketing were piled the enemy's drums and -upon which the minnie balls from their new and supporting line on the -opposite side of the river were beating a funeral dirge for many of our -dear boys who were here compelled to halt and die to no purpose -whatever. I walked along this picket fence, which looks just as it did -then, but of course has been rebuilt, and over the very ground on which -my dear Captain Bramblett fell and with whom I exchanged glances a -moment before. To give expression to my feelings as I contemplated this -last glance, this look in life at my dear friend and leader is -impossible and I turn away with sickened heart from the fatal spot and -retrace my steps over the field to the rallying point, every step of the -way marked by exploding shells and flying shot from the enemy's battery -of fifty-eight guns which seemed determined to show no mercy at all. - -Lest some one may say I am magnifying this story of the "battery on the -bluff" I will quote here verbatim from the tablet on the twenty-foot -granite monument which marks the place occupied by these guns to mark -the place from which the death-dealing shot and shell were hurled that -resulted in the death of so many of Kentucky's noble and brave boys. - -I understand this monument was erected by the president of one of the -great railway systems, the N. C. & St. L., who had participated in the -famous charge. It is the most interesting and historic point of all the -very interesting points of this eventful field. It was with awe and -overpowering wonder and feeling that I indulged the scenes of fifty -years ago, enacted on this spot. Here the very earth trembled beneath -the thunderings of these fifty-eight cannon, sending death and -destruction into the ranks of us poor unfortunate Confederates. - -The tablet upon this monument reads as follows: - -"On January 2, 1863, at three p. m., there were stationed on this hill, -fifty-eight cannon commanding the field across the river and as the -Confederates advanced over this field the shot and shell from these guns -resulted in a loss of 1,800 killed and wounded in less than one hour." - -What a harvest of death in so short a time was wrought by shot and -shell! The most of whose victims were mutilated and lacerated beyond -recognition or description. Had the earth been torn by an earthquake the -scene would not have been more terrible and hideously appalling. - -On a board marker, near by, in faded letters is this indefinite -inscription: - -"Col. S. Mat----, Third Division 14th A. C. Fed----, Col. S. W. Price -commanding. Holding Lower Ford, Dec. 31, 1862." - -This evidently refers to the battery that played upon Cobb and Slocum on -Swain's Hill. - -It would seem from these last words of this poster that the Federals -were afraid on the first day's fight that the Confederates would attempt -to turn their left by crossing at this ford, hence the placing of this -battery here. Bragg, it seems, had no such thought, and, however, it was -stationed in our immediate front, West from Swain's Hill and as the -battle progressed on the plain South of the railroad and turnpike it -played upon Cobb and Slocum with increasing vigor and spirit. As before -stated, the Orphans were stationed at this time in support to these -batteries, and it was from this point that I witnessed the thrilling -sights on the West side of the river. - -In company with my new-made genial and accommodating friend, W. G. -Beatty, whose father owned the land on which the battle of the 2nd was -fought, I visited Swain's Hill, which is evidently a mistaken name for -the place, no one with whom I conversed, old or young, knew it by that -name. I found on the hill, which I very readily recognized from the -distance, the old entrenchments intact, save from the leveling effects -of time, and on which an occasional locust sapling is growing with quite -a thicket of the same in the immediate front. But from the left of this -line of works and where I was stationed on the 31st the view overlooking -the railroad, turnpike and plain is perfectly clear. From here I looked, -studied and wondered. Why should I not linger and contemplate? Never -until the great day of judgment do I ever expect to witness such a -thrilling and awe-inspiring scene as I here witnessed on that eventful -day of December 31, 1862. - -Beatty contemplated me with interest, if not astonishment. So intensely -interesting were these scenes and recollections I was almost tempted to -spend another day contemplating and reviewing them. But we returned to -the city at night to attend a church affair at the instance and -invitation of my young friend from Bourbon, Rev. Everett Smith, whose -guest I had been while here. - -I tried hard to forget and partially succeeded in forgetting the -thoughts and reminiscences the day had suggested--in the presence of so -many charming ladies and gallant gentlemen of Brother Smith's -congregation and the additional enjoyment of the ice cream, cakes and -strawberries, my appetite of fifty years ago suddenly returning to -remind me of the difference twixt now and then. - -Next morning my friend Beatty was on hand early with his automobile and -speeded me over the city which I am frank to say is one of the most -beautiful little cities I ever saw. I was charmed by the old time warmth -and hospitality of its people and the greeting given me and I shall -remember them as among the happiest of my life. And if I were young once -more, I would be almost tempted to cast my lot with these good people -in this good country, both of which are the next best to Kentucky. - -I must not forget to remind the old Orphans and others who may read this -paper that after considerable inquiry I was able to find the old Haynes -home, in which General Hanson died, and which is now occupied by Hon. -Jesse C. Beasley, the present Democratic nominee for Congress in this -district. I was shown through the house by his good little wife who -although taken somewhat by surprise at my sudden and unexpected visit, -but who courteously invited me to examine and inspect until fully -satisfied. I stood in the room in which he died almost dumfounded with -emotion. Here, in the presence of his heart-broken wife, and sorrowing -friends his life gradually ebbed away and took its flight to the realms -above. - -I was reminded to tread lightly and speak softly on this solemn -occasion, for here, passed away into the Great Beyond one of Kentucky's -grandest and greatest noblemen. - -I attended that afternoon, in company with Captain Baird, Beatty and -others, the anniversary decoration of the Confederate graves and -listened to a fine oration and the delightful rendering of several -appropriate songs by the Murfreesboro quartette. When they sang "My Old -Kentucky Home," I hugged tightly, the tree against which I leaned and -fear I betrayed a weakness for which I am not altogether ashamed, for -what Kentuckian that lives, especially when away from home, whose soul -is not moved, when he hears the sweet strains of this touching and soul -inspiring song. How can he, when thus reminded of his old Kentucky home, -keep from exclaiming (in mind at least) in the language of the poet: - - - "Lives there a man (Kentuckian) with soul so dead, - Who to himself hath not said, this is my own, my native land." - - -Before closing this chapter I must not fail to say that I found on this -trip a manifestation of the same liberal hospitable and magnanimous -spirit, that has ever characterized this noble and self-sacrificing -people. To the good women of the South I owe my life; to them I bow and -acknowledge obeisance as the truest, purest, sweetest and best of all -God's creatures. - -No sacrifice, that mortal man could make is, too great a recompense for -the love and devotion of these dear women who sacrificed, wept and -suffered during the four long years of midnight darkness. They are the -angels of the earth today; to them, as such I uncover my head and I hail -them. - -Finally I wish to acknowledge my thanks to Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Ivie, at -whose home I was the guest of my friend, Rev. Smith and his charming -little wife. To Editor Williams, W. G. Beatty, Captains Baird and -Mitchell, Dr. Campbell and others, I am indebted for many courtesies and -favors. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. - - -BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA--1863. - -I am now attempting to write from this Lookout Mountain, one of the most -picturesque as well as interesting places on the American continent. -Near by and round about here some of the greatest episodes in the -world's history transpired near the close of that eventful year, 1863. - -Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, where the lives of -sixty-five thousand Americans were either destroyed or more or less -wrecked. - -A feeling of philosophy and awe prompts me to ask why all this great -sacrifice of human life, misery and suffering? - -Was the Great God that made man now looking on this awful scene of -carnage and woe again repenting that He had made wicked, rebellious and -murderous man; or was it a part of His omnipotent plan for man's -inherent folly and wickedness driving him to destroy his fellowman? - -Whatever it was it seems to have been accomplished here amid these -towering mountains. - -But so it was and I, one insignificant actor in the grand drama, am -still permitted to live and recount some of the thrilling scenes as they -were enacted. It is beyond my power to describe minutely and correctly -all the thrilling sights that I witnessed on this eventful occasion -(Battle of Chickamauga) and I shall refer to those only that concern -myself and my Kentucky comrades, unless incidentally it shall appear -necessary to my story. - -I will, therefore, not attempt to note the maneuvering, the marching and -counter-marching, back and forth, up and down the Chickamauga Valley, -in and about Rossville and Crawfish Springs and their vicinity; all of -which, at that time, seemed to me was but the waving of the red flag in -the face of Rosecrans in "_I dare you to come out_" spirit on the part -of Bragg. - -Whatever motives, schemes and strategy it contained we all knew, rank -and file, field and staff, that we were on the eve of momentous events. -We all knew that here the question of "Greek meeting Greek" would soon -again be tested and two of the mightiest armies of modern times would be -locked in mortal combat. We had not long to wait for on the morning of -the nineteenth (September, 1863) an occasional boom, boom, away to the -right and front told us of the coming storm that was about to break over -and sweep Chickamauga Valley with a mighty avalanche of thunder and -horror that shook the very earth itself. Slowly but steadily the roar of -artillery increased and by the middle of the afternoon became almost -incessant. - -Longstreet's Virginians had come out to show the Western army how to -fight and they were now learning that Rosecrans' Western veterans could -give instructions in the art of war as well as they and that they were -not facing the aliens and wage soldiers that constituted a large part of -the Army of the Potomac. They also found, as the battle progressed, that -the Western army of the South knew as well and were as willing to "stand -up Johnnie" and give and take blow for blow as they. The evening wore on -and occasional reports from the front brought news that the Confederates -were holding their own and a little better. - -Meantime the "Orphans" were on the move toward the front and facing the -enemy's moving column on the Chattanooga road, which led to Rossville -and near Glass' Mill, at which place the artillery of Breckinridge's -division, commanded by the gallant Major Graves, engaged the enemies in -one of the fiercest artillery duels it was my pleasure to witness -during the war. I say pleasure advisedly, for it was a magnificent sight -to see from where I was stationed Graves moving among his men and -directing their every action, which was done with an admirable celerity -and precision that was perfectly charming. I must here do Graves the -honor to say that he was the most perfect military man I ever saw. But -this was but the prelude to the play of the morrow; both parties seeming -(after a half hour's engagement) to say we will settle tomorrow. "Sunday -is a better day." - -Shifting our position to Lee and Gordon's Mill, further down the -Chickamauga, in the afternoon, we here awaited developments and that -night made a long detour and crossed at Alexander's Bridge, several -miles down the river. Next morning we found ourselves on the extreme -right of the dividing line of the stage of action marked out by the -respective commanders for the grand tragedy that day to be enacted upon -the stage of war. Early, very early the Fourth Kentucky Skirmishers (and -I here glory in the fact) had the honor of firing the first shots in the -opening that day of the greatest battle ever fought on the American -continent, if not the greatest in modern times. This assertion may be -called in question by critics, but if I mistake not there were more men -killed and wounded at Chickamauga than in any other engagement of the -war. - -Here the old and somewhat sacrilegious saying of "Hell broke loose in -Georgia" was fully and forcefully emphasized by the almost continuous -thundering of 200 cannons that made the very earth tremble, besides the -constant rattle of musketry and the shouts of more than a hundred -thousand struggling combatants determined on each other's destruction. -Americans all, and all for what? That a God-made inferior race might -occupy the same plane with the superior was the object of one, while -that right was disputed by the other. But I fear I may be digressing -somewhat from the original purpose in these chapters. Still these -thoughts are hard to suppress. Reviewing the incidents of the great -battle and the part played by Kentucky Confederates I return to the -skirmish line of the Fourth Kentucky, which covered the front of the -Orphan Brigade and which was commanded by Col. Joe Nuckols, who was -wounded at the very outset of the engagement and compelled to leave the -field. - -The writer was the subject at this particular time and place of the most -ridiculous and practical joke of his entire war experience, but which -(thanks to the Bill of Rights) he is not here compelled to relate. This -was the beginning of that chapter in the history of the Orphan Brigade, -which took the lives and blood of so many noble Kentuckians to write. In -the first and desperate onset, led by the noble and intrepid Helm, whose -name is a household word with almost all Kentuckians, fell here, -together with Graves, Hewitt, Dedman, Daniel, Madeira and other officers -of the line, and many splendid men of the Second and Ninth Regiments, -who paid with their lives tribute to Mars and added to Kentucky's old -traditional glory and renown. - -Three regiments on the right, Fourth, Sixth and Forty-First Alabama, -swept everything before them--the enemy being in the open field. But the -Second and Ninth encountered the enemies' breastworks and were repulsed -with terrible slaughter. Here was where the officers just mentioned fell -in one of the most desperate struggles of the day. Here "Pap Thomas'" -veterans took advantage of their works and exacted deep and merciless -toll. More than once during the day was this position assailed by other -bodies of Confederates with similar results. About the middle of the -afternoon the assembling of Cheatham's and Walker's division in -conjunction with Breckinridge warned us that the fatal moment had -arrived and the hour of desperation was at hand. - -The old veteran needs no one to tell him when a crisis is approaching, -he instinctively and otherwise comprehends the meaning of these -movements and nerves himself for the desperate work before him. His -countenance would convince the stoic of what his mind contained, in -modern parlance he "understands the game." When the signal gun was fired -we knew its meaning, so also did the enemy. Then three lines in solid -phalanx, desperate and determined men, moved forward on the Federal -stronghold to be met by a withering and blighting fire from the enemy -behind their works. But so furious and desperate was the onslaught that -Thomas' veterans, who had withstood all previous attempts to dislodge -them, could no longer face the line of gleaming bayonets of the -Confederates as they leaped over the breastworks the Federals had so -successfully defended up to that hour. - -Some surrendered, others made their escape and still others met their -doom--many, not hearing the shouts of the victorious Confederates as -they rushed over and among them. - -This was the culmination of the struggle. Similar movements with similar -results were taking place simultaneously all along the line, closing the -most stupendous struggle of the war. But at this particular point and at -Snodgrass Hill, where the Fifth Kentucky contributed additional and -unsurpassed glory to Kentucky's part in the great battle, were the keys -to Rosecrans' position, and here the fighting was the hardest and the -losses heaviest. - -In the first charge in the morning where the right of the brigade was so -successful, we captured a section of the enemy's artillery. The writer -seized the trunnion of one of the guns and with assistance turned it on -them while the other was turned by others of our men; but we could find -no ammunition to fire them and were deprived of the anticipated glory of -firing on the enemy as they fled from the field. I wish here, and in my -feeble way, to lift my hat to do honor to the gallantry of the captain -commanding that battery (who I learned was from Indiana) as doing the -most daring and chivalrous act I ever saw performed by an enemy during -my entire war experience. Both his lieutenants and a number of his men -having been killed before he abandoned his guns, which were in a battery -just on the West side of the Chickamauga road and in the face of us -Confederates, who had reached the East side of the road, he dashed into -the road and past us, lifting his hat and waving us a salute that would -have put to shame a Chesterfield or a Prince Rupert. The act was almost -paralyzing and not a man of the fifty or more who fired at him point -blank touched him or his horse. If there is such a thing as a charmed -life, this captain must have possessed it on that occasion. If living I -would gladly travel miles to shake his hand. - -Our next move was to unite our separated line which we did by retiring -later on to the point from where we started. - -During the occasional lulls in the musketry firing the artillery from -left to right and especially on the left about Snodgrass Hill, was -thundering defiance and sending death into each other's ranks that -seemingly made old earth shake from center to circumference, set the -birds to flight, caused reptiles, lizzards and all manner of wild -animals to flee from the wrath of murderous man, among which was a -cotton-tail deer that was seen by some of the men running in a -bewildered and dazed manner in the rear of the contending lines, not -knowing which way to flee or what it all meant. - -The enemy routed, the conflict ceased--about dark--with the Orphans -(those left) on the West side of the Chickamauga road, some of the men -playfully astride the enemy's guns--several in number--that had been -abandoned at this point, others prostrate on the ground resting and -recounting incidents of the day, ALL glad enough that it was over. - -Here General Buckner rode up, he having come over from the left where -his artillery and division of infantry had done such splendid work and -who was greeted with a cheer from the surviving Orphans that must have -done his soul good and which he acknowledged with a smile, lifting his -hat gracefully in acknowledgment of the greeting. - -What next! We all expected that we would follow immediately without an -hour's delay on the heels of the retreating and discomfited Federals and -overtake and completely route and possibly capture them before they -could get settled behind their fortifications around Chattanooga. But -here the fatal mistake of Beauregard at Shiloh (and for which Bragg -censured him) was duplicated by Bragg himself. - -Back to the field among the boys where we spent the night among the dead -and wounded; and awaiting orders from Bragg, who was spending his time -in sending congratulations to President Davis while Rosecrans was busy -preparing to receive and entertain him from his fortifications around -Chattanooga. - -The writer having learned that we would likely spend the day on the -field resting--"_resting_" (I toss my head in derision of the thought), -obtained permission to visit and inspect the field of battle, and in -company with one or two comrades started early next morning from the -extreme right, where we opened the battle, and traversed the entire -length of the field, a distance of seven miles or more. This was the -first time such an enviable opportunity had ever presented itself and I -seized it gladly, notwithstanding the many horrible and ghastly sights I -knew I would see. On every hand, in every direction, were evidences of -the desperate conflict of the preceding day. The forest trees splintered -and torn by the plunging shot and shell from the cannon's deadly throat, -dismantled caissons and artillery wheels, dead horses, guns, cartridge -boxes, bayonets and almost every kind of war paraphernalia imaginable -were strewn promiscuously over the field. Trees and saplings, not larger -than a man's body to a height of six or eight feet, contained from a -dozen to as high as sixty rifle balls. But worst of all with upturned -faces and glaring eyes, torn and mangled bodies of not less than four -thousand dead men on the field and at the hospitals. At the latter, -especially at the Snodgrass place, there were acres covered with wounded -and many dead. Here I witnessed the most appalling sight my eyes ever -beheld, a description from which I shudder and shrink at this distant -day, and which is too terrible for delicate and sensitive natures to -ponder; and which involuntarily reminds me of Sherman's saying again. -The citizens of today will doubtless wonder how any man could escape -such a rain of shot and shell, but by the old soldier it is readily -understood. While ninety per cent of these shots were being fired the -men were lying flat on their faces and were overshooting each other when -suddenly one or the other would spring to his feet and with a bound and -a yell rush at a double-quick upon their foe, giving him time to fire -one or at most two rounds when his ranks would be broken and compelled -to retire. - -After seeing these appalling sights I retraced my steps and reached the -starting point about twilight to find that my command had been ordered -forward toward Chattanooga and the vicinity of Missionary Ridge, which -we reached next day to find Rosecrans occupying his fortifications and -redoubts ready to receive and entertain us. We were formed in line of -battle at or near the foot of Missionary Ridge and expected when the -formation was completed to be hurled against the forts and redoubts to -certain and inevitable destruction. - -Many expressions of evil and forebodings of disaster were indulged in -and anathemas were hurled at the commander without stint for holding us -back for this, the hour of our doom. Many farewells were being -exchanged, mingled with jeers and sarcasm, all knowing and understanding -fully the gravity of the situation. It was an hour of intense, of -dreadful suspense, which could only be felt and not described. - -But thanks to an allwise and merciful Providence which at the last -moment withheld the hand and changed the mind that commanded. But for -this change of mind he who writes this story would doubtless now be -"sleeping the sleep that knows no waking on fame's eternal camping -ground." When we were ordered to retire to Missionary Ridge many were -the longdrawn sighs of relief that we had escaped from this threatened -and, as we felt, certain doom. - - -THE WRITER'S VISIT TO CHICKAMAUGA--IN MAY, 1912. - -I have visited scenes of the great conflict twice, traversed the very -ground from the point where we formed line of battle and moved to the -charge against "Pap" Thomas' veterans and am still unsatisfied. Not that -the points of greatest interest have been lost to memory, but because -memory will not be satisfied. I can see in my mind the anxious look in -the faces of those brave Kentucky boys, as they stepped into line and -touched elbows in obedience to the commands "dress to the right; dress -to the left; steady, steady, men; quick step, forward, march!" - -Tell me I shall ever forget these commands or this hour! Never, while -"memory lasts and reason holds sway." - -From this very starting point I traced the ground over which we moved -(in 1863) taking the monument erected to the memory of General Helm as a -guide and allowing for the space of the two regiments to occupy the -right, coursing Westward, the exact direction we moved, crossing the -LaFayette road at or near the very point where the two pieces of -artillery were captured and previously referred to. The tablet here -tells me who my gallant captain of Indiana (Bridges) was and recites the -facts of the capture correctly. There, too, is the open field through -which the broken regiments of infantry were fleeing that I was so -anxious to assist with shots from their own battery. - -Here I must criticise a little at the risk of censure. I will do so by -quoting from memory, not literally, from Gen. Breckinridge's official -report saying, "That a strong supporting line at this moment, thrown on -Thomas' flank and rear, would have resulted in dislodging and -overthrowing Thomas early in the day." This was plain to line and field -officer alike. The opportunity was presented but not availed of; why, I -know not. - -The tablets here with their historic record briefly stamped in metal are -substantially correct. My version of the battle previously stated to the -guides while going out (I. P. Thoeford, an old Confederate) and S. P. -Black were so nearly identical that these men threw up their hands in -amazement when I read from the tablet. It was no trouble to convince -them that I had been there and knew something about the battle and the -positions of the troops on that part of the line. Here stands nearby the -Glenn House, some old log houses. Not far away is the Kentucky monument, -a fitting memorial to Kentuckians of both sides crowned with the Goddess -of Love and Peace. Northeast is the monument to that gallant, lovable -character, Ben Hardin Helm--my hand trembles as I write his name, for I -really believe he was one of the kindest-hearted and best men I ever -knew. Near this spot was where so many of the Second and Ninth fell, -some of whose names are already mentioned in this chapter on -Chickamauga. I could write much, very much, more of this very -interesting and historic field, but will not trespass further on your -time and space. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -MISSIONARY RIDGE. - - -KENTUCKY CONFEDERATE VISITS SCENES OF BATTLE AND SIEGE DURING CIVIL WAR. - -From here (Missionary Ridge) about the last of September the Orphans -were sent to Tyner Station as a base from which to guard the commissary -stores at Chickamauga Station, that place being the depot of supplies -for the army investing Chattanooga. - -But when it was seen that Grant, who had arrived and assumed command of -the Federal Army, was planning to move on our lines on Lookout and -Missionary Ridge, we were ordered back to our original position on the -Ridge, not far from Bragg's headquarters. From this point we could see -on the night of the 24th of November the flashes from the rifles of the -contending lines on Lookout, like so many fireflies on a hot July -evening. - -The extravagant talk about Hooker's "battle above the clouds" is a -misnomer, that has found its way into print, and for a long time filled -the papers and magazines and is nothing but a magnified myth -(unsupported by facts) that is absolutely incredible. At no time were -the contending forces more than half way up the mountain, and all the -glory arrogated by the Federals was achieved over a light line deployed -as skirmishers, composed of Alabamans. For a long time this twaddle was -absolutely and positively sickening. - -But I must return to my beloved Orphans. Next morning (25th) before -daylight we were ordered to the extreme right (Northern point of the -Ridge) as support to Cleburne's division, a man who was never known to -ask for support. This move was a complete waste of that important -element of strength at this critical and all-important time, for we, -the Orphans, rendered practically no service at all on that eventful -day. But here I conjecture and philosophize again. May be and perhaps it -was providential, for had we kept our place in the line between and -among Cobb's guns, "Lady Breckinridge," "Lady Buckner" and "Lady Helm," -and his other guns to which the Orphans were lovingly endeared, they -would never have been surrendered while a man was on his feet. Lucky -indeed for Sheridan and Wood that day that the Orphans were away from -home, and perhaps equally lucky for some, if not all, of us, for we had -sworn never to abandon this position while a man of us lived. - -This, in my mind, was the strongest natural position with one exception -(Rockyface Gap) ever held by the Confederate forces in the West, and its -abandonment was a disgrace to Confederate arms. Imagine our -mortification and deep chagrin when we learned that our -battery--Cobb's--with the endearing names inscribed thereon, had been -cowardly abandoned after we had successfully defended them at Shiloh, -Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Murfreesboro, Jackson, Chickamauga and other -places. It was enough to make an angel weep and justified the anathemas -hurled at the commander and the cowardly troops that were left to defend -them. The circumstance left a sting that never can be forgotten while an -Orphan survives. - -We never knew what had happened until about dark, when we were ordered -from our position toward Chickamauga Station. Then the truth took first -the form of conjecture, then misgiving and lastly the sad news that we -were to cover the retreat of the army. Then all was explained. - -The retreat that night was one of intense hardship and excitement, and -it was entrusted to the Orphan Brigade, with the help of Cleburne's -division, to protect the retreating army. We were in their grasp had -they only known it. Passing so near one of their pursuing columns we -could actually hear them talking and see them moving around the camp -fires they were kindling. To prevent being ambushed we threw out a -string of guards on both sides of the road, who moved along parallel -with the road and near it. Every moment we expected an attack. - -The feeling was one of intenseness and we were greatly relieved when at -last we became assured of our escape. - -Had the Federals only known it, they had our retreating column cut in -two and could have made a finish of the day's work and probably the -Confederacy as well. - -But they, too, as well as the Confederates, failed sometimes to grasp -their opportunities. One of the pleasant and enjoyable features of this -night's experience was the wading of Chickamauga River, waist deep, -which had a tendency to further exasperate us and cause the men to -express themselves in anything but Sunday school phrase and song. - -Next day was but little less exciting. The Federal advance was pressing -us with unusual vigor and compelled us to turn time and again from the -line of march and check their advance. It was fight and run until -Cleburne determined to, and did, put an end to it, ambushing them at -Ringgold Gap, where they paid for their persistence with the lives of -several hundred men. - -After this costly warning from Cleburne we were permitted to continue -our retreat unmolested and reached, the next day, that haven of rest, -Dalton, about which I have written in a subsequent chapter. - -I am making my chapter on Mission Ridge short because there is nothing -pertaining to it that is to the credit of the Confederate soldier as a -whole. Yet there were some commands of the army that did their duty well -and creditably. - -In looking at the tablets of many--in fact most of the Federal regiments -and brigades which contain a summary of their losses--I was struck with -amazement at the very light loss sustained in this memorable -engagement, so disgraceful to the Confederates. Some regiments losing -only one man killed and ten or twelve wounded, and no brigade, so far as -I noticed, lost more than thirteen men, which was an average of three to -the regiment. We had a single company, Company I, of the Fourth -Kentucky, that lost more men at Shiloh than a whole brigade here. - -When considering the great advantage of position held by them and the -insignificant losses inflicted upon the Federals, the losses but -emphasize the fact that the Confederates must have been badly rattled on -this summit and would no doubt have made a better fight from their -entrenchments at the base of the mountain bordering the valley, over -which the columns of Grant moved to the attack. - -But let us think and reason for the moment, and if possible find some -excuse for this miserable failure. It is well known to the expert -marksman and sportsman as well, that in shooting on a steep decline you -are much more apt to overshoot than when directing a shot horizontally -or upward. This was the case there on these steep mountain sides, which -furnishes the one excuse only for such bad marksmanship and the low per -cent of casualties just noticed. But notwithstanding this fact a much -more creditable record could have been made by rolling the huge boulders -that were abundant down upon the Federals, whose progress was, of -course, necessarily slow; and, lastly, when the enemy reached the summit -exhausted, what were their bayonets for and why did they not use them? -These are questions that suggest themselves to the mind of the writer at -this distant day, while looking at this natural and seeming impregnable -position. As stated before, the history on one part of the field would -have been differently written had not the Orphans been taken away from -their pets--"Lady Buckner," "Lady Breckinridge," "Lady Helm," "Lady -Hanson," "Lady Lyon" and others of their companions in war. A feeling -of chagrin creeps over me when I think of the surrender of these guns -with their endearing names and hitherto immortal history. - -But General Bragg, in his wisdom--no, his unwisdom--thought it best to -send us away from our idols and hazard them in the keeping of those who -betrayed their trust, and left us, like Rachael, weeping, because they -were lost and we "also refused to be comforted." - -I find almost innumerable tablets, markers and monuments placed here to -commemorate the deeds of valor here performed by the Federals; but I -find very few (which is well) to mark the Confederates and _their_ -deeds. But could I have my way every one of these would be removed and -in their stead I would place the Goddess of Liberty, weeping for shame -that her children had so dishonored their heritage. - -I have said that I would be brief, and choking back the feeling of -remorse and disgrace that this one incident in the history of the -Confederate soldier has fixed upon their otherwise brilliant and -incomparable record, I close by referring the reader to Murfreesboro. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -DALTON. - - -Who that spent the winter of '63-'64 at Dalton does not recall some -circumstance or incident to remind him of the dreary "winter of -discontent" spent in this mountain fastness of Northern Georgia? To many -of us it seemed like an age, but withal it was a season of much needed -rest and recuperation. Here in and around this little city flanked by -majestic mountains, pondering over the disasters of Lookout and -Missionary Ridge, we spent the time in comparative comfort and ease, -some planning in mind the future campaign and its outcome, others -indifferent as to the future and caring but little, willing to entrust -all to those at the helm, and making the most of circumstances and the -ever present, little thinking or caring for the great dangers and -hardships that awaited us. - -There was from the time we turned our faces Southward from Bowling Green -to the very close of the war an air of indifference, a "devil may care," -happy-go-lucky spirit, about these young Kentuckians that made them -ready to cheerfully undertake any enterprise, no matter how dangerous or -exacting the duty or perilous the undertaking. They had become so -accustomed to all these things, and so thoroughly inured to hardships, -that they felt themselves prepared for and rather coveted them, no -matter how great or trying. While here we enjoyed more liberty and -recreation than any time during or since the war began. Some of the men -were furloughed and enjoyed a few days of rest with relatives and -friends (if perchance they had any) in the South. The writer spent his -in gay old Richmond on the James, in company with General Lewis, Captain -McKendrie and other Kentuckians there assembled. All amused themselves -as best they could in camp and town. - -Drilling had been dispensed with--no need now for that, for in this we -were perfect. Dress parade, guard mount and review were about the only -exercises now required. A great sham battle broke the monotony once, and -a snowball battle at another time was a diversion indulged for one day. -A very pertinent question was often asked toward the close of the -winter--"Who would command in the next campaign?" When at last it was -given out that General Johnson would command, the spirits of the men -revived and hope was again renewed. While contemplating the future, news -came that the enemy were now moving Daltonward. We indulged the hope and -wondered whether Sherman would undertake to force the pass in Rockyface -Mountain through which the railroad and wagon road both ran. We thought -of Leonidas and his Spartans and hoped for an opportunity to imitate and -if possible to eclipse that immortal event at Thermopylae. But not so -the wily Sherman. That "old fox" was too cunning to be caught in that or -any other trap. - -We were ordered out to meet him and took position in the gap and on the -mountain, from which we could see extending for miles his grand -encampment of infantry and artillery, the stars and stripes floating -from every regimental brigade, division and corps headquarters and -presenting the greatest panorama I ever beheld. Softly and sweetly the -music from their bands as they played the national airs were wafted up -and over the summit of the mountain. Somehow, some way, in some -inexplicable and unseen manner, "Hail Columbia," "America" and "The Star -Spangled Banner" sounded sweeter than I had ever before heard them, and -filled my soul with feelings that I could not describe or forget. It -haunted me for days, but never shook my loyalty to the Stars and Bars or -relaxed my efforts in behalf of our cause. - -While thus arrayed in his grand encampment, his banners flying and bands -playing, a part of his force (McPherson's Corps), like a gladiator, was -rapidly and stealthily gliding over the plain West of the mountains to -seize Snake Creek and Dug Gaps and strike Johnson in the rear at Resaca. -But you know "the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley." We -arrived there first and gave him a hearty welcome, as described in my -chapter on Resaca. - -Dalton, like other towns and cities, has changed wonderfully in the days -since the war. From a quaint old mountain town of a half century ago to -the modern and thrifty little city of today, putting on airs like many -other towns. To me no landmarks are visible save the old stone -springhouse, near where General Lewis had his headquarters and Captain -Phillips, A. Q. M. of the Fourth, had his quartermaster store and where -his lovely little wife graced his "marquee" with the air and dignity of -the queen that she was. I walked over the ground on which the Fourth was -encamped and stood upon the very spot where Captain Hugh Henry's tent -was pitched, and in which we were often entertained by the Kentucky Glee -Club, which was composed of some of the finest talent in the army. While -it may not be altogether relevant to the purpose of these chapters, I -cannot refrain from referring to and mentioning the fact that the Fourth -Kentucky was admitted to have the finest band in the Western Army, led -by that accomplished and expert musician who (after the war) became a -teacher in the Boston Conservatory of Music--Billy McQuown. Many, many -times were we regaled by the music of our band and carried back to the -bosom of friends by the sweet strains of "My Old Kentucky Home" and -other familiar and inspiring airs played by this band. It is no -stranger, than it is true, that music exercises a wonderful and -inspiring influence over the soldier, making him forget the hardships, -trials and dangers to which he is almost constantly exposed, and troops -are never happier than when being entertained in this way, unless it be -at a full mess table. - -I have been reluctantly compelled to pass by Kennesaw and Pine -Mountains, both of which are places of much interest to surviving -Orphans. On the former we left several of our best officers and men. -Among the former was Major John Bird Rogers of the Fourth Kentucky -Regiment, and Lieutenant Bob Innis of the Second. Than the former there -was not a more capable and gallant officer identified with the history -of the Orphan Brigade as was also Lieutenant Innis. - -Pine Mountain, a lone sentinel of nature, was made sacredly historic by -the blood of the great preacher, General Bishop Polk. I saw the "grand -old man" as he, Generals Johnston and Bates and others rode by the -Orphans' position to the summit of the mountain to view and examine the -enemy's position in front, and could not but admire the graceful and -dignified bearing of the grand old man as he saluted in true military -style as he passed. I saw the smoke from and heard the thunder of -Simonson's guns as they sent the fatal shot that tore his body and ended -his earthly career. Sad and awful moment for the Confederacy! But we -have here presented one of the most noted and conspicuous characters in -America history. I stood on the very spot on which he fell not twenty -minutes after the sad occurrence--Burton's sharpshooters with their Kerr -rifles having driven Simonson and his gunners to cover. I believe the -sacred spot should have erected on it a monument commemorative of this -tragic incident and the life and character of this great man. It is -certainly a picturesque and interesting spot. - -But before I go I must tell of my visit to Rockyface Gap. Here is one of -the grand sentinels of nature--a lofty and stone-crowned mountain -towering above and looking contemplatively down upon his neighbors and -the low-bending valleys upon whose bosom Sherman pitched his grand and -imposing encampment in the make-believe that he was going South through -this impregnable pass held by Johnson. Next to Lookout it is the -grandest mountain in the Appalachian chain, and one well worthy of a -visit by the tourist lover of nature. I climbed to the top of it this -morning, going over the same identical path traveled by us while doing -picket and observation duty. Here we had the only human telegraph line I -ever saw, which was made by placing the operator (an officer) on the -summit to report the operations and movements of the enemy to the first -man in the line, he repeating it to the next in line and so on down the -mountain to its base where the general had his staff officers and -couriers to receive the message and report to him at his headquarters. -The scheme worked like a charm, notwithstanding its uniqueness. - -I was impelled to make this trip--although I felt when I reached the -summit I was about to collapse--to see the resting place of a noble and -brave old Orphan who was killed while on duty here--George Disney of -Company K, Fourth Kentucky--an account of whose singular death is noted -by Virginius Hutchings in the history of the Orphan Brigade. I learned -before going on this trip that the Boy Scouts of Dalton, under Captain -Sapp, county clerk, had only two days before gone up and placed a marble -headstone to the grave to take the place of the board that had so long -marked his resting place--a place that a monarch or king might envy, -hundreds of feet above common man. - -I wished while there, so high upward toward Heaven, that I could wield -the pen of a Gray or a Kipling, that I might do this subject of my -thoughts justice. The subject, the inspiration, was here, but language -to express it was lacking. Poor George! You have had one friend after -these long years to leave a tear of tribute to your memory. - -I cannot close without first thanking the good daughters of Dalton for -the compliment they paid me by really forcing upon me undeserved -attentions in a very fine lunch set before and out of time specially for -me just before taking the train at 11:50 a. m., and who I think had a -scheme to force me to make them a speech--it being Decoration Day--but I -slipped through their fingers and got away. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -VISIT TO RESACA--1912. - - -May 14th found us after a tiresome night's march at Resaca, from which -point I again write you. - -Here today and on the morrow was fought the first battle of magnitude in -the great hundred and twenty days' battle of the celebrated Georgia -campaign from Dalton to Atlanta. I say hundred and twenty days' battle, -which may seem a little far-fetched, but which is almost literally true, -for there was not a day or night, yes scarcely an hour, that we did not -hear the crack of a rifle or roar of a cannon. Their sounds were our -lullaby, sleeping or waking--to their music we slept, by their -thunderings we were awakened, and to the accompanying call of the bugle -we responded on the morning of May 14 to engage in the death grapple -with Sherman's well clothed, well fed and thoroughly rested veterans--a -matter "of Greek meeting Greek again." Sherman had pushed down the West -side of Rockyface Mountain and through Snake Creek Gap the day and night -before in an effort to cut Johnston's communications and take him in the -rear. But we had been doing some marching and digging, too, and when -Sherman's columns four or five deep debouched from their positions--a -long, heavily wooded ridge--into the narrow valley, on the East side of -which we had constructed rifle pits, he found us ready to receive his -gay and awe-inspiring columns, who moved in perfect step, with banners -flying and bands playing, as though he expected to charm us. - -The eagerness of our own men could scarcely be restrained until they had -reached the point to which our orders had been given, seventy-five to -eighty yards, when our lines opened almost simultaneously a deadly and -murderous fire from both infantry and double-shotted artillery, that -flesh and blood could not withstand. Retiring in disorder to their -original position in the woods, they rallied and reformed, while their -artillery was busy playing upon our batteries, from which they received -no response whatever, a mystery at the time to many of us, but which we -understood a little later on when they again moved down to the attack, -to be met in the same manner with both infantry and artillery, and with -similar results. Three times during the morning and early afternoon were -these attacks made upon our lines, with the same results. It was a -veritable picnic for the Confederates and was the second time in the -history of the war, up to this time, that we had presented such a -glorious opportunity, protected as we were by earthworks, with clear and -open ground in front. Had Sherman continued this business during the -entire day (as we hoped he would) the campaign would have ended right -here, as we had not called into requisition any of our reserve force. -The principal part of the afternoon was spent by the artillery--after -the infantry had gotten enough of it--on both sides pounding away at -each other in a lively and entertaining fashion. - -Some daring and courageous deeds were performed by the Federal officers -and men on this occasion, the recollection of which is refreshing and -exhilarating to the writer, but for want of time I shall be compelled to -pass over. However, one instance, I will relate as being somewhat -interesting to Kentuckians as showing the home spirit and natural -feeling existing between them as Kentuckians, although now engaged in -the deadly breach. That night some of our boys of the Fourth Kentucky -learned from inquiry of our "friends" in our front that we were -confronting the Federal Fourth Kentucky (Colonel Tom Croxton), whereupon -a bantering of epithets and compliments was at once begun and exchanged -in a very amusing and interesting way. I listened to the colloquy with -great interest and amusement, which was conducted on our side by -Lieutenant Horace Watts, who was a noted wit and humorist. But I regret -that I have forgotten the name of his interrogator, whom I recall, -however, was from Vanceburg, Ky. - -That night was spent in strengthening our works and preparing for the -work of the morrow, which work we well knew was coming. When morning -came the appearance of Old Sol was greeted with a signal from a battery -immediately in our front, which had been stationed there during the -night and protected by substantial and elaborate earthworks. The shots -from this battery were directed against Hotchkiss' battalion of -artillery, and which the Fourth Kentucky Infantry was supporting. The -enemy's guns from every part of the line kept up a continuous fire -throughout the entire day and was the greatest open field bombardment of -the war. We were much amused at the manner of firing of the battery in -our front, which was done by bugle signal, the meaning of which our men -soon learned, for a moment later our works would be pierced by their -shells and when they exploded threw high in the air a cloud of dirt and -smoke from the embankment that almost covered us up. At intervals of -about every five or ten minutes the bugle's "whe-whee-deedle-dee-dee" -told us of the crash that was coming and almost lifted our scalps and -rendered some of us deaf for weeks. Had the day been an hour longer we -would have been compelled to abandon our works, for the embankments were -almost leveled and the trenches filled. - -Two of Hotchkiss' guns were cut down and had to be abandoned, and but -for the fact that they had been run back beyond the crest, not a -splinter of them would have been left. - -Our batteries did not fire a gun that day, having been ordered to -withhold their fire in anticipation of another attack by the enemy's -infantry. This day's work was a very clever ruse of Sherman's and -demonstrated the cunning of that wily general, for while he was thus -entertaining us with the main part of his army, especially his -artillery, like the sly old fox that he was, he was planning our -undoing by sending down the river to our rear Dodge's Corps to fall on -our rear and cut our communications and intercept our retreat. - -Had his plan been expedited by Dodge, as it might have been, it would -surely have been "all day" with us poor devils of Confederates. It was -certainly a "close shave," for which we were all very thankful. But we -here on the 14th enjoyed the "picnic" for which we Orphans paid most -dearly on the 28th at Dallas, and which I shall describe in another -place. War, it seems from my experience and observation, may be -described as a dreadful and costly game of "tit-for-tat." - -The losses sustained by the Orphans in this engagement at Resaca were -insignificant compared with that inflicted upon the enemy in their -front. There is not a single recognizable object here save the ground -where we fought, from the fact that we arrived here in the night and -took our departure in the night. The narrow valley and the long extended -ridge in its front and the spur occupied by Hotchkiss and the Fourth -Kentucky, is all that I see to remind me of the two days of "pride, pomp -and circumstance of glorious war." But how's this, we fighting behind -entrenchments and the enemy in the open, four or five lines deep? - -"Our loss was 2,747, and his (Johnson's) 2,800. I fought offensively and -he defensively, aided by earthwork parapets."--[General Sherman's -statement.] There must have been some bad shooting on this occasion--the -advantages all on one side, but results so nearly even. - -Today, May 16 (1912), marks the forty-eighth anniversary of this -important event, and finds me on the ground. Here, as at other places -previously mentioned and described, things came back to me and I see -them being reenacted. I was accompanied on this inspection by an old -comrade (J. H. Norton), who lost an arm at Chancellorsville, and who has -lived here in Resaca almost all his life and who was at home at the -time, having been discharged on account of the loss of his arm, and who -assisted in burying the dead, and he pooh-poohed Sherman's statement as -to relative losses. Another old comrade, who is a merchant in the town, -told me that he had bought over a hundred thousand pounds of minnie -balls picked up on the ground where the battle was fought. I saw a -three-bushel box full in his store today. How many poor devils were -killed by these would be impossible to tell. They have a neat little -cemetery near the town, in which there are nine Kentuckians -(Confederates) buried, some of whose names I have copied. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -DALLAS. - - -Here, as at Balaklava, "some one blundered," and while we have not had a -Tennyson to immortalize the event, it is of more than ordinary interest -to Kentuckians, especially those who participated in the bloody event. -More because of the fearful slaughter and the mournful fact that it was -the result of a failure to deliver orders at the proper time. The -official report showed a loss of 51 per cent, a loss, considering the -time actually engaged, unparalleled in the history of the war. To my -mind it was the most desperate and disastrous of all the many -engagements in which the Orphans took part during their four years of -experience. - -The actual time under fire did not in my judgment exceed thirty minutes. -To describe accurately the position of the enemy at this distant day -would be a difficult task, but when the reader is told that they -occupied two parallel lines of entrenchments, from both of which he -delivered simultaneously a destructive and murderous fire, that was so -fatal that nothing but the protecting hand of an all-wise and merciful -Providence could save. The first of these lines was a few yards below, -and in front of the second, which ran along the summit of the ridge and -enabled the second line to fire directly overhead without endangering -the first. Besides this double advantage, they were able to enfilade our -line with their artillery from both extremes of their line. Smith's -brigade, on our left, having received orders (which were also intended -for us and which failed of delivery) to withhold the attack, enabled the -enemy to deliver an oblique fire upon us from his infantry on the left, -as well as from his two lines directly in front. At every step Kentucky -was paying double toll with the lives of her noblest and best. To push -forward meant certain and complete annihilation; to remain where we were -some seventy-five or eighty yards in their front, meant the same, only a -little slower death. - -The order to "fall back" having been given, we were only too glad to -attempt our escape from the death trap into which we had been ordered. -Many of our wounded and all of our dead were left on the field or -intervening space between the entrenched lines of the opposing forces. -Several of the wounded crawled back after nightfall and in this way made -their escape. The grounds in the rear of our works presented an -appalling sight when I reached them with my burden on my back--Sergeant -W. E. Knox, who had a broken leg. Nothing but a miracle saved us both -from the murderous fire of the enemy. Here fell the gallant and polished -Major Millett within ten paces of our entrenchment, he being the third -major of the Fourth Regiment to be killed on the field. - -Several incidents of a thrilling and miraculous character occurred on -this field, as afterward related. Some of our wounded who approached -nearest the enemy's works and fell into their hands were taken to the -little town of Dallas, a mile or two distant, where they were found two -days later, and left in a shamefully neglected condition. Among them was -one of the most noble gentlemen and gallant soldiers it was ever my good -fortune to know, Captain D. E. McKendrie of the Sixth Kentucky, and who -died a few days later. - -There were really only two brigades engaged in this encounter, the -Orphan Brigade and Findlay's Florida Brigade. The burden of the -encounter fell upon the Orphans, as shown by their greater loss. But -here again was displayed that daring, regardless of consequences, which -had been so often displayed by this little band of Kentuckians on so -many fields from Fort Donaldson to this eventful day. I hope I shall not -be accused of egotism for seeming to arrogate to myself and my fellow -Kentuckians honors to which we are not entitled and of which all of her -people may be justly proud. The loss of 51 per cent tells the story more -graphically than anything I may say by way of compliment or eulogy. - -The reader may wonder why this attack was ordered against a force so -strongly and irresistibly posted. The answer is easy to the old veteran -who knows the difficulty in ascertaining an enemy's position in a -heavily timbered country like this, with trees and bushes in full leaf, -and how great the danger from the ever alert sharpshooter to the man -attempting a reconnaissance. The object was to develop his strength at -this point, the commander believing Sherman to be only feigning while he -was carrying out other and ulterior plans. But so it was, we paid dearly -for the desired information. - -I have reviewed every foot of this ground the second time, stopping here -and there to pick up a minnie ball lodged in the enemy's works, fired at -them by my dear old "Orphan" boys, and while thus engaged the familiar -faces of many a noble comrade and in one or two instances school -fellows' images passed before my mind in panorama that almost unnerved -and dumfounded me. Studying coolly at this time the great advantage the -enemy had in position and numbers, I am surprised that any of us escaped -at all. I had no difficulty whatever in locating at once the position of -both parties and the exact spot on which my regiment and company fought. -Most of the Confederate lines have been partly and in some places -completely obliterated by the plow, but hills and hollows are still -there. The enemy's lines have been little disturbed and are mostly -intact even at this distant day. - -I must confess that I am wont to linger about this hallowed spot and my -heart beats heavily when I think of the comrades and friends who died -here and whose bodies I assisted in giving the last rude sepulchre. I -turn away from it with tearful eyes and sorrowful heart. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -ATLANTA--MAY, 1912. - - -I am writing this from historic Atlanta, the "gateway of the South." How -very different to the Atlanta I knew in the days gone by when her -streets were filled with the tramp, tramp of marching armies, when her -walls were rocked by the thunders of the cannon's mighty roar, when the -rockets' "red glare gave proof through the night that our new flag was -still there." Oh! what a wonderful change 'twixt now and then. "Lovely -city now, quiet and mighty in her peaceful ways, may the God of war -never again sound his bugle calls over her peaceful slumbers, and may -she know the ways of war no more forever." - -How very, very different to the Atlanta I saw in June, 1865, when on my -way home from the South, returning disabled, discomfited, defeated. What -darker picture could be imagined unless it be "Dante's Inferno," than a -city of destroyed homes with blackened walls and chimneys punctuating -the fiendish spirit that prompted the ruin of its people and their -homes. When General Sherman first gave expression to his oft-repeated -apothegm he must have had in mind the ruin he had accomplished in the -destruction of this fair city of the South. Certainly nothing but a -fiendish spirit could have prompted it. - -But two buildings of prominence were left--the Masonic Temple and a -hotel. But her people are now enjoying the blessings of peace and -prosperity, having risen, Phoenix-like, from her ashes. - -I must now return to some of the incidents and events of the defense of -Atlanta in which I was an humble participant. On the 9th of July General -Johnston's army crossed the Chattahoochee River on pontoons and the time -until the 22d was employed by Johnston and Hood chiefly in marching and -counter-marching to checkmate the movements of Sherman. A circumstance -happened about this time that gave Sherman great pleasure (he says so) -and correspondingly great sorrow and despondency to the Confederates, -heretofore so successfully led by General Johnston, viz., the removal of -Johnston and the substitution of Hood. - -While Hood was a Kentuckian as well as we Orphans, and we priding in -everything pertaining to the history of Kentucky, we had unbounded -confidence in General Johnston. But once before had we felt such sadness -and regret--when General Breckinridge was taken from us and sent to -Virginia. This feeling was intensified by the belief that Bragg was -responsible. - -On the 20th the battle of Peach Tree Creek was fought and given a -prominence in excess of the facts as the writer saw it; a straggling, -haphazard kind of hide and seek affair, magnified into a battle. On the -22d of July was fought what is known in history as the battle of -Atlanta. - -The night march of the 21st from our place in the line of defense on the -left and to the extreme right near Decatur, where this battle was -fought, was the most trying, with one exception, the writer remembers to -have ever experienced, occupying the entire night in dust ankle deep, -without a drop of water or an hour's rest. It is remembered to this day -with a distinctness that makes me fairly shudder. When morning came we -looked like the imaginary Adam "of the earth earthy," so completely were -we encased in dust. But for the nerve stimulus that imminent and great -danger gives a man on the eve of a great battle, I don't think I could -have rendered much service, on this occasion, after such exhaustion and -suffering from thirst. In fact were it not an indispensable part of my -plan I should have little to say about this whole affair, for it was to -me the most ill-conceived and unsatisfactory executed plan of battle of -the whole war in which I participated. - -There were difficulties to overcome that might easily have been avoided -had the proper engineering skill been employed in time and the -necessary reconnaissance been made. So far as results accomplished were -concerned, it was barren and fruitless. Especially was this the case on -the extreme right, where Bates' division fought and where the Orphans -took part. Not that any man or body of men proved recreant, but there -was a lack of understanding and co-operation of movement, coupled with -almost insurmountable obstacles that might have been avoided. For -instance, the Kentucky Brigade was compelled to struggle through the -mire of a slough and millpond filled with logs, stumps, brush and -what-not in water and mire knee-deep, the men in many instances being -compelled to extricate their comrades by pulling them onto logs and -other footings before we could pass the obstruction. This so deranged -our battle alignment that in the press and excitement of the moment, -caused by the enemy firing at this critical moment, we were never able -to correct it and present a solid front. Out of dust ankle deep into -water and mire knee-deep was too much for the nerves and patience of the -strongest man and most patient Christian. And then, to be finally -pitched in one disordered and confused mass against a well disciplined -and strongly posted line of veterans, behind earthworks, was too much -for the best soldiers of the times. And yet with the proper use of -artillery at the right time and place, we might have accomplished more -decisive results. - -This affair was the more lamentable to the Orphans because of the loss -of quite a number of our best officers and men without any tangible -results. The whole thing was disappointing and to me really disgusting. -Hood at Atlanta, like Bragg at Murfreesboro, might profitably have spent -more time with his engineers in examining and surveying the ground on -which he expected to fight. General Johnson was doubtless better posted. -But the final result would have been the same; Atlanta was doomed--by -Sherman's force of three to one. After summing up results and exchanging -regrets and expressing sorrow for the loss of comrades, we returned to -our original places in the lines of defense to await the next scene in -the grand drama. - -This came on August 6th at Utoy Creek on the Sandtown road leading -Southwest from Atlanta. The Orphan Brigade and Tyler's Tennessee Brigade -had been pushed forward on a kind of salient to the left and front of -the main line and touching the little stream known as Utoy Creek. Here -occurred the battle known by the above name. I here recognize more -distinctly than any other place, so far visited, the general appearance -of the ground and especially the falls of the little creek at which on -the day previous to the battle I enjoyed the only refreshing bath for -several days. It is quite an interesting place to the writer. I here -witnessed on the morning of the battle the capture of Lieut. Isham -Dudley, in command of the videttes, together with some half dozen men of -the Orphan Brigade, they having been completely surprised just at -daybreak by a sudden and unexpected rush of the enemy. - -The writer had the honor to command the skirmish line covering the -Confederate position and had a fine opportunity to witness the charge of -the two Federal brigades, which were composed chiefly of East -Tennesseans, as they swept past the right of our skirmish line, they -doubtless not knowing that they were about to encounter breastworks of a -formidable character, receiving at the same time a scathing flank fire -from the Fourth Kentucky and the skirmish line above alluded to. But -they were plucky fellows and charged to within a few yards of our works, -paying dearly for their courage and temerity. In this affair we were -attacked by a force somewhat superior in numbers, but the advantage that -our breastworks afforded us made the victory easily won. I here quote -the order of General S. D. Lee, commanding corps, congratulating them -and incidentally complimenting the defenders. - -"The lieutenant general commanding takes pleasure in announcing to the -officers and men of this corps the splendid conduct of a portion of -Bates' Division, particularly Tyler's Brigade and the Second and Fourth -Kentucky regiments of Lewis' Brigade, in sustaining and repulsing on -yesterday afternoon three assaults of the enemy in which his loss in -killed, wounded and prisoners was from eight hundred to a thousand men, -with three stands of colors, three or four hundred small arms and all of -his entrenching tools. Soldiers who fight with the coolness and -determination that these men did will always be victorious over any -reasonable number." - -In this engagement we lost only about eighteen men all told, while the -enemy's loss in killed alone was 160. I walked over the ground ten -minutes after it occurred and found the crest of the hill covered with -the dead and wounded, swords, guns, cartridge boxes and other -paraphernalia of war. - -I found here the thing I need and coveted most of all at this time, a -fine black sombrero, which furnished me ample protection thereafter from -the intense rays of the August sun. I "swapped" my spoon-bill cap with -the fellow who had worn this hat, to which he, of course, raised no -objection. Others provided themselves in like manner, which was entirely -legitimate, of course, the original owners having no further use for -such things. But a flanking column that night, as usual, compelled us to -abandon the position of our recent victory and we retired to our -original position in the circle of entrenchments. - -I have this day, May 13, 1912, carefully and studiously reviewed the -very spot on which those 160 men lay dead, and I feel safe in saying -that it is not larger than one-half a city block. They were met square -in front and were fired on from both flanks, and had they attempted to -remain there as much as one hour there would not have been a man of them -left on his feet. It was a death trap similar to the one into which we -Orphans fell at Dallas. - -I could hardly control my emotions when viewing this place, and my mind -was almost overwhelmed as I walked along on top of these still distinct -and undisturbed parapets, stopping now and then to pick up a "Yankee -bullet" lodged in them, or a small stone that had been thrown out by the -Confederates. The surroundings here are perfectly familiar to me, -notwithstanding opinions of friends at home to the contrary. So -interesting is this spot that I have made the second visit to it. - -Here the time from August 7 to 29, 1864, was spent in listening to the -music of the rifle and the cannon and an occasional sweet, faint and -harmonious symphony from the enemy's brass bands as they played, -seemingly for our entertainment, "The Star Spangled Banner," "Hail -Columbia," "Yankee Doodle" and, to taunt us, "Dixie." At night they -would vary the entertainment by sending up innumerable rockets, which -some of the men interpreted to mean the arrival of a new command or -shift of position, but to most of us it was "Greek and Hebrew." - -But this condition was not to last; Sherman's definition of war was in -him and must come out. On the 29th we packed our knapsacks and bidding -good-bye to the Atlanta of the day, soon to be no more, we again turned -Southward to meet the flanking columns of Sherman at Jonesboro, with a -description of which I shall close these recollections. - -Before leaving this dear old city I must take one more last look at her -steeples, her walls and her streets, shake the hand of friends in the -last farewell grasp and say good-bye forever. - -I find Atlanta so wonderfully changed, commercially, assuming -metropolitan airs and wearing her honors so gracefully that I dare not -attempt a description of her present status. Besides, these things are -well known now by the whole American people. Still I find myself -comparing her (in mind) with what she was "before and during the war." - -The fact that I am now looking upon her for the last time, and the -further fact that she contains many warm and true friends whom I shall -never see again, causes a feeling of sadness I wish I could resist. But -I break camp and take up my line of march for Jonesboro. - -But before I leave I must tender my thanks to my young friend from -Bourbon, W. H. Letton (who is now a prosperous business man here), for -many favors and courtesies so cheerfully extended me. It were cruel to -allow him to spend with me so much of his time from his lovely little -Georgia bride, so recently taken to himself. But this is Kentucky, you -know, and he inherits it. I am also indebted to my old comrades, J. W. -McWilliams of the Forty-Second Georgia; J. M. Mills of the Soldiers' -Home, and C. L. Ingram of Fort McPherson; ex-Sheriff Barnes, Major Jones -of the Seventeenth Infantry at the fort (McPherson), and last, though -not least by any means, Mrs. Jones of the city at whose boarding house I -was a guest. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -JONESBORO. - - -I begin here the last inspection and reminiscence, on my return trip -from attending the recent Confederate reunion at Macon, May, 1912, and -while I distrust my ability to do the theme proper justice, I am tempted -to undertake the task through the love of the brave "old boys" who still -survive and the memory of several hundred noble young Kentuckians whose -life blood consecrates the soil of Georgia on every field from -Chattanooga to Jonesboro. - -My mind becomes a whirlpool of recollections as I stand here and "view -the landscape o'er" and contemplate the horrible scenes enacted here -forty-eight years ago, and in which the Confederacy was surely and -rapidly expiring in the throes of dissolution. - -It is not my purpose or aim to controvert in any instance the -descriptions and recitals of the historians, but merely as a pastime to -revert to some of my personal experiences and recollections. Nor shall I -attempt to enlarge upon or embellish the history of that glorious little -band of Kentuckians known as the "Orphan Brigade." That has been done by -others, done by such men as Prof. N. S. Shaler, Gens. Joseph E. Johnson, -W. J. Hardee, Stephen D. Lee, Ed. Porter Thompson and many others, able -and eloquent men, historians and statesmen, and in whose history -Kentuckians of all beliefs must ever rejoice as one of the brightest and -most interesting pages in her history. And why not, since they -represented so many of the noblest and best young men of the state and -were led by such men as Breckinridge, Hanson, Helm, Lewis, Monroe and -others whose names are a synonym of glory and greatness. - -When we arrived here (Jonesboro) in the great campaign there were many -absent--not without leave, thank God, but with honor, whose brows had -been crowned with everlasting wreaths of honor--in death "on Fame's -eternal camping ground." When the roll was called no response came from -many. Hanson, Helm, Hewitt, Graves, Rogers, Dedman, Madeira, Daniel, -McKendrie, Millett, Williams, Innis, Bramblett, Bell and three thousand -others failed to answer. But as the "blood of martyrs is the seed of the -church," so the sacrifice of these Kentuckians is a diadem in the wreath -that encircles her history. - -But now I stand on this historic spot where forty-eight years ago the -unequal, almost suicidal conflict raged with destruction and fury, and -see, in my mind's eye, the raging conflict and hear the cannon's mighty -roar, the screaming shot and shell and the ping and whistle of the -deadly minnie, the shouts and yells of the combatants as they grapple in -the deadly conflict. Here I experienced the pangs of a painful wound -from a minnie ball, while assisting a dear friend (Lieutenant Neal), -being in the throes of death, both he and the man on my left falling -simultaneously. How well I remember the look of anguish upon his noble -countenance as he held up both hands, imploring my assistance. Brave, -noble fellow and Christian gentleman, I trust and believe his soul rests -in peace among the angels. - -Imagine my grief on reaching the ambulance (assisted by comrades) to -find my bosom friend (and by many said to be my double), Ensign Robert -H. Lindsay of Scott County, in the ambulance, he having received a -mortal wound from which he died that night while lying upon the same -blanket with myself. The reader can imagine my feelings when the dawn of -morning came and I threw back the blanket that covered us and beheld his -noble countenance cold in death, with the fixed glare of the eyes that -told me that my beloved comrade and friend had passed to the realms of -eternal glory. Poor Bob! I tried in vain, while on the way to the field -hospital, to extort a parting message, a last farewell to mother and -family, but the messenger of death held him in his grasp and refused -compliance with this last request of his friend who loved him as a -brother. A circumstance coincident with his death was the fact that we -prepared and ate our dinners together that day, meantime talking over -the probable results of the approaching battle and making certain -requests of each other in the event that one or the other should fall. -Hence my anxiety to hear a last farewell from his dying lips. Memory -takes me back over the intervening years and I am tempted to exclaim: - - - Sing thou music of the spheres - The song of the weeping pines - As the days and years go by, - But let me, Oh! let me not forget, - The dear friend who 'neath them lies. - - -I have always thought this a singular circumstance, that the three -friends--boon companions--holding the same rank, should be stricken down -almost at the same moment--that "two should be taken and the one left," -but such are the vicissitudes of war. - -I can recognize only two landmarks of this historic spot and its -surroundings--the old stone depot and the prominent knoll, occupied by -the enemy's skirmishers on the morning of the battle (August 31st) and -which Lieut. Heck Burden, the commander of that gang of army sleuths, -that Sherman and his officers admitted they dreaded--known as the -Kentucky sharpshooters--and myself, in a spirit of daring, approached -within easy rifle range, by means of a deep gully, and which terminated -in one less Federal officer reporting to his commander. I have looked -upon this particular spot with no little concern, for it was near this -my two dear friends just noted fell, and where I also received my -quietus--as a reward, perhaps, for my daring of the morning. This -circumstance (my wounding) precludes the mention from personal -experience a description of the second day's fight and in which the -Orphans sustained the loss of a number of men and officers and resulted -in the capture of the greater part of the survivors, Sherman's -overwhelming numbers enabling him to outflank and overpower the left of -the Confederate line. But they were held as prisoners but a short time -and were exchanged and returned to service almost immediately. Here, as -in other instances, the enemy outnumbered us three to one and enabled -them to envelop our flanks more readily than in previous engagements, -the country being without the natural barriers and obstructions that had -previously favored us in the mountain section of the country through -which we had passed. - -Here at Jonesboro ended my service to the Confederacy and my experience -as a soldier in the field. The next six months, which brought the war to -a close, were spent by me in hospitals, which also came near bringing my -earthly career to a close. But, thank God, I am still here and now -engaged in reviewing our movements of the past. And I shall be happy if -what I may have written should fall under the eye of some old comrade or -friend and afford him pleasure or food for contemplation. - - - (NOTE--_The author takes the liberty and desires to thank Genl. W. - B. Haldeman, of the Orphan Brigade, the Courier-Journal Job - Printing Co., and others, for their kind assistance in the - publication and introduction of this little booklet._) - - -[Illustration: Logo] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Reminiscences of a Soldier of the -Orphan Brigade, by L. D. 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