Battle of Stones River

“ A large number of our straggling, demoralized detachments in the rear of our army, being hungry and thirsty, had concluded to disobey orders, and make fire and try and get something to eat. One party would make a fire, another would go there to get a fire brand to start another, and when this became general along our rear, Rosecrans concluded the enemy had got in our rear, and were forming line of battle by torch lights, and hence withdrew the order for a general retreat. ”

“ During the time between this and the afternoon of the 30th of the same month, all portions of our army had pressed forward along the different lines of march laid out for them, encountering the usual incidents of driving in the enemy's cavalry and outposts, until finally at that time our entire army had arrived along the left bank of Stone River, opposite the city of Murfreesboro, some two or three miles further on. ”

“ Rosecrans to command an army was not enhanced by his career during and preceding the battle of Stone River. When disaster came to the right, he should have given his attention personally to that, and lent the magic of his personal presence to rallying the fleeing troops from that division, in place of going to the extreme left himself—instead of by a staff officer—for ordering the movement of troops in that direction. ”

“ Wagner's brigade, and the 26th Ohio was relieved by the 23d Kentucky. There was now not more than an hour of the day left, and though the enemy was constantly maneuvering in our front, no formidable attack was made upon us, except with artillery. The enemy having been three several times repulsed in their attack on that position, seemed satisfied to keep at a respectful distance, and the sun set upon us, masters of the situation. We had sustained ourselves and held the only portion of the original line of battle that was held throughout by any portion of our army. ”

“ Artillery was brought forward and fired advancing along the road. In this manner we kept up an almost continuous advance, our dead and wounded being cared for by those in our rear. By night-fall we had made an advance of nearly eight miles, to Stewart's Creek. As we approached Stewart's Creek we discovered that the enemy had set the bridge over the same on fire. I immediately concentrated four pieces of artillery on a little eminence to the right of the road, and commenced shelling the enemy beyond the creek. ”

“ The rest of the battle front, while presenting in general an eastern face on a north-and-south line, was here advanced, here retired, as inequalities of ground or patches of forest seemed to offer favorable position. The whole Union Army was west of Stone’s River, though the extreme left of Crittenden’s left wing touched that stream at a ford. ”

“ Estep's battery came up in due time, and taking a position on a little rise of ground in the rear of the 26th Ohio, and 3d Kentucky, opened a terrific fire of shot and shell over the heads of our infantry. About one hour after the 26th Ohio got into position, this terrible attack of the enemy was repulsed, and they drew back into the woods, and under cover of an intervening hill, to reform their shattered columns and renew the attack. ”

“ The boats, however, served as a decoy, and the Indians were gathered on the bank of the stream to oppose the landing of the white men, as was expected, when Casey and Wright dashed among them. Stoneman, from the opposite shore, was employed in picking off those who could be reached, and for about twenty minutes the battle raged hotly, fifteen Indians being killed, and many wounded. ”

“ It was as follows: "This morning, under cover of the darkness, we attacked the enemy on his extreme right, and have routed him from every portion of his line except upon his extreme left, where he has successfully resisted us." As I left there was a proposition started in Crittenden's command to raise money to present Bragg a sword for making the above truthful statement of the first days operations. While at Indianapolis, I was, at the request of Gen. Burnside, transferred by the War Department, to the army of the Ohio and given the command of a division in that army. ”

“ Everything that ready wit and ingenuity could suggest was done with the hope of outwitting the enemy; but escape was impossible. As a last resource, General Stoneman ordered the larger portion of his command to break through the opposing lines, and effect their escape in the readiest manner possible, while he, himself, with a few hundred men and a section of artillery, drew off the enemy’s attention from the movement of the other troops. He was speedily overpowered, and obliged to surrender; and together with all those who were with him, became prisoners to the enemy. ”

“ The plans being identical a good deal depended on which army began the movement [Pg 10] first. Rosecrans’ orders were for the attack to begin at seven o’clock, while Bragg ordered the attack to begin at daylight.
Rosecrans’ movement began on time and for a time was going very successfully. But about 6.30 A. M. the enemy in force attacked McCook’s right and found that the two brigades were weakly posted, without support, the remaining brigade of Johnson’s division being nearly a mile and a half to the rear at Johnson’s headquarters. The command was not in any way ready for battle. ”

“ Finally our fugitives from the first day's battle began to return, thereupon Bragg became very much frightened and beat a retreat, and we thus gained Murfreesboro. After this reports were written up to praise the men it had been determined upon in advance to promote, and these identical men that I had predicted would be favored, were promoted; one of them, St. Claire Morton, from Captain to Brigadier-General, while others, upon whom rested the heat and burden of the day, and who saved the army from utter annihilation, were not only not promoted, but in many instances not even mentioned. ”

“ No night was ever so dark and tempestuous, that he would not brave the boisterous seas of Newport Harbor to attend mass, and no occasion, however inappropriate, was ever lost sight of to advocate its cause; in fact, he was what would nowadays be called most emphatically a crank on that subject, and might not inappropriately be considered a one-ideaed man lacking in the breadth and poise, so necessary to success in the commander of an army in the field. ”

“ We remained in line of battle during the night, expecting and hoping for a renewal of the assault on the next day. The 14th (Sunday) came, however, and went away without a renewal. On the 15th we were moved a few hundred yards farther to our left, and remained in this position until the morning of the 16th, when it was discovered that the enemy, availing himself of the darkness of the night, had recrossed the river.
"A river has always been considered a good line of defence by most writers on the art of war, provided certain principles be observed in defending. ”

“ Rosecrans now decided to give battle on the 31st, and made [Pg 9] the following plan: McCook was to hold strong ground, refusing his right, and make strong dispositions to resist the attack of the enemy. If, however, the enemy did not attack, McCook was to attack sufficient to hold all the force on his front and prevent the enemy from detaching any troops to the right, the real point of attack. Thomas’ corps and Palmer’s division were to open with skirmishing and engage the enemy’s center and left as far as Stone river. ”

“ On Sept. 7 both the 5th and 6th French Armies were heavily engaged on our flank. The 2nd and 4th Reserve German Corps on the Ourcq vigorously opposed the advance of the French towards that river, but did not prevent the 6th Army from gaining some headway, the Germans themselves suffering serious losses. The French 5th Army threw the enemy back to the line of the Petit Morin River, after inflicting severe losses upon them, especially about Montceaux, which was carried at the point of the bayonet. ”

“ On earth many of them will meet no more; yet, when the [20] survivors meet in the years which are to come, when the sounds of strife have ceased, they will speak in low tones of the cherished dead, and drop a tear to their memory, and remember with pride that they themselves were on many a well-fought field with the Sixth Kentucky.
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CHAPTER II. SHILOH AND STONE RIVER.
My first battle, and how I felt—Wounded and left on the field—Disasters of first day and final triumph—Return home—In the field again—Battle of Stone River—Wounded again—Appearance of the country. ”

“ My effective force in the battle of Stone River was 4,154 officers and men. Of this number I lost 1,633 killed, wounded, and missing, or nearly 40 per cent. In the remaining years of the war, though often engaged in most severe contests, I never experienced in any of my commands so high a rate of casualties. The ratio of loss in the whole of Rosecrans's army was also high, and Bragg's losses were almost equally great. Rosecrans carried into the action about 42,000 officers and men. He lost 13,230, or 31 per cent. Bragg's effective force was 37,800 officers and men ”

“ The sun of the New Year rose bright and fair; an occasional gun gave token of the proximity of the two contending armies. [Pg 12] During the night Rosecrans retired his left to a more advantageous position, the extreme left resting on Stones River above the lower ford and extending to Stokes’ Battery, posted on a knoll on Rousseau’s right. Beatty’s division was posted across Stones River on the margin of the woodland that covered a gentle slope from the river to an open field in their front. ”

“ Our army is in good condition and full of confidence; but the weather is intensely hot, and a good many men have fallen with sunstroke. The country is high and healthy, and the sanitary condition of the army is good.
At this time Stoneman was very active on our extreme right, pretending to be searching the river below Turner's Ferry for a crossing, and was watched closely by the enemy's cavalry on the other side, McPherson, on the right, was equally demonstrative at and near Turner's Ferry. ”

“ After the third charge the 65th and another regiment of the Stonewall Brigade, finding their ammunition exhausted, armed themselves with stones. Those of the Thunder Run men who had not fallen at White Oak Swamp proved themselves expert. Broken rock lay in heaps by the railroad bed. They brought these into the lines, swung and threw them. With stones and bayonets they held the line. Morell and Sykes were great fighters; the grey men recognized worthy foes. The battle grew Titanic. Stonewall Jackson signalled to Lee on the Warrenton turnpike, "Hill hard pressed. Every brigade engaged. ”

“ It happened that just at that time Hooker was preparing once more to cross the Rappahannock, and as a preliminary movement had sent Stoneman with the cavalry corps up the river to seize the Orange and Alexandria railroad and hold it as the line of communication with Washington. The line that connects an army with its base of supplies is the heel of Achilles—its most vital and vulnerable point. It is a great achievement in war to compel an enemy to make heavy detachments to guard it; it is equally as great a one to destroy the force that threatens it. ”

“ Detachments of the Thirty-third, Seventh Maine, and five companies of cavalry were left in charge of the town. They were relieved upon the following day, and rejoined their regiments on the Beaver Dam, to which the Brigade had returned after the engagement. Some members of Company E discovered a grist mill here, and spent most of the night in grinding corn, and making hoe-cake.
Gen. Stoneman had in the meantime proceeded several miles to the right, and accomplished the object of the expedition by destroying the Richmond [108] and Fredericksburg railroad bridge over the Chickahominy. ”

“ In a flash a fleet of canoes were launched from either bank of the river, and a swarm of savages surrounded the smack. Suspecting no danger, twelve of them were permitted to board, and Stone engaged two of these to pilot a boat higher up the stream. The guides at night murdered the two sailors in charge of this shallop, and at the same hour their companions on the vessel assailed the sleeping crew. Stone was killed secretly in his cabin, and, to conceal the body, a light covering was thrown over it. Then the massacre extended to the deck and forecastle. ”

“ After crossing the river at Milam's bridge on May 24th, we turned eastward through Stilesborough, to and across Richland Creek, reaching the road on the upland which runs from Cassville to Marietta by way of Rowland's Ferry. Stoneman, who had crossed the Etowah with his division of horse at Shellman's Ford on the 22d, and covered the laying of the pontoon bridges at Milam's, went back to look after a raid by the Confederate cavalry at Cass Station, and was not able to return to his position south of the river until the evening of the 24th, when he scouted the road toward Allatoona. ”

“ If they succeeded in their work the right flank of the British division would be protected. But it was Stony Mountain that was of most importance to the British. Its machine guns and its northern defenses menaced the route which the British must take to make an advance. In order to prevent the Germans from giving their undivided attention to the Canadians, the British division on the left made an advance against the Teutons north of Stony Mountain. The British artillery had been shelling this part of the German line day and night many days as a preparation for this advance. ”