Murfreesboro, Tennessee

“ An instance of appreciation of our services was illustrated near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, through which place we had just passed in pursuit of a large Federal column. In passing through a lane a few miles north of town, where a number of ladies had congregated to see us pass, an old lady among them was cheering us and clapping her hands, when she was heard to remark, “Oh, daughter; just look at our soldiers, grand men as they are, all covered with dust so they can hardly be recognized; God bless them! ”

“ When we left Murfreesboro' in the preceding June, the men's knapsacks and extra clothing, as well as all our camp equipage, had been left behind, and these articles had not yet reached us, so we were poorly prepared for a winter campaign in the mountains of East Tennessee. There was but little clothing to be obtained in Chattanooga, and my command received only a few overcoats and a small supply of India-rubber ponchos. We could get no shoes, although we stood in great need of them, for the extra pair with which each man had started out from Murfreesboro' was now much the worse for wear. ”

“ From Pulaski Morgan pushed northeast, avoiding Shelbyville and Murfreesboro, both of these places being too strongly garrisoned for him to attack with his small force. He crossed the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad ten miles north of Murfreesboro, burned the depot, and destroyed as much of the track as his limited time would admit. From there he rode straight for Lebanon, Tennessee, which place he reached just at nightfall. The inhabitants received him with the wildest demonstration of joy. ”

“ When we lost a man, he was “dead for certain,” and, worse still, none was to be had to stand in his place. In fact, it was this that forced us to quit fighting after four years, during which time we had the satisfaction of knowing that we were giving them about all they could stand up to, and this after calling to their aid the negroes and an immense foreign importation.
From McMinnville General Wheeler moved toward Murfreesboro. The column was a very long and cumbersome one with the mules and wagons we were attempting to take with us. ”

“ It seems impossible that so much could be accomplished with so slight a loss. The number of his killed and wounded shows that the Federals touched him very gingerly; that they did not force the fighting. In the capture of the stockades in which he took so many prisoners, Morgan suffered hardly any loss, as he forced the surrender with his [pg 160] artillery. But the joy which Morgan and his men felt over the success of the raid was clouded when they reached Tennessee by the news of the result of the battle of Stone River. Murfreesboro no longer belonged to the South. ”

“ The night of February 16th found the army encamped safely upon the Murfreesboro and Nashville road; but it found the city of Nashville in a condition of wild and frantic anarchy.
The Capital of Tennessee, Nashville, contained, ordinarily, a population of about 30,000 souls. The revolution had made it the rendezvous of thousands fleeing from Kentucky, Missouri, and Western Virginia. So great was the throng of strangers, that lodging could be with difficulty procured at any price. ”

“ Buell which had now occupied Nashville, but it was well known that none of the force occupied in the reduction of Donelson had ascended the river. With unlimited supplies of water transportation, nothing was easier than for them to pass round the peninsula, and, ascending the Tennessee river, land a force in his rear and place him in the same dilemma from which he had just so skillfully extracted his army. A retreat behind the Tennessee was inevitable, and the strategical position he occupied at Murfreesboro opened to him three routes. ”

“ Forty days later this expected conflict took place at Murfreesboro in the Valley of Stone River.
Perryville, Kentucky, where, on the 8th of October, 1862, a battle had raged with such fierceness, had also proved a memorable conflict to the men of the Army of the Tennessee. There the Confederate loss was three thousand, two hundred and twelve, the Federal loss four thousand, two hundred and forty-one. For the number of men engaged, in proportion to the time the battle lasted, it stands in the very forefront of mortalities. ”

“ Murfreesboro was surprised and disgracefully surrendered to Forrest's cavalry July 13th, and Morgan's forces captured Gallatin, Tennessee, August 12th; but these places were not held.
Bragg continued his march through Pikeville and Sparta, Tennessee, crossing the Cumberland at Carthage and Gainesborough. Uniting his army at Hopkinsville, Kentucky, he proceeded through Glasgow to Munfordville, on Green River, where there was a considerable fortification, occupied by Colonel J. T. Wilder with about 4000 men. ”

“ After leaving Cumberland Gap our army again moved into Middle Tennessee, with headquarters at Murfreesboro. Our cavalry in the advance camped near La Vergne, at Nolandsville and Triune. The enemy concentrated at Nashville, from whence they sent out foraging parties, supported by large infantry forces with which we had daily engagements, restricting their foraging within a small area of country. ”

“ In his report General Negley said: "The Union people in East Tennessee are wild with joy. They meet us along the road by hundreds. I shall send you a number of their principal persecutors from the Sequatchie valley."
About this time the roving Confederate cavalry, commanded by Gen. N. B. Forrest, who two years later obtained such an unenviable reputation for his conduct at Fort Pillow, began to attract special attention by the rapidity and daring of its movements. On the 13th of July he made an attack on Murfreesboro' at the head of about 3,000 men. ”

“ All the pikes leading to the front are filled with cavalry, apparently waiting for the cloak of darkness to hide their deeds. We hear of a big fight at Murfreesboro. Rosecrans captured 6,000 prisoners, and is in their rear eight miles from here. Our troops on the front line are under marching orders. Two days' [Pg 286] rations in haversacks, I think. The time is near at hand when Hood will be beautifully, though terribly thrashed for his insolence in thus invading Tennessee, at least I hope so. We are in anticipation of moving too. ”

“ John A. Wharton, his senior colonel, of the Eighth Texas, and proceed at once to Murfreesboro to take command of the troops that might be raised in Middle Tennessee.
A summary of the operations and casualties of the brigade up to that time showed that its killed and wounded amounted to 200 men. We had killed and wounded of the enemy fully 350 and captured over 2,000 prisoners of war, including one brigadier general, four or five field officers, about sixty regimental officers, four pieces of artillery, two stands of colors, six hundred draft animals, and a large wagon train. ”

“ Lebanon, Tennessee, the county seat of Wilson County, was due east of Nashville. A line drawn from Murfreesboro a little east of north would pass through Hartsville a distance of thirty-eight miles. Bragg’s army extended from Murfreesboro in the direction of Lebanon. A portion of his infantry was at Baird’s Mills, a village twenty miles away. Castalian Springs was between Gallatin and Hartsville, nine miles from Hartsville and six miles from Gallatin. At Castalian Springs, the Federals, under John M. Harlan, had a force numbering six thousand men. ”

“ A little while after Shiloh, Morgan received permission to make an expedition into Tennessee. His [Pg 102] force had increased to three hundred and twenty-five men; marching with a swiftness that his enemy had not time to calculate, he captured Pulaski, Tennessee, and took four hundred prisoners. Later he made an effort to capture the city of Murfreesboro. Here he met reverses and it required some time for him and his men to recover from the shock of this defeat. Later he made a raid through Tennessee, reaching as far north as Cave City, Kentucky. ”

“ Williams was at Sparta with a command of about fifteen hundred men and he being the ranking officer, General Dibrell concluded that he would go to Sparta and unite with him. There were not more than three hundred guns in Dibrell’s little command at that time.
Upon reaching Blackshop, about eight miles from Murfreesboro, we marched over to the Woodbury Pike, near Readyville, and went into camp for the night on the first high ground from the bridge. We had been informed by a citizen that a few hours before the Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment had passed down the pike toward Murfreesboro. ”

“ TENNESSEE - ALABAMA - GEORGIA - FLORIDA - From Murfreesboro by Shelbyville, Fayetteville, Tennessee; Huntsville, Guntersville, Albertville, Boas, Gadsden, Anniston, Talladega, Sylacauga, Godwater, Kellyton, Alexander City, Dadeville, Camp Hill, Waverly, Opelika and Phoenix, Alabama ”

“ TENNESSEE, Lincoln County, Coldwater vicinity, Lincoln County Poor House Farm, Yukon Rd. (07/11/85)
TENNESSEE, Rutherford County, Murfreesboro,East Main Street Historic District, Roughly E. Main, E. Lytle, College, University and E. Vine Sts. ”

“ From Jackson, by Oakland, and Chalk bank and Shiloe, Tennessee, by Trenton, Yorkville and Troy, to Mills point, Kentucky. From Waynesboro’, by David Gallaher’s, and Pinhook, in Wayne county, to the Brick house, in Hardin county, on the stage road from Savannah, Tennessee, to Florence, Alabama. From La Grange, Tennessee, via Spring Hill, to Walnut grove, Mississippi. From Murfreesboro’, by Salem cross roads, to Wilkinson’s cross roads, in Rutherford county. From Florence, Alabama, to Waynesboro’, Tennessee, via John Spain’s, Alabama, and Sessum’s store, Tennessee. ”

“ William Morrell, at Murfreesboro, Tenn.; A. A. Anderson, at Chickamauga, Ga.; William Wood, at Jonesboro, Ga.; James Cox, at Aiken, S. C.; Phillip O’Dell, at Waynesboro, S. C.; Second Lieut. Joe Massengale, at Fayetteville, N. C.; M. T. King, at Knoxville, Tenn.;—Hull, mortally wounded and died at Newnan, Ga. 9.
Wounded (partial list) .—David Bushong, Henderson Avants, Nathan Avants, Jerry Luttrell, W. J. Godsey, Thomas Lester, J. Y. Snodgrass, C. C. Woods, A. L. Roder, J. T. Murrell, William Caline, H. H. Delaney (at Tracy City, Tenn., 1864) , J. Sharp Ryburn, Third Lieut. ”

“ STONE RIVER, BATTLE OF, a battle of the American Civil War, called the battle of Murfreesboro by the Confederates, fought on the 31st of December 1862 and the 2nd of January 1863. After his appointment in October to command the Army of the Cumberland, General W. S. Rosecrans with Chattanooga as his objective moved from Nashville upon General Braxton Bragg, who left the winter quarters he had established at Murfreesboro and met the Union army on Stone river immediately north of Murfreesboro, on the last day of December. The plan of attack on each side was to crush the enemy’s right. ”

“ Hence the army did not tarry at all at Murfreesboro', but, in obedience to general orders, immediately continued on in forced marches to Nashville and thence on to the north. I rejoined McCook's division near Murfreesboro' — which proved to be quite a pleasant, compactly built-up little town — again to share its fortunes for almost two months. ”

“ General Thomas had furthermore held fast to the railroad leading from Nashville to Chattanooga, leaving strong guards at its principal points, as at Murfreesboro', Deckerd, Stevenson, Bridgeport, Whitesides, and Chattanooga. At Murfreesboro' the division of Rousseau was reenforced and strengthened up to about eight thousand men. ”

“ The court said that, in its opinion, Pat Murphey was a bad man—and he was, as other cases in the records against him show; and they had him whipped, fined him and, under the operation of the court’s adjustable jurisdiction, rendered judgment against him in a criminal case for the value of two hogs; but these “backwoods” justices of the peace said to the reputed son of this old and hardened criminal that “Ill Treatment” of a father, by even a reputed son, would not be tolerated in that community. ”

“ The mountaineers of Kentucky and Tennessee are a strange stock, who retain in their customs and habits the primitive conditions of a life that has elsewhere long since disappeared. They have been pictured in the novels of Miss Murfree and John Fox, Junr. They are a tall, straight, angular folk, of fine physical development; the volunteers for the Union army from Kentucky and Tennessee during the Civil War—most of whom came from the non-slave-holding mountain region—exceeded in physical development the volunteers from all other states. ”

“ Murfreesboro is an aristocratic town. Many of the citizens have as fine carriages as are to be seen in Cincinnati or Washington. On pleasant week-day evenings they sometimes come out to witness the parades. The ladies, so far as I can judge by a glimpse through a carriage window, are richly and elegantly dressed.
The poor whites are as poor as rot, and the rich are very rich. There is no substantial well-to-do middle class. The slaves are, in fact, the middle class here. They are not considered so good, of course, as their masters, but a great deal better than the white trash. ”

“ We are not yet far enough away to forget Murfreesboro, Missionary Ridge and Chickamauga, and the hundred other fields of death and courage, where the flower of the South, the bravest of the brave and the truest of the true, fought for the cause they thought was right, and died for the land they loved. ”