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by the destruction of rebel property. The malicious charge of the ravishing of the inmates of a female seminary near the town by members of the 19th is wholly gratuitous. At the time of the occupation there were but two inmates of the institution within its walls, the landlady and a girl, both of whom were conveyed, at their own request, to a point farther south by one of General Turchin's staff. Undoubtedly excesses were committed, but excesses are the natural and unavoidable concomitants of war, and those at Athens, while the provocation was extreme, were not more glaring than those which marked the early events of the war. After remaining in Athens three or four weeks, the brigade occupied Fayetteville.

The fight at Bridgeport, Ala., virtually elosed General Mitchell's campaign. The march to Bridgeport commenced on Tuesday, the 24th of April. The troops pushed eastward along the line of the railroad over roads so bad that the artillery was often dragged by hand. On the afternoon of the 29th the rebel pickets were encountered about three miles from Bridgeport. They were stationed on the bank of a small stream, the bridge across it having been burned, and supported by an infantry and two cavalry regiments, the former of which engaged our advance, the 33d Ohio. After half an hour's fighting, in which the casualties were slight, the 33d fell back unpursued, as the rebels had no means of crossing the stream. Gen. Mitchell, in the mean time, made a wide detour to the left and came upon a road leading to Bridgeport, following which, he reached the rebel fortifications on the bank of the Tennessee and drew up his force in line of battle under cover of a hill which concealed him from the enemy. The whole column then advanced, and reaching the crest of the hill discovered the rebel force with stacked arms at its base, eating supper and lounging about, little dreaming of the enemy so near them. Capt. Loomis quickly and cautiously brought his battery to bear upon the main body of them. They soon had an intimation of what was coming, in the shape of a storm of grape and

canister, which went tearing through their ranks. Many of them fled in the wildest confusion without taking their arms. The main body seized their guns and tried to make a stand, but again the pitiless and terrible storm of grape and canister swept through them, scattering death and destruction on every hand. Our columns fixed

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bayonets and swept down the hill-side like a whirlwind, but before they reached the base the whole rebel force broke and fled with precipitancy, managing to fire the bridge. Capt. Loomis then placed his battery in position to receive the remainder of the force stationed on the railroad. They debouched into an open field, formed their line of battle and came up within three hundred yards of our forces before they discovered their mistake, and then that terrible battery informed them. A terrific fire of canister was poured into them and created another panic. Cavalry and infantry threw down their arms and fled like sheep. Thus the battle of Bridgeport was won, and General Mitchell reported as follows to the Secretary of War: "The campaign is ended, and I now occupy Huntsville in perfect security, while all of Alabama north of the Tennessee River floats no flag but that of the Union."

As an appendix to his campaign, there were many minor expeditions of interest. Gen. Mitchell advanced towards Chattanooga which caused a retreat of the rebels in East Tennessee-a step rendered necessary, as the loss of the single line of railroad running from Chattanooga to Atlanta would compel evacuation above, as in the case of Bowling Green. During May and June, several expeditions were sent out under Gen. Negley against guerrillas and roving bands of cavalry, the results of which may be summed up as follows:

On the 13th of May, Gen. Negley's expedition from Pulaski, supported by Gen. Lytle's expedition from Athens, entered Rogersville, Ala., driving the enemy across the Tennessee and destroying a portion of their ferry boats. On the 29th of May, he again started from Columbia, Tenn., for the purpose of making an expedition into East Tennessee with the intention of threatening Chattanooga and dispersing rebel cavalry. He reached Fayetteville on the 31st, where Gen. Turchin's forces joined the expedition, and thence resumed his march to Salem, which he reached on the following day. The next day he arrived at Winchester. Passing through Winchester, he encamped at Cowan, on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, on a stream called the Burning Fork, a tributary of the Tennessee River, the bridge over which had been burned. The stream was easily forded, however, on the 4th, and the army crossed the Cumberland Mountains, arriving at Jasper, Marion County.

Passing through Jasper, Gen. Negley encamped at the foot of the Waldron Ridge, a spur of the Cumberland Mountains.

The following morning he commenced crossing and first obtained a glimpse of the enemy. At the foot of the mountains the pickets of the rebel General Adams' brigade of cavalry were encountered. After a brisk firing the rebel pickets fell back, and the main body came forward preparatory to a charge. General Negley opened upon them with shell. At the very first fire they fell back in confusion and were hotly pursued by our cavalry under Lieut. Wharton. The enemy were driven two miles before they were reached, but our cavalry at last succeeded in overtaking them, and charged upon them with the saber, killing many and taking many prisoners. The rebels, in their headlong flight, threw away every thing that could impede them, and the woods and roads were strewn for miles with sabers, pistols, haversacks and rations. Gen. Adams, commanding the rebels, lost his hat, horse and sword. His brother was killed. Many of the fugitives did not stop short of Chattanooga, a distance of thirty miles. After pursuing them three miles, the Union forces returned to the foot of the mountains and camped for the night upon a plateau called Sweden's Cove.

On the next day General Negley proceeded towards Chattanooga. He arrived opposite the place on June 7th, and on the afternoon of that day proceeded to reconnoiter. He ascertained that there was a large force on the north side of the river, which had crossed to attack the 19th. This regiment had performed a characteristic feat by discovering a shorter path across the mountains than that pursued by the main body, and had, consequently, by striking out for themselves, got to Chattanooga first. The 19th and 24th Illinois were deployed as skirmishers to feel the enemy, and went down the hill as coolly as if on dress parade. The enemy, although in strong force, did not wait to feel the touch of the 19th, but immediately recrossed the river. General Negley at once placed his artillery in a position commanding the town. About 5 o'clock P. M., a brisk fire was kept up between the enemy's riflemen and the 19th and 24th, still acting as skirmishers. General Negley ordered his batteries to open and a fierce cannonading ensued, kept up for two hours, during which time all the enemy's guns were silenced, three of them hav

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ing been dismantled. The shelling was continued for two or three days, but the place finally had to be abandoned, owing to the difficulty experienced by General Negley in procuring supplies.

On the advance of General Buell, this division, under General Mitchell, was placed under General Rousseau, and General Mitchell was ordered to report at Port Royal, S. C.

A brief sketch of the life and character of one who was so "large a part" of this campaign, whose military genius pervaded all its movements, and whose energy gave to it its success, will fittingly close our narrative.

John Basil Turchin was born in the valley of the Don, Russia, Jan. 18, 1822. At the age of fourteen he attended the military school at St. Petersburg, where he obtained the rudiments of his military education. After his graduation, he received a Lieutenant's commission in the Russian army. His precocious military talent rapidly gained him promotion, and he was soon elevated to the rank of Captain on the general staff, when he again entered the military academy and remained there three years, finishing the theoretical parts of his education. At the outbreak of the Crimean war he received an appointment on the staff of the Crown Prince-the present Emperor of Russia-corresponding in our service to the first assistant adjutant general to a commander of division. The plan adopted for the defenses of the coast of Finland was prepared by him, and to him was entrusted the superintendence of their construction. They are probably among the most elaborate and scientific specimens of military engineering in Europe.

Having imbibed democratic ideas at an early age, he came to the United States in 1856, and was employed in the engineering department of the Illinois Central Railroad, a corporation, by the way, which has furnished four prominent generals to the service in the present war-Banks, Burnside, Turchin and McClellan. When the war broke out for the defense of those same democratic ideas which had led him to abandon his fatherland, he entered heartily into the movement, and in July, 1861, was appointed Colonel of the 19th Illinois, one of the best drilled, most marched, heaviest battlescarred, and worst abused regiments that ever sustained the honor of Illinois in the field. During its stay in camp in Chicago, it became

celebrated for its excellence of drill and esprit du corps. General Turchin gave to it his constant personal attention and inspection, and was ever vigilant and unwearied to make it a model regiment. He led it through many hard, wearisome marches and severe battles, that told fearfully upon its numbers, but which made its name the synonym of success, and finally, when court-martialed upon the charges of inferior officers, returned to his home, accompanied by his faithful and gallant lady, who had shared his dangers and privations upon the march and in the field, to be welcomed with princely ovations. While the court martial was pending, he received the commission of a brigadier-general from the President, which was a signal answer to the charges against him.

General Turchin is a man of medium stature and strong frame, slightly inclined to corpulence, with a massive, well formed head, and a face full of intelligence. His countenance is very expressive and genial, and betokens the union of a rare and delicate humor, with great inflexibility of will and decision of purpose. He is impulsive, full of energy, thinks and acts quickly, and is rarely placed in that position where he cannot muster resources to meet its emergencies. In succeeding chapters we shall see more of this General, and find that a lion-like courage was another attribute of his nature.

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