546

STRUGGLE OF HAZEN'S BRIGADE.

pelled Thomas to withdraw from the cedar woods, and form a line on the open ground between them and the Nashville pike, his artillery taking a position on an elevation a little to the southwest of that highway. In this movement the brigade of regulars, under Lieutenant-Colonel Shepherd, were exposed to a terrible fire, and lost twenty-two officers and five hundred and two men in killed and wounded. It held its ground against overwhelming odds, with the assistance of the brigades of Beatty and Scribner, and the batteries of Loomis and Guenther.

The position now taken by Thomas was firmly held, and enabled Rosecrans to readjust the line of battle to the state of affairs. But the dreadful struggle was not over. Palmer's division, which held the right of the

fell upon the flank of the Second, commanded by Acting Brigadier-General William B. Hazen, of the Forty-first Ohio Volunteers, who was posted on a gentle rise of ground-a cotton-field-between the Nashville pike and the Nashville and Chattanooga railway, now marked by the burial-ground of those of his command who fell on that occasion. He had but one regiment at first to protect this flank, but two battalions from the reserves soon came to its assistance. That brigade was the chief object in the way of complete victory for the Confederates, and in double lines, some in rear, some on flanks,

1 This was the appearance of the burial-ground and the monument on the battle-field of Murfreesboro', as it appeared when the writer sketched it, early in May, 1866. It is on the spot where Hazen's brigade had its struggle the severest part of the battle on the 81st of December. The lot is oblong, forty by one hundred feet in size, surrounded by a substantial wall of limestone, found in the vicinity. In it are the graves of sixty. nine men of the brigade, buried there, and at the head of each grave is a stone, with the name of the occupant upon it. A substantial monument of the same kind of stone is within the inclosure. The wall and the monument were constructed by Hazen's men soon after the battle. The monument, which is seen at the left of the railway by travellers going toward Nashville, is ten feet square at the base, and about the same in height, and bears the following inscriptions:

West side.-"Hazen's Brigade. To the memory of its soldiers who fell at Stone River, December 31st, 1862. Their faces toward Heaven, their feet to the foc."

South side.-"The veterans of Shiloh have left a deathless heritage of fame upon the field of Stone River. Killed at Shiloh, April 7, 1862, Captain James Haughton, First Lieutenant and Adjutant T. Patton, and

547

BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO'.

and some in front, they made desperate attempts to demolish it. The gallant Hazen felt that his little band must decide the question of victory or defeat for the Nationals, and so at the cost of one-third of his brigade he beat back the foe, time and again, until Rosecrans was enabled to form his new line for vigorous action. To Hazen's brigade is freely given the honor of saving the day, and perhaps the Army of the Cumberland. Thirteen hundred men,' skillfully handled, had kept thousands at bay, by repelling them time after time, and stayed the tide of victory for the Confederates, which had been rolling steadily forward for hours.

NASHVILLE & CHATTANOOGA

FORK

UNION

NE

LINE

CONFEDERATE

DERATE

MURFREE

RIVER

But the struggle was not yet over. Bragg's entire army, excepting a portion of Breckenridge's division across the river, was still pressing hard upon the Nationals, but in every attempt to break the newlyformed line they were repulsed with much slaughter. The gallant Wood, though severely wounded in the foot at ten o'clock in the morning, kept the saddle all day, and, with Van Cleve, skillfully fought the Confederate left under Breckenridge, and repulsed his charges. Wood's batteries had done nobly. Indeed, gallantry and skill were exhibited by both sides in every part of the field. The day closed, and darkness ended the battle, leaving the Nationals "masters of the original ground on their left, and the new line advantageously posted, with open ground in front, commanded at all points by their artillery."

POSITION, NIGHT OF DECEMBER 31ST.

Rosecrans had lost heavily in men and guns, yet he was not discouraged.

First Lieutenant Joseph Turner, Ninth Indiana Volunteers; First Lieutenant Franklin E. Pancoast and Second Lieutenant Chauncey H. Talcott, Forty-first Ohio Volunteers; Second Lieutenant Antoħ Hund, Sixth Kentucky Volunteers"

East side.-"Erected 1863, upon the ground where they fell, by their comrades, Forty-first Infantry, Ohio Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel A. Wiley; Sixth Infantry, Kentucky Volunteers, Colonel W. C. Whitaker; Ninth Infantry, Indiana Volunteers, Colonel W. H. Black; One Hundred and Tenth Infantry, Illinois Volunteers, Colonel T. S. Casey; Cockerill's Battery, Company F, First Artillery, Ohio Volunteers, Nineteenth Brigade Buell's Army of the Ohio, Colonel W. B. Hazen, Forty-first Infantry Ohio Volunteers Commanding."

North side.-"The blood of one-third of its soldiers, twice spilled in Tennessee, crimsons the battle-flag of the brigade, and inspires it to greater deeds. Killed at Stone's River, December 31, 1862, Lieutenant-Colonel George T. Colton and Captain Charles S. Todd, Sixth Kentucky Volunteers; Captain Isaac M. Pettit, Ninth Indiana Volunteers; First Lieutenant Calvin Hart and First Lieutenant I. T. Patchin, Forty-first Ohio Volunteers; Second Lieutenant Henry Kessler, Ninth Indiana Volunteers; Second Lieutenant Jesse G. Payne, One Hundred and Tenth Illinois Volunteers."

1 These were comprised in four thin regiments, namely, Sixth Kentucky, Colonel W. C. Whittaker; Ninth Indiana, Colonel W. II. Blake; One Hundred and Tenth Illinois, Colonel T. S. Casey; and Forty-first Ohio, Colonel A. Wiley.

2 Rosecrans's Report to Adjutant-General Thomas, February 12, 1863.

More than 7,000 men were missing from the ranks at the close of the day. Several regiments had lost two-thirds of their officers. Johnson's ablest brigadiers, Willich and Kirk, were lost, the former being a prisoner, and the latter severely wounded. Sill, Schaeffer, and Roberts, Sheridan's brigadiers, were dead. Wood and Van Cleve were disabled by wounds, and no less than ten Colonels, ten Lieutenant-Colonels, and six Majors were missing. Sheridan alone had lost seventy-two officers. Nearly two-thirds of the battle-field was in the posses

548

• Dec. 81,

1862.

BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO'.

He established head-quarters that night at a log hut near the Nashville pike, and there he called a council of general officers. These had seen his gallant bearing throughout the day, as he rode from point to point where danger to his troops was most apparent, and recognized the wisdom of his orders in the fact of success. He had been seen on every part of the field, directing the most important movements with perfect composure. When the head of the accomplished Garesché, his warm friend and his chief of staff, was shot off while he was riding by his commander's side, the General simply remarked, "I am very sorry, but we cannot help it ;" and when it was erroneously reported to him that McCook was killed he made a similar reply, adding, "This battle must be won." With that determination he went into the council and said, "Gentlemen, we conquer or die right here." For his admiring officers his will was law. It was resolved to continue the fight,' and the Army of the Cumberland rested that night in full expectation of renewing the struggle the next morning.

Bragg was confident of final victory. He sent a jubilant dispatch to Richmond, saying that, after ten hours' hard fighting, he had driven his foe from every position excepting his extreme left (held by Hazen), maintained the field, and had as trophies four thousand prisoners, two brigadier-generals, thirty-one pieces of artillery, and two hundred wagons and teams. He expected Rosecrans would attempt to fly toward Nashville during the night, and was greatly astonished in the morning to find his opponent's army not only present, but in battle order. He began to doubt his ability to conquer his foe, and moved more circumspectly. He attempted but little, and the sum of that day's operations was some heavy skirmishing and occasional artillery firing. That night both armies, alert and anxious, slept on their

arms.

Friday morning' found Rosecrans with his army well in hand, and in an

b Jan. 2,

advantageous position. During the preceding evening Van Cleve's 1863. division of Crittenden's corps, then commanded by Colonel Beatty, of the Nineteenth Ohio, had been thrown across Stone's River, and occupied an eminence commanding the upper ford, nearly a mile below the bridge of the Nashville turnpike. Bragg, during the night, had stealthily planted four heavy batteries to sweep the National lines, and with these he suddenly opened a terrific fire at eight o'clock in the morning, to which Hascall's division was more immediately exposed, and made to suffer severely. Estep's battery was quickly disabled, but Bradley's, and the guns of Walker and Sheridan's divisions, soon silenced the cannon of the assailants. Then there was a partial lull until about three o'clock in the afternoon, yet it was evident from skirmishing along Beatty's front that the foe was massing in that direction.

sion of the Confederates, and they had captured one-fifth of all of Rosecrans's artillery. Subsistence trains had been captured or destroyed; lines of communication were threatened by Confederate cavalry; artillery ammunition was not abundant; the obtaining of supplies was uncertain, and the wearied soldiers were resting fitfully on that cold and rainy December night without sufficient food or shelter.

1 During the preceding evening Rosecrans had made a personal examination of the ground in the rear, as far as Overall's Creek, and had resolved to await the attack of his foe, while his provision train and a supply of ammunition should be brought up. On the arrival of these, should the Confederates not attack, the Nationals were to commence offensive operations.

BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO'.

549

Meanwhile Rosecrans, adhering to his plan of turning Bragg's right, and taking Murfreesboro', had strengthened Van Cleve's division with one of Palmer's brigades. He was examining the position in person, when suddenly a double line of Bragg's skirmishers, followed by three heavy columns of infantry and three batteries, emerged from the woods and fell heavily upon Van Cleve's force. The assailants were Breckenridge's entire corps, with ten Napoleon 12-pounders, commanded by Captain Robertson, and two thousand cavalry under Wharton and Pegram, aided by a heavy enfilading fire from Bishop Polk's artillery near the center. Beatty's (Van Cleve's) first line (Fifty-first Ohio, Eighth Kentucky, and Thirty-fifth and Seventyeighth Indiana) checked the assailants for a moment, but by the sheer pressure of superior force it was compelled to give way. The reserve (Nineteenth Ohio, and Ninth and Eleventh Kentucky) then went forward and fought gallantly, but was soon compelled to fall back to avoid the conse

quences of a flank movement of the foe. The Nationals were speedily driven in confusion across the river, with heavy loss, closely followed by the increasing numbers of the Confederates-the entire right wing of Bragg's army-in three heavy lines of battle, who swept down the slopes to the edge of the stream.

In the mean time Crittenden's chief of artillery had massed his batteries along the rising ground on the opposite side of the river, so as to sweep and enfilade the foe with fifty-eight guns, while the remainder of the left wing was well prepared for action. These guns opened with murderous effect on the pursuers, cutting broad lanes through their ranks. At the same time the divisions of Negley and J. C. Davis, with St. Clair Morton's engineers, pushed forward to retrieve the disaster. A fierce battle ensued.

1 This was the appearance of the locality when the writer sketched it, early in May, 1866, when fortifications thrown up by the Nationals were seen on both sides of the pike, on the Murfreesboro' side of the stream. The shores of the stream are rough with bowlders, and some have supposed that these gave the name to it, which is generally called Stone River. Its name was derived from a man named Stone, and its proper orthography is that given in the text. In the above picture Redoubt Brannon, named in honor of General Brannon, whom we met at Key West (see page 861, volume I.), is seen on the right of the pike. It was one of a series of redoubts which, with lines of intrenchments, the whole seven miles in extent, were erected by the Nationals and named Fort Rosecrans.

550

VICTORY FOR THE NATIONALS.

Both sides massed their batteries, and plied them with powerful effect. Both felt that the struggle would be decisive. And so it was. For a time it seemed as if mutual annihilation would be the result. Finally Stanley and Miller, with the Nineteenth Illinois, Eighteenth, Twenty-first, and Seventyfourth Ohio, Seventy-eighth Pennsylvania, Eleventh Michigan, and Thirtyseventh Indiana, charged simultaneously, and drove the Confederates rapidly

before them, capturing a battery and the flag of the Twenty-sixth Tennessee. The latter was a trophy of the Seventy-eighth Pennsylvania. This charge decided the day. In twenty minutes the Confederates lost two thousand men. At sunset the entire line had fallen back, leaving about four hundred men captives.

So ended, in complete victory for the Nationals, THE BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO', one of the greater conflicts of the war. It shed great luster upon Rosecrans, who was seen in the last as well as in the first day's conflict, on various parts of the field, directing the fire of the batteries and the movements of the troops, and continually exposed to imminent personal danger. With forty-three thousand four hundred men, he had fought his foe, fully his equal in number,' on ground of the latter's choosing. He was highly commended for his persistence under the discouragements of early disasters and severe losses,' and the lips of

the loyal were everywhere vocal with his praises.

When the Confederates gave way Rosecrans would have chased, but darkness was coming on, and rain was falling copiously. Crittenden's entire corps was thrown across the river, and before morning it was sufficiently intrenched to defy the foe. Rain fell heavily the next day, but it did not repress the ardor of the victorious Nationals. At ten o'clock a long-expected ammunition train came up. Batteries were constructed-some at points in range of Murfreesboro'-and preparations were made for another struggle. Thomas and Rousseau drove the Confederates from the cedar woods without much opposition, and at midnight Bragg stealthily retreated

1 Reports of General Rosecrans and his subordinate commanders. Also the Reports of General Bragg and his subordinates. Rosecrans reported the number of his forces in battle at 43,400, and estimated those of Bragg at 62,720. To this he added, that the Confederates had at least fifteen per cent. the advantage in the choice of the ground and knowledge of the country. Bragg reported his force in the fight at the beginning at 35,000. He had 132 regiments of infantry, 20 regiments of cavalry, and 24 smaller organizations of horsemen. He also had 12 battalions of sharp-shooters and 23 batteries of artillery. These numbered over 60,000, at the lowest calculations of these regiments.

2 Rosecrans officially reported his loss at nearly 12,000, while Bragg estimated it at 24,000. Rosecrans had 1,588 killed, 7,245 wounded, and about 3,000 made prisoners. Bragg claimed to have taken 6,273 prisoners. He admitted a loss on his part of 10,000, of whom 9,000 were killed and wounded. Among his killed were General G. J. Rains (see page 542, volume I.) and Roger W. Hanson, of Kentucky. Generals Chalmers and Adams were among his wounded.