BUCKNER ABANDONS EAST TENNESSEE. KY CUMBERLAND MTS." GAP RODGER'S POWELL'S GAP was mainly hoped to stifle the loy- The flight of the Rebel forces from all the points reached by our army in its advance was unexpected, and was misconstrued. So many passes, wherein a regiment and a battery might temporarily repel a corps, had been precipitately abandoned without a shot, as Kingston and Knoxville were, that it was fondly fancied that the Rebellion had collapsed-at least, in this quarter-that the recent and signal triumphs of the National arms at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, &c., had taken the heart out of the remaining disunionists; that we had only thenceforth to advance and bloodlessly reclaim all that had been ruthlessly torn away. It was a great mistake. Buckner was simply withdrawing the Rebel forces from East Tennessee to rëenforce Bragg and enable him to overwhelm Rosecrans; and this facility of recovery should have aroused sus picion, and incited the quickest possible transfer of all but a brigade of Burnside's army to Chattanooga. In fact, he should have been under Rose STRAWBERRY WALKER 5 GAP WHEELER'S KINGSTON FREN CREENVILLE BULLS GAP. CALHOUN CHARLES T. TENNESSEE RIVER WALLEN'S RIDGE 429 COLUMBUS BENTON DALTON 50 crans's orders from the outset, and all his movements should have been subordinate to those of the Army of the Cumberland. When the enemy were found to be retreating southward, they should have been closely pursued; but Burnside had no superior but Halleck, who had no conviction of Rosecrans's peril till it was too late to avert it. And Burnside himself had no idea of look ing to Rosecrans's safety-in fact, this was not in the line of his prescribed duty-but proceeded promptly and vigorously to complete the recovery of East Tennessee. To this end, he impelled" Gen. Shackleford directly on the rear of Cumberland gap; on which Gen. De Courcy simultaneously advanced from London on the north; Burnside following in person two days behind Shackleford, who made a forced march of 60 miles in 52 hours, and thus closed in Gen. Frazier, who with four regiments held the gap, and had refused to quit it while he could, supposing himself able to hold it. But his men were in good part disaffected or discouraged, while the mill whereon he depended for flour was burned" by two companies of Shackleford's men, who crept through his lines and fired it unperceived. When Burnside arrived," Frazier had refused our summons; but he found, soon afterward, good reason to change his mind, and surrendered his 2,000 men and 14 guns. Our cavalry moved thence rapidly eastward; chasing off a small Rebel force under Sam Jones into Virginia, destroying the principal railroad bridges, and completing the recovery of East Tennessee, with the direct loss, in Burnside's command, of barely one man. Halleck says he now ordered Burnside to concentrate his army on the Tennessee river westward from Loudon, so as to connect with Rosecrans, who had just reached Chattanooga, and that "it was hoped that there would be no further delay in effecting a junction between the two armies, as had been previSept. 7. Sept. 9. 66 6 Sept. 5. 67 68 ously ordered." The military reading of the General-in-Chief having been very extensive, he can probably cite numerous instances wherein the leader of a small army has made haste to unite that army with a large one, which would necessarily absorb it, without having been placed under the orders of its commander; but, in the recollection of this writer, such instances are rare. At all events, Burnside did not add another, but continued to diffuse his command throughout East Tennessee, until it had been beaten out very thin, and was thus exposed to be cut up in detail. Col. Foster, in the far east, after one skirmish near Bristol, was sharply assailed" at Blue Springs by Sam Jones, whom he defeated, after two days' desultory fighting; taking 150 prisoners and disabling at least that number, with a loss to our side of barely 100. 69 Shackleford now took post at Jonesboro', with a part of his command, under Wilcox, at Greenville, with two regiments and a battery, under Col. Israel Garrard, 7th Ohio cavalry, at Rogersville, where they were attacked" by 1,200 mounted men under Brig.-Gen. W. E. Jones, acting under the orders of Maj.-Gen. Sam Jones, who struck them at daylight, surprising and easily routing them with a loss of 4 guns, 36 wagons, and 750 prisoners, and creating such a panic at Jonesborough and Greenville that Shackleford's men raced back to Bull's gap, 18 miles, while Jones and his party were making equally good time in the opposite direction, fearing that Shackleford would be upon them in overwhelming force if they did not. This back"Sept. 21. 70 Oct. 10. 71 Nov. 6. FIGHTS AT PHILADELPHIA AND CAMPBELL'S STATION. 431 to-back race was one of the most ludicrous incidents of the war, though the laugh was rather the heartier on the wrong side. The Army of the Cumberland remaining quiet at Chattanooga, Bragg (or his superiors) conceived the idea of improving his leisure by a movement on Burnside, which Longstreet was assigned to lead. Burnside had by this time spread his force very widely, holding innumerable points and places southward and eastward of Knoxville by brigades and detachments; and Longstreet, advancing silently and rapidly, was enabled to strike" heavily at the little outpost of Philadelphia, held by Col. F. T. Wolford, with the 1st, 11th, and 12th Kentucky cavalry and 45th Ohio mounted infantry-in all about 2,000 men. Wolford had dispatched the 1st and 11th Kentucky to protect his trains moving on his right, which a Rebel advance was reported as menacing, when he found himself suddenly assailed in front and on both flanks by an overwhelming Rebel force, estimated at 7,000, whom he withstood several hours, hoping that the sound of guns would bring him assistance from Loudon in his rear; but none arrived; and he was at length obliged to cut his way out; losing his battery and 32 wagons, but bringing off most of his command, with 51 prisoners. Major Delfosse, leading the 12th Ky., was killed. The 1st and 11th Kentucky, under Maj. Graham, having proceeded four miles westward from Philadelphia, found their train already in the hands of the enemy, and recaptured it; chasing its assailants for some distance, and capturing quite a number 72 Oct. 20. of them; when our men in turn encountered a superior force, and were chased nearly to Loudon, losing heavily. We took 111 prisoners this day, and lost 324, with 6 guns; the killed and wounded on either side being about 100. Our total loss in prisoners to Longstreet southward of Loudon is stated by Halleck at 650. The enemy advancing resolutely yet cautiously, our troops were withdrawn before them from Lenoir and from Loudon, concentrating at Campbell's Station-Gen. Burnside, who had hastened from Knoxville at the tidings of danger, being personally in command. Having been joined by his old (9th) corps, he was now probably as strong as Longstreet; but a large portion of his force was still dispersed far to the eastward, and he apprehended being flanked by an advance from Kingston on his left. He found himself so closely pressed, however, that he must either fight or sacrifice his trains; so he chose an advantageous position and suddenly faced" the foe: his batteries being all at hand, while those of his pursuers were behind; so that he had decidedly the advantage in the fighting till late in the afternoon, when they brought up three batteries and opened, while their infantry were extended on either hand, as if to outflank him. He then fell back to the next ridge, and again faced about; holding his position firmly till after nightfall; when-his trains having meantime obtained a fair start-he resumed his retreat, and continued it unmolested until safe within the sheltering intrenchments of Knoxville. Our loss in this affair was about 300; that of the enemy was 73 Nov. 6. And now-Bragg having been defeated by Grant before Chattanooga, and a relieving force under Sherman being close at hand-Longstreet necessarily abandoned the siege, and moved rapidly eastward unassailed to Russellville, Virginia: our entire loss in the defense having been less than 1,000; while his must have been twice or thrice that number. Sher Burnside officially announced the raising of the siege, Dec. 5th. probably greater. Though not a sanguinary nor decisive struggle, few occurred during the war that were more creditable to the generalship or the soldierly qualities of either army. Longstreet continued his pursuit, and in due time beleaguered the city," though he can hardly be said to have invested it. That he intended, and expected, and tried, to carry it, is true; and there was very spirit-man's advance reached the city, and ed and pretty constant fighting around it, mainly on its west side; but the day of rushing naked infantry in masses on formidable earthworks covering heavy batteries was nearly over with either side. The defenses were engineered by Capt. Poe, and were signally effective. Directly on getting into position, a smart assault was delivered on our right, held by the 112th Illinois, 45th Ohio, 3d Michigan, and 12th Kentucky, and a hill carried; but it was not essential to the defenses. Our loss this day was about 100; among them was Gen. W. P. Sanders, of Kentucky, killed. Shelling and skirmishing barely served to break the monotony for ten weary days, when-having been rëenforced by Sam Jones, and one or two other small commands from Virginia Longstreet delivered an assault," by a picked storming party of three brigades, on an unfinished but important work known as Fort Sanders, on our left, but was bloodily repelled by Gen. Ferrero, who held it-the loss of the assailants being some 800, including Col. McElroy, 13th Mississippi, and Col. Thomas, 16th Georgia, killed; while on our side the entire loss that night was about 100; only 15 of these in the fort. Gen. Halleck had been thoroughly aroused to the peril of Rosecrans at Chattanooga just too late to do any good. On his first advice that Longstreet had been dispatched southward from Virginia-it was said, to Charleston-he had telegraphed " to Burnside at Knoxville, to Hurlbut at Memphis, and to Grant at Vicksburg, to move troops to the support of Rosecrans; and the orders to Burnside and Hurlbut were reiterated next day. Schofield at St. Louis and Pope in the north-west were likewise instructed respectively to forward to Tennessee every man they could spare. And it now occurred to Halleck-or did the day after Chickamauga-that two independent commands on the Tennessee would not be so likely to insure effective cöoperation as if one mind directed the movements of both armies; so-Rosecrans being made the necessary scapegoat of others' mistakes as well as his own-Gen. Grant was selected for chief command; Rosecrans being relieved, and instructed to turn over his army to Gen. Thomas. But Grant was now sick in New Orleans, out of reach by telegraph; and SherSept. 13. To Nov. 28-9. 76 |