pressed forward after the flying enemy, until the shades of night put an end to the combat.

At the close of the day the enemy had been driven out of his original line of works, and forced back to a new position along the base of Harpeth Hills, still holding his line of retreat to Franklin by the main pike through Brentwood and by the Granny White pike. Our line at nightfall was readjusted, running parallel to and east of the Hillsboro' pike-Schofield's command on the right, Smith's in the centre, and Wood's on the left, with the cavalry on the right of Schofield; Steedman holding the position he had gained early in the morning. The total result of the day's operations was the capture of sixteen pieces of artillery and twelve hundred prisoners, besides several hundred stands of small-arms, and about forty wagons. The enemy had been forced back at all points with heavy loss, and our casualties were unusually light. The whole command bivouacked in line of battle during the night on the ground occupied at dark, while preparations were made to renew the battle at an early hour on the morrow.

Between the Granny White and Franklin pikes is a kind of plateau, sloping towards the range of bluffs which seem to be bounded by Little Harper and Mill Creeks. Fine residences and well-cultivated plantations cover the landscape back to Nashville. Here the city was shut out from view by the hills, crowned with forts and batteries, their sides dotted over with white tents, and the dark forms of citizens crowding to see the battle, or at least hear its din. Behind these rose the houses and steeples of the city. The cupola of the capitol was crowded with anxious spectators.

At six A. M., on the 16th, Wood's Corps pressed back the enemy's skirmishers across the Franklin pike to the eastward of it, and then, swinging slightly to the right, advanced due south from Nashville, driving the enemy before him until he came upon his new main line of works, constructed during the night, on what is called Overton's Hill, about five miles south of the city, and east of the Franklin pike. Steedman moved out from Nashville by the Nolensville pike, and formed his command on the left of Wood, effectually securing the latter's left flank, and made preparations to co-operate in the operations of the day. Smith's command moved on the right of the Fourth Corps (Wood's,) and establishing connection with Wood's right, completed the new line of battle. Schofield's troops remained in the position taken up by them at dark on the day previous, facing eastward and towards the enemy's left flank, the line of the corps running perpendicular to Smith's troops. Wilson's Cavalry, which had rested for the night at the six-mile post on the Hillsboro' pike, was dismounted and formed on the right of Schofield's command, and by noon of the 16th had succeeded in gaining the enemy's rear, and stretched across the Granny White pike, one of his two outlets towards Franklin.

As soon as the above dispositions were completed, Thomas, having visited the different commands, gave directions that the movement against the enemy's left flank should be continued. Our entire line approached to within six hundred yards of the enemy's at all points. His centre was weak as compared with either his right, at Overton's

Hill, or his left, on the hills bordering the Granny White pike; still there were hopes of gaining his rear and cutting off his retreat from Franklin.

In front of the rebel lines, commanding the Franklin pike, was a strong fort, occupying the crest of the hill, with strongly intrenched works all round, and slashed trees in front. This hill is the first important one of the Overton range-the extreme western spur of the Cumberland range of mountains, and is about one mile in front of Thompson's house, where S. D. Lee had his head-quarters, and about five miles from Nashville. From this position the rebels not only checked the advance of Beatty's Division, but also commanded a salient fire on our advancing columns.

About three P. M., Post's Brigade of Wood's Corps, supported by Streight's Brigade of the same command, was ordered by General Wood to assault that position. This intention was communicated to Steedman, who ordered the brigade of colored troops, commanded by Colonel Morgan, to co-operate in the movement. The ground on which the two assaulting columns formed being open and exposed to the enemy's view, he, readily perceiving our intention, drew re-enforcements from his left and centre to the threatened point. This movement of troops on the part of the enemy was communicated along the line from left to right. At this time a gentle rain was falling; not a breeze was stirring, and the calm was ominous. As the troops

began to move, our batteries opened. As they rose the slope the enemy received them with a tremendous fire of grape, canister, and musketry, our men moving steadily onward up the hill until near the crest, when the reserves of the enemy rose and poured into the assaulting column a most destructive fire.

Unfortunately, at this moment the lines that were joined below lapped, and the negro troops became mingled with the left of Post's Brigade, creating disorder. The slaughter of our troops here was awful. Post, far ahead of the line, was waving his sword and calling his men to follow, when a discharge of grape and canister from the rebel battery mortally wounded him. Our line was at this time within twenty steps of the works. The rebels rose from their works and poured in another terrific volley that seriously staggered the line, causing the men first to waver and then to fall back, leaving their dead and wounded -black and white indiscriminately mingled-lying amid the abatis. General Wood readily re-formed his command in the position it had previously occupied, preparatory to a renewal of the assault.

Meanwhile, at four P. M., Schofield and Smith scaled the bald hill in their front, where were captured eight guns, and the enemy's line was broken. Schofield, who had kept Cox's Division of his corps up to this hour rather in reserve, now swung him rapidly around at a charge. Two batteries were encountered, but the enemy, finding his line broken to his right, only opened one to cover the retreat of the other. As though the obstacle were one of no consequence at all, Cox pushed vigorously forward, captured the battery playing on him, and followed rapidly in pursuit of the other, captured it also, and with it several hundred prisoners. Simultaneous with the advance of Cox,

Wilson's Cavalry dismounted and attacked the enemy, striking him in reverse, getting firm possession of the Granny White pike, and cutting off his retreat by that route. On the ridge he met with very stubborn resistance, but drove the enemy at every point. East of the ridge the enemy fought with little energy, but allowed their left to be enveloped with comparative ease.

Wood's and Steedman's troops, hearing the shouts of victory coming from the right, now renewed the assault upon Overton Hill with great impetuosity, and in face of a terrible fire carried the position, capturing nine pieces of artillery and many prisoners. The enemy retired through the Brentwood Pass. The cavalry and a portion of the Fourth Corps overtook the rebel rear-guard posted across the road behind barricades near Chalmers. This was defeated, and the rebel General Rucker captured. The captures during the two days embraced four thousand four hundred and sixty-two prisoners, including two hundred and eightyseven officers, fifty-three pieces of artillery, and many small-arms, and the enemy also lost three thousand killed and wounded. The total Union loss did not exceed three thousand.

At daylight on the 17th, the Fourth Corps continued the pursuit towards Franklin by the direct route, while the cavalry moved on the Granny White pike and its intersection with the Franklin pike, and took the lead. The enemy fell back to the Harpeth River. His rearguard posted at Hollow Tree Gap, four miles north of Franklin, was defeated with the loss of four hundred and twenty prisoners. An attempt of the enemy to defend the crossing of the Harpeth River at Franklin was defeated by Johnson's Division, which had been sent by Wilson on the Hillsboro' pike direct to Harpeth River. Wilson now pressed the pursuit to Columbia, the enemy retiring before him slowly to a point five miles south of Franklin. There an attempt to make a stand was defeated, and the retreat was continued. On the night of the 19th, the enemy crossed the Duck River and removed the bridge. The swollen stream caused a delay of a day. General Thomas in his report states: "The pontoon train coming up to Rutherford's Creek about noon of the 21st, a bridge was laid during the afternoon, and General Smith's troops were enabled to cross. The weather had changed from dismal rain to bitter cold, very materially retarding the work in laying the bridge, as the regiment of colored troops, to whom the duty was intrusted, seemed unmanned by the cold, and totally unequal to the occasion." Wilson's Cavalry and Wood's Infantry pressed the pursuit. Forrest's Cavalry, which Hood had so foolishly detached from his main army while he was besieging Nashville, rejoined him at Columbia, and a strong rear-guard was formed, which did good service in covering the retreat. On the 24th, Wilson overtook the enemy at Buford Sta tion, inflicting some punishment; and on the 25th the enemy evacuated Pulaski. At Lamb's Ferry he made a stand, and as the pursuing force under Colonel Harrison came up, charged, drove him back, and cap tured a gun. The Fourth Corps was within six miles of Pulaski, December 26th, and reached Lexington on the 28th. The enemy being now across the Tennessee, General Thomas ceased the pursuit.

On the 30th December, the end of the campaign was announced to

the army, and the following disposition was made of the command: Smith's Corps to take post at Eastport, Mississippi; Wood's Corps to be concentrated at Huntsville and Athens, Alabama; Schofield's Corps to proceed to Dalton, Georgia; and Wilson's Cavalry, after sending one division to Eastport, Mississippi, to concentrate the balance at or near Huntsville. On reaching the several positions assigned to them, the different commands were to go into winter-quarters and recuperate for the spring campaign. These dispositions not meeting the views of the general-in-chief, orders were issued on the 31st of December for Generals Schofield, Smith, and Wilson to concentrate their commands at Eastport, Mississippi, and that of General Wood at Huntsville, Alabama, preparatory to a renewal of the campaign against the enemy in Mississippi and Alabama.

A number of minor operations by cavalry occurred in the pursuit of Hood's army. The results of the operations under Thomas were: thirteen thousand one hundred and eighty-nine prisoners of war, including general officers and nearly one thousand other officers of all grades, and seventy-two pieces of serviceable artillery. During the same period over two thousand deserters from the enemy were received, and to whom the oath was administered. Our own losses did not exceed ten thousand in killed, wounded, and missing.

his.

Thus ended the career of Hood as an active commander in the field. Receiving from Johnston a compact and unbroken army, which had made a good fight against the superior forces of Sherman, he wasted its numbers in three foolhardy attempts to defeat his wary opponent in a pitched battle, and finally, in consequence of sending away cavalry, the only arm in which he was superior to Sherman, he enabled the latter to completely flank him and drive him out of Atlanta. Dis patched by Davis on a hazardous attempt to drive Sherman out of Georgia and regain Tennessee, he permitted himself to be enticed by Thomas into the neighborhood of Nashville, when that general, abundantly re-enforced and supplied, sallied forth at his leisure and dealt the rebel army such a blow as drove it, a beaten and demoralized mass of fugitives, into Northern Alabama, and rendered it powerless for further offensive purposes.

CHAPTER LXVII.

Sheridan in Command of the Middle Military Division.-Manoeuvring in the Valley.Object of the Movements.-Battles of Opequan Creek and Fisher's Hill.-Rout and Retreat of the Rebels.-Their new Position at Brown's Gap.-Movements of Sheridan.

ON August 7th, General Sheridan assumed command of the Middle Military Division, comprising the Middle Department, and the Departments of Washington, the Susquehanna, and West Virginia. On the same day he fixed his head-quarters at Harper's Ferry, and at once commenced to concentrate his troops along the Potomac in the vicinity of the Shenandoah Valley. Sheridan's troops consisted now chiefly of the Sixth, Eighth, and Nineteenth Corps of Infantry, and the infantry

of the old Army of the Kanawha, under Crook. A part of the Nineteenth Corps, however, was still in Louisiana. His cavalry comprised Torbert's First Division of Potomac Cavalry, Averill's Division, Kelly's command, and Lowell's Brigade. Wilson's Second Cavalry Division arrived on the 13th from City Point. Against this strong and compact army, General Early was now able to muster about eighteen thousand men. His army consisted, first, of two infantry corps, under Rhodes and Breckinridge. Rhodes had his own old division and Ramseur's, and various reserves in the Valley, the whole estimated at about seven thousand men. Ramseur's Division comprised the brigades of Lillie (formerly of Pegram), Evans, and Johnson. Breckinridge had the divisions of Wharton and Gordon, four thousand five hundred or five thousand strong, the former having two brigades, and the latter (like Rhodes's old division) consisting of four. Ransom's Cavalry consisted of about five thousand five hundred troops, divided into four brigades, under Imboden, McCausland, Jackson, and Vaughan. The artillery, under Long, consisted of three battalions, and not far from fifty guns. The men were, to a considerable extent, employed threshing wheat in the valley and sending it to Richmond.

At sunrise on Wednesday morning, the 10th of August, Sheridan began to move out his forces from Halltown, for the repossession of the Valley. The force reached Charlestown in two hours, where the Nineteenth Corps struck off to the left for Berryville, preceded by the cavalry brigades of Custer and Gibbs. Still farther to the left marched Crook's Infantry, with mounted men in advance. Finally, on the right, the Sixth Corps, preceded by the brigades of Devin and Lowell, kept on the Winchester road a few miles, and then turned off towards Smithsfield, and towards the Nineteenth. The army advanced, skirmishing occasionally with the enemy, who retired up the Valley, along the Strasburg road. At Front Royal a rebel force, consisting of Jones's Tennessee Brigade of mounted infantry, with three field-pieces, held a strong position. This was assailed by Cesnola's Fourth New York cavalry, which was repulsed. The Fourth, Sixth, and Ninth New York and Seventeenth Pennsylvania then advanced, dismounted, supported by Pierce's Battery. The fight lasted from eleven till two, with no decisive result, though the enemy detained the pursuit some hours and inflicted loss on the Federal troops.

The enemy then drew off in the direction of Newtown, where he made a further stand, covering the passage of his trains, and repulsing an attack by the Union cavalry. The advance now passed beyond Winchester and Millwood, which were evacuated by the enemy, and camped, on the night of the 11th, six miles to the southeast of the former place. Early, thinking it was the design of Sheridan to flank 'him, had begun his withdrawal from Winchester to Newtown on the 10th, and continued it till the 11th. About ten o'clock of the latter day, Lowell's Cavalry charged through the town, but effected nothing, for the rear-guard had already moved out at the other end. The fighting of the day was entirely conducted by Early's rear-guard. On the 12th, the enemy having again fallen back, the column resumed the advance, and on the following day reached Cedar Creek, three miles