BATTLE OF PERRYVILLE. 509 the flank corps of Crittenden and McCook to close up on his right and left, and, if possible, surround the foe. A great drouth was then prevailing, and the necessity for making a circuitous march to find water caused half a day's delay in the arrival of Crittenden. Meanwhile Bragg, perceiving the threatened peril, had begun to retreat. He was anxious to secure the exit of his plunder-trains from the State, and when informed of the delay of Crittenden, he resolved to give battle at once to the other corps, and, if successful, to fall upon the delayed one on its arrival, or retreat with his spoils. His troops then consisted of five divisions; two under Hardee, and one each under Anderson, Cheatham, and Buckner: the whole immediately commanded by Major-General Polk. Smith was retreating farther to the east, taking with him the "Provisional Government" in the person of poor "Governor" Hawes, and Withers had been sent to assist him. There was a sharp engagement early in the morning of the 8th, when the Confederates attempted to repel the brigade of Colonel D. McCook,' of Sheridan's division, which Gilbert had ordered forward, accompanied by Barnett's battery and the Second Michigan cavalry, to occupy high ground, and to secure a watering-place. A desultory battle ensued, which lasted until nearly ten o'clock, when, just as General R. B. Mitchell's division was getting into line of battle on the right of the eminence occupied by McCook, the Second Missouri, of Pea Ridge fame,' with the Fifteenth Missouri as a support, came to McCook's aid. The Confederates were quickly repulsed and driven back into the woods, heavily smitten on the flank by the Second Minnesota battery. In this engagement a part of the Ninth Pennsylvania cavalry performed gallant service. Thus ended the preliminary battle of that eventful day. Mitchell and Sheridan were ordered to advance and hold the ground until the two flank corps should arrive. The head of that of McCook, under General Rousseau, moving up from Macksville, on the Harrodsburg road, reached a designated point on Gilbert's left at ten o'clock in the morning. Only two of McCook's three divisions (Rousseau's and Jackson's) were present, that of Sill having been sent toward Frankfort. Rousseau advanced with his cavalry to secure the position, and the batteries of Loomis (Michigan) and Simonson (Indiana) were planted in commanding positions, when a reconnoissance was ordered to Chaplin's Creek, with the view of obtaining, if possible, a better position, where water for the troops might be had. This was done, and when McCook returned to his command, at about noon, his batteries were engaged in LOVELL H. ROUSSEAU. 1 Composed of the Eighty-fifth, Eighty-sixth, and One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Illinois, and Fifty-second Ohio. * See page 256. . 510 BATTLE OF PERRYVILLE. an ineffectual duel with those of the Confederates. He ordered their commanders to save their ammunition, and seeing no enemy in force, and having no apprehensions of a battle until he should offer one, he proceeded to the right of his line. The foe was even then coming stealthily upon him. Cheatham's division, well masked, had stolen up to McCook's left, which was composed chiefly of raw troops, under General Terrell, of Major-General James S. Jackson's division, and fell suddenly upon them in flank, with horrid yells. By a bullet of their first volley Jackson was instantly killed,' and the raw and vastly outnumbered brigade of Terrell broke and fled in utter confusion, leaving most of the guns of Parsons's battery as trophies for the victors. In an attempt to rally his troops Terrell was mortally wounded, and died that night. Fierce indeed was this charge, and when Terrell's force melted away the Confederates fell with equal fury upon Rousseau's division, standing ready and firmly at the foot of the hill to receive it. An attempt to flank and destroy Rousseau's left was gallantly met by Starkweather's brigade, and the batteries of Bush and Stone, who maintained the position for nearly three hours, until the ammunition of both infantry and artillery was nearly exhausted, and Bush's battery had lost thirty-five horses. The guns were drawn back a little, and the infantry, after retiring for a supply of ammunition, resumed their place in the line, not far from Russell's house. Meanwhile Rousseau's center and right, held respectively by the brigades of Colonels L. A. Harris and W. H. Lytle, had fought stubbornly, repelling attack after attack led by Bragg in person, but losing ground a little, when the Confederates made a desperate charge upon Lytle's front, and hurled back his brigade with heavy loss. Lytle was wounded, as he supposed mortally, and refused to be carried from the field. This opened the way for the victors to Gilbert's flank, held by Mitchell and Sheridan, whose front had been for a short time engaged. And now the true mettle of Sheridan, so tried in many a hard-fought battle afterward, was proven. He held the key point of the Union position, and was determined to keep it. In the morning he had driven the foe out of sight, and had just repelled an assault on his front, when he was obliged to meet the triumphant force which had thrown back Rousseau's right. He quickly turned his guns upon them, and was fighting gallantly, when Mitchell pushed up Carlin's brigade to the support of Sheridan's right. This force charged at the double quick, broke the line of the Confederates, and drove them through Perryville to the protection of batteries on the bluffs beyond. In the mean time the brigade of Colonel Gooding had been sent to the aid of McCook. Forming on the extreme left of the National line, it fought with great persistence for two hours against odds, and losing full one-third of its number, with its commander, whose horse was shot under him, made prisoner. It was not until about this time (four o'clock in the afternoon) 1 General Jackson was a member of Congress from the Second Kentucky District, having been chosen by a very large majority over his secession opponent in 1861. In this charge the Nationals captured fifteen heavily loaded ammunition wagons, two caissons with their horses, and a train-guard of one hundred and forty men. 3 The brigade numbered only 1,423, and lost 549, killed, wounded, and missing. BRAGG'S FLIGHT FROM KENTUCKY. 511 that Buell was aware that a battle of much account-really one of the most sanguinary battles of the war, in proportion to numbers engaged-had been in progress. It had been raging for several hours, when he received from McCook a request for re-enforcements. Buell at once sent them, and also orders for Crittenden, who was approaching, to hurry forward. The latter was too late to engage decisively in the conflict, which ended at dark, when the Confederates, who had chosen their position for battle, were repulsed at all points. So ended the destructive BATTLE OF PERRYVILLE, or Chaplin's Hills, as it is sometimes called. Preparations were made by the Nationals for a renewal of the conflict in the morning. Gilbert and Crittenden moved early for that purpose, but during the night the Confederates had retired in haste to Harrodsburg, where Bragg was joined by Kirby Smith and General Withers, and all fled toward East Tennessee, leaving twelve hundred of their sick and wounded at Harrodsburg, and abandoning at various points about twenty-five thousand barrels of pork. The retreat was conducted by General Polk, and covered by the cavalry of the active General Wheeler. They fled into East Tennessee by way of Danville, Stanford, Crab Orchard, and Mount Vernon, followed by a large portion of Buell's army to Rock Castle River, in Rock Castle County. A division of Crittenden's corps was pushed on as far as Wild Cat and London, and then returned to Columbia, when the main army was put in motion for Nashville, under General Thomas, and Buell went to Louisville. The Government was so dissatisfied with the result of this campaign against Bragg that Buell was relieved of command, and MajorGeneral Rosecrans, who 1862. had won substantial a Oct. 30, victories in Mississippi, was put in his place. Then the designation of the Army of the Ohio, which JOSEPII WHEELER. Buell had commanded, was changed to that of the Army of the Cumber la d. 1 See General Buell's Report to General Halleck, October 10, 1862. 2 Wagner's brigade of Crittenden's corps went into action on Mitchell's right just at the close. 3 Buell reported his effective force which advanced on Perryville, 55.000, of whom 22,000 were raw troops. He reported a loss in this battle of 4,348, of whom 916 were killed, 2.943 wounded, and 489 missing. Among the killed were Generals Jackson and Terrell, and Colonel George Webster, of the Ninety-eighth Ohio, who commanded a brigade. The Confederate loss is supposed to have been nearly the same as that of the Nationals in number. Bragg claimed to have captured fifteen guns and four hundred prisoners. 4 So much property was abandoned on the way, or destroyed because of the inability of the Confederates to carry it with them, that it is probable they lost more in the way of outfit, waste of horses and mules, and the necessary expenses, than they gained by this great plundering raid. 5 Reports of Generals Buell and Bragg, and their subordinate officers. Supplemental Report of the Committee on the Conduct of the War, volume II. The Confederates were equally disappointed, not because of any lack of effort on the part of Bragg, but because of the absence of demonstrations of a general feeling in Kentucky in favor of the conspirators. It was supposed that on the appearance of a large force like that of Kirby Smith, or the main army under 512 GENERAL GRANT IN TENNESSEE. We have said that Rosecrans had won substantial victories in Mississippi. Let us look at the record. When Halleck was called to Washington City, as we have observed, General Grant was left in command of his old army, and of the district of West Tennessee, with enlarged powers. General Pope was called to Virginia, and General Rosecrans, who had gained fame in Western Virginia, was placed in command of that leader's forces, under Grant, to occupy Northern Mississippi and Alabama in the vicinity of Corinth, and eastward to Tuscumbia. His division was known as the Army of the Mississippi, with head-quarters at Corinth. From June until September there were not many stirring military events in the region of Grant's command, excepting such as were connected with guerrilla operations, and he had an opportunity to reorganize and discipline his troops. So well had he disposed of his forces, and kept himself informed of the positions and numbers of the Confederates by continual cavalry reconnoissances, that he was able, without much danger to his district, to send troops, under orders from Washington, to Louisville, to the aid of Buell, while the latter was operating against Bragg and Smith, when moving toward Kentucky. This weakening of his forces tempted the Confederates in Mississippi, under Generals Price and Van Dorn,' to move toward the Tennessee River at the beginning of September; not, however, without the knowledge of the vigilant Grant, who was prepared to meet them. When Bragg moved northward, supposing Rosecrans was crossing the Tennessee in pursuit, in conjunction with Buell, he ordered Price to. follow. The latter, preparatory to such movement, first sent a heavy cavalry force, under General Armstrong, to cut Grant's communications and prepare the way for getting between him and Buell, and to operate on the latter's flank and rear while Bragg was moving into Kentucky. Armstrong advanced boldly, with over five thousand horsemen, to strike the Union forces at Bolivar, in Tennessee, and sever the railway there. He was repulsed by less than one thousand men, under Colonel Leggett. On the following day he approached Jackson, and was again repulsed. This was repeated on the 1st of September at Britton's Lane, after a battle • Aug. 30, 1862. Bragg, there would be a general uprising in Kentucky that would swell the ranks of the invaders to a volume sufficient to enable them to sweep triumphantly the rich States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and bear back to the Tennessee, and beyond, food and clothing sufficient for the Confederate armies for a year. But with the exception of the great slaveholding region around Lexington, the people with whom the invaders came in contact were either generally passive or openly hostile; and so manifest was this feeling, that thousands of those who had joined the marauders dared not remain in the State, but fled with them, and became burdensome consumers of food. As in Maryland, so in Kentucky, the people generally refused to espouse the cause of the conspirators, who were confused and greatly disheartened by the disappointment of all their calculations of aid from these two powerful border States. Pollard, the Confeder te historian, said (ii. 162) that the South was bitterly disappointed in the manifestations of public sentiment in Kentucky," and that "the exhibitions of sympathy" were meager and sentimental, and amounted to little practical aid " of the Confederate cause. "Indeed," he says, “no subject was at once more dispiriting and perplexing to the South than the cautious and unmanly reception given to our armies, both in Kentucky and in Maryland." He attributed it to a “dread of Yankee vengeance and a love of property," and expressed the belief that professions of attachment to the "Southern canse" in those States were made with no higher motive than "selfish calculation." 1 See page 296. * When about to march for Kentucky, Bragg informed' Van Dorn and Price of his movement, and that he should leave to them "the enemy in West Tennessee." Van Dorn had then established batte'Aug. 30. ries at Port Hudson, secured the mouth of the Red River, and the navigation of the Mississippi to Vicksburg, and, being at liberty to devote more time to the northern portion of his department, he took position, accordingly, not far south of Grand Junction. of four hours with Illinois troops, under Colonel Dennis. Armstrong fled, leaving one hundred and seventy-nine dead and wounded on the field. Grant promptly informed Rosecrans, then at Tuscumbia, of this raid. The latter hastened to Iuka, a little village on the Memphis and Charleston railway, in Tishamingo County, Mississippi, a place of a Sept. 1, summer resort, on account of its healthfulness, the beauty 1862. of its surroundings, and especially for its fine mineral springs. There a large amount of stores had been gathered. Leaving the post in charge of Colonel R. C. Murphy, of the Eighth Wisconsin, with orders to remove the property to Corinth or destroy it, Rosecrans marched westward with Stanley's division to Clear Creek, seven miles east of Corinth, and encamped. Meanwhile the Missouri leader, Sterling Price, had moved northward from the vicinity of Tupelo, with about twelve thousand troops. He reached Jacinto on IUKA SPRINGS.1 the 10th of September, when Murphy and his little force fled toward Corinth. Price moved forward, occupied Iuka, captured the National property there, and made his head-quarters at the fine mansion of Colonel J. L. Moore. Grant had watched these movements in aid of Bragg with great interest, that he might penetrate the plans of the Confederates. The time had now come for him to act vigorously, and he put two columns in motion to crush the forces of the Missourian: one under General Rosecrans, to attack his flank and rear, and another under General Ord, to confront him. This combined movement began early in the morning of the 18th of September. General Ord, with about five thousand men, moved down to Burnsville, on the railway, seven miles west of Iuka, followed from Bolivar by as many troops under General Ross as Grant could This is a view at the mineral springs in the village of Iuka, as it appeared when the writer sketched it, late in April, 1866. There are two springs in a swale on the bank of Iuka Creek, a small stream that flows slong the eastern border of the village. These were covered with neat pavillons. Close by the railway near by VOL. II.-33 |