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Maj.-Gen. P. R. Cleburne.
A Biography,
BY MAJOR CALHOUN BENHAM.
CHAPTER IX.
Hardee’s Retreat.
And now came a delicate operation
for Hardee. He had not only to
retreat with his forces, but to cover
the retreat of the remainder of the
army from the heavy masses of the
enemy’s left and left center.
I had occasion to see Hardee, offici
ally, at this moment. I had known
him long, though not well. I felt an
interest in the man. I had faith in
him —implicit as a corps commander;
—his command was now a separate
one and precariously situated, and I
scanned him narrowly and critically
to ascertain if he seemed equal to the
occasion.
CALM AND IMPERTURBABLE,
not only free from every trait of man
ner to alarm, but his whole bearing
entirely reassuring, he stated the con
dition of the situation, and disposed
accordingly. Leaving Smith’s Brigade,
of Cleburne’s Division, to hold the
position it had maintained on the right
flank so nobly through the day, with
instructions never to leave it under
any circumstances until all was safe,
he moved the troops from his left,
under cover of this
UNRIVALLED TEXAS BRIGADE,
across the Chickamauga by the West
ern & Atlantic Railroad bridge —
burning it after him, and hours before
daylight had every man and every
thing pertaining to his command safely
at Chickamauga station.
Hardee is modest, and free from
ambition, —qualities which he after
wards and on a shining occasion ex
hibited in a rare degree, and he was
aplomb, he meets an exigency with
admirable firmness and resource.
On the morning of the 26th of
November #
THE ARMY CONTINUED ITS RETREAT
towards Dalton, byway of Ringgold.
After several miles the road forked,
one branch keeping the right branch
of the Chickamauga, the other cross
ing the east branch of that stream, at
Graysville, on the Western & Atlantic
Railroad, and ascending the left bank
to Ringgold. The rear guard, com
posed of two detachments, one under
Breckenridge, the other Cleburne’s
Division, both commanded by Breck
enridge until they reached the forks
of the road, gave way slowly, with
some severe fighting, before the enemy
who began to press us as early as eight
or nine o’clock in the morning. This
fighting was done by Breckenridge
with a touch of the obstinate game
he had shown on the second day of
Shiloh.
CLEBURNE WAS IN ADVANCE
of the rear guard, doing yeoman’s
service in forcing on the trains, which,
owing to the deep and heavy condi
tion of the roads, constantly choked it.
This circumstance, indeed, aided by
an impeding caisson, by some treach
ery or mishap set afire in a narrow
defile of the road, delayed the march
so much as to expose the rear guard
under Breckenridge to imminent peril
of being overwhelmed by superior
numbers.
THE SHELLS IN THE BURNING CAISSON
were bursting in such rapid and irreg
ular succession it could not be re
moved, and the column had to halt
until all of the shells had exploded.
At one point, too, the road was so
obstinately choked by stalled wagons,
that Cleburne was able to relieve it
only by parking all the trains to the
t,a ~' MAP OF
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rear of the block in a large field along
side, thus permitting the whole of the
wagons and the last of the rear guard
to enter the low hills bounding the
plain of Chickamauga station on the
south, where it had better cover from
the enemy’s artillery, and could
FIGHT TO MORE ADVANTAGE.
I cannot give the incidents of this
affair. The brilliant Maney, senior
brigadier of Cheatham’s Division, was
wounded.
At Graysville, about sundown,
Cleburne’s Division crossed the Chicka
mauga to its left bank. To make this
movement would expose that division
to a flank attack —doubtless unavoid
ably. This was owing to the necessity
of relieving the road on the right bank
from the portion of the column in
excess of its means to afford passage.
THIS ATTACK WAS MADE BY HOOKER’S
COMMAND.
That officer, having passed the day
before around Bragg’s left, byway of
Rossville, found a road leading across
the west branch of the Chickamauga
at Red House Ford, which debouched
upon the road Cleburne had to follow
by three several forks at points close
to each other. The known trend of
these roads coming in from Red House
Ford at points the division must pass
GAVE CLEBURNE GREAT ANXIETY.
He assumed he would find the enemy
waiting to strike him as he went by.
There was no help for it, however, but
to move steadily on —all of the brig
ades close in hand, ready to front
towards the enemy at the first attack,
and charge, thus hoping to drive him
away from the road and secure the
passage of our trains and artillery
behind the brigade making this move
ment. Fortunately for us, owing to a
delay in crossing at Red House Ford
—the stream was swollen —Hooker
had not been able to push forward in
season to make effective dispositions
as he wished. His advance, however,
reached the exposed point while we
were passing it in the dark, and made
a feeble attack, which was instantly
repelled by a volley and a charge,
spiritedly made by one of our brigades,
Govan’s, but cannot state with
certainty which. The attack, favor
able as the conditions were for the
enemy, was not renewed, and thus
HOOKER LOST A PRIZE,
which would not only have justly been
a feather in his cap, but would per
haps have saved him the mortifying
results of his next meeting with the
same enemy at Ringgold Gap on the
morrow. But this is to anticipate.
Cleburne reached Ringgold, a little
town on the Western & Atlantic Rail-
THE KENNESAW GAZETTE.
road, at an advanced hour of the night
—his jaded and shivering troops ford
ing the East Chickamauga before
they went into bivouac. Brecken
ridge had also arrived, and
THE WHOLE ARMY WAS AGAIN
TOGETHER.
Battle of Ringgold Gap.
Early in the morning of November
27th, the retreat was resumed, Cle
burne was ordered to check the enemy,
—now in full and eager pursuit—
Breckenridge holding himself ready to
support him. A natural feature of
the country at this point gave an
admirable position for the purpose.
Just east of the town of Ringgold,
a few hundred yards from the Western
& Atlantic Railroad station, rises a
lofty ridge with steep and heavily
wooded sides, known as Taylor’s
Ridge. It extends for many miles
north and south of Ringgold,
WITHOUT A PRACTICABLE PASS
to be reached by the enemy in time
to cut off our retreat, except what is
known as Ringgold Gap. This is a
natural gate-way in the ridge, about
wide enough in its level part for the
Western & Atlantic Railroad, a dirt
road, and the main branch of the
East Chickamauga, all of which pass
through it. The west mouth of the
gap winds off to the north. This
flaring side of the mouth was covered
with timbei and thick undergrowth.
Here Cleburne deployed the Texas
brigade, commanded by Granbury,
A NEW STAR OUT OF THAT FULL AND
GLORIOUS GALAXY,
risen into the ascendant to replace
Smith, wounded at Missionary Ridge.
Granbury’s lett rested on the north
edge of the mouth proper of the gap,
his front stretching to the right and
forward at an obtuse angle. At right
angles across the gap was placed
Govan’s Brigade, ranged, owing to
the narrowness of the gap, in four or
five lines, and lying in gulleys formed
by the torrents from the hillside. In
front of Govan, screened by bushes,
were placed
TWO NAPOLEON GUNS,
of Goldthwaite’s Battery, commanded
by that officer in person. Skirmishers
were thrown forward in front of Gran
bury and in the woods in front of the
left edge of the mouth of the gap, and
on the bank of the stream ; and some
occupied the mountain on the south
side of the gap. On the mountain, on
the north side of the gap, was placed
Polk, Lowrey being in reserve as a
general support. Thus disposed, the
gap occupied and the flanks secured
by positions on the ridge,
CLEBURNE, HIMSELF ON FOOT
with his staff near Goldthwaite’s
pieces, awaited the enemy. All in
the gap was “still as the breeze, but
dreadful as the storm.” He soon ad
vanced in heavy force under Hooker.
In a moment Goldthwaite opens with
grape and canister in the enemy’s face;
Granbury’s line blazes upon both his
front and flank. He recoiled as if a
yawning mine had exploded at his
feet, and fled for cover behind the
embankment of the railroad he had
just passed over.
HE HAD FELT US ENOUGH,
he never advanced upon the mouth of
the gorge again. It was no more
inviting than the gate to “Dantes
Hell.” From a respectful distance
he poured a constant fire into it, how
ever, direct and cross.
For hours Cleburne held him at bay,
though re-enforced by Thomas, the
severer part of the conflict taking
place on the ridge north of the gap,
where heavy columns were sent in
hopes of turning the position. But
Polk was there and
REPELLED THE ASSAULT,
Lowrey soon arriving to assist him.
Here the fighting was hand-to-hand,
many of our men laying aside their
muskets and using stones with which
the ridge was covered, as more effec
tive missiles against the enemy.*
About 3 o’clock p. m., the battle
having continued long enough to
allow the main body and all the trains
to get far on their way to Dalton.
Cleburne withdraw. This was a bril
liant affair. Cleburne has reported it.
THE ENEMY SUFFERED SEVERELY.
Cleburne’s loss was very slight.
The account given by Gen. Hooker
of this affair is not correct. I will not
permit myself to say that he has made
intentional misrepresentations; but
owing to an inartistical blending of
his account of the battles of Lookout
Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and
Ringgold Gap, he gives a very false
impression of the affair at the gap.
He says, apparently speaking of Ring
gold, he found upon the field one
hundred and thirty killed, whereas
the official list of casualties shpws but
twenty killed, and one hundred and
eighty-eight wounded in Cleburne’s
Division, the only command engaged
in this battle on the 27th of November.
I append the casualty list for Ring
gold Gap. The Medical Director of
Cleburne’s Division, who certifies it —
Dr. D. A. Linthicum —was an exact
and painstaking officer, and is a most
estimable gentleman. He now resides
at Helena, Arkansas.
LIST OF CASUALTIES
in Cleburne’s Division in the Battle of
Missionary Ridge, Nov. 25th, 1863:
Brigades- Killed, Wounded.
Smith’s 17 95
Liddell’s 17 61
Lowrey’s 1 9
Polk’s 0 1
Calvert’s Battery 0 4
Total 35 170
D. A. Linthicum, Chief Surgeon.
LIST OF CASUALTIES
in Cleburne’s Division in the Battle of
Ringgold Gap, Nov. 27th, 1863:
Brigades. Killed. Wounded.
Smith’s 5 42
Liddell’s 0 50
Lowrey’s 4 35
Polk’s 11 58
Semple’s Battery 0 2
Cleburne’s Escort 0 1
Total 20 188
D. A. Linthicum, Chief Surgeon.
Gen. Hooker stated also in his
report that he “captured two hundred
* One of the prisoners taken at this point,
quite won Cleburne’s heart after the battle
by saying to Cleburne’s brother, then a
private in Polk’s Brigade: “ You are the
little devil who broke my jaw-bone with a
rock.” Poor Kit, his name was Christo-