Newspaper Page Text
2
Maj.-Gen. P. R. Cleburne.
A Biography,
BY MAJOR CALHOUN BENHAM.
CHAPTER XV.
Affair of the 17th of June.
The next day, rifle-pits having been
constructed from the Marietta road
extending northerly with epaulments
for batteries, the enemy opened upon
our part of the line with artillery,
particularly upon our main battery
near the road. He made no deter
mined advance of infantry.
THE CANNONADE WAS VERY HEAVY
for upwards of an hour. We had some
casualties —I have not the data to
show how many. One officer how
ever I shall well remember. His
name was Lieut. Isaac Lightner, com
manding Barrett’s St. Louis battery.
He had lost both feet by a cannon-ball.
He was being borne by the infirmary
corps to the rear. Cleburne happen
ing to pass near him, he called the
general to him. Making the litter
bearers set him down, he said : “ Ah!
my General! we gave it to them —
we are giving it to them yet, but
they have finished me. I am gone.
I have always done my duty, General,
and you must put me in your report
—put me in your report.” The Gen
eral told him he hoped he would live,
and promised he would mention him.
He was borne away. He died; and
the General never had an opportunity
to make that report. As well as I can
Ido it for him. The officer’s comrades
will know his name. I think he be
longed to Govan’s Brigade. He was
hurt just to the left of the Marietta
road. Later —at 5 o’clock p. m., Gen.
Lucius J. Polk, our ranking brigadier,
was wounded also. A cannon ball
carried away the calf of his left leg,
and the smaller bone was shattered —
a re-section of three inches was made.
His special exploits have been too
frequently recorded to require words
of encomium here. He is a soldier.
Lieut.-Gen. Polk was his uncle. He
was never fit for service again. He
survives the war.
During the night and next day, the
18th, our part of the line was thrown
some miles farther back. We moved
in column by the roads, which were
very heavy, with a difficult crossing
over a stream much swollen by a
freshet.
On the 19th we established
A NEW LINE OF WORKS,
connecting still with the westerly end
of Kennesaw Mountain. The enemy
advanced early in the day. There
was heavy skirmishing. Our left was
exposed by the cavalry under Gen.
Ferguson falling back. The enemy
did not press his advantage. Hardee
seemed much concerned about the left.
Vaughn’s Brigade of Cheatham’s Divi
sion was placed in support of it; Polk’s
Brigade also.
On the 20th heavy cavalry-supports
were also thrown upon the left. On
the 21st and 22nd nothing worthy of
note transpired. During these days
the artillery-practice of the enemy
was constant, and skirmishing was
heavy and continual. On the 23rd
we encountered
THE SEVEREST SHELLING OF THE CAM
PAIGN.
There were few casualties however.
Cleburne lost to-day a favorite horse.
He got loose and deserted to the enemy.
He had called him Stonewall. This
horse was a veteran of many battles.
Cleburne regretted him very much.
The general suffered another loss,
however, —in a favorite orderly. His
death was a strange incident showing
HOW PRECARIOUS IS LIFE.
He was at the division headquarters.
This was the securest point in our line.
Having been driven from a^ house
on the road by an artillery-practice
which constantly struck it, much pains
had been taken to find this refuge.
It did great credit to the engineering
abilities of its discoverer. It was a
sloping hollow in dense woods, with a
fine spring, two or three hundred yards
behind the line —perfectly screened
from every missile but a bursting shell.
The orderly was standing at the foot
of a tree in the hollow when a minnie
ball struck one of its branches fifty
feet from the ground, and, glancing
straight down, struck him in the side
—cutting the bowel. He died. He
was an Austrian —from Velkeer —
I spell the word phonetically. His
name was I. A. Sap. I record it for
the sake of his distant family. He
was an old soldier. He had been
through the Crimean war and Napo
leon’s Solferino campaign.
June 24th and 25th nothing of note
occurred.
June 26th, very little firing —a lull
before the storm.
GREAT BATTLE OF KENNESAW MOUN
TAIN.
June 27th. Here is the storm. The
enemy advances with great enterprise
in several lines upon our works —a
general assault —it has come at last.
The skirmishers drawn in—the custom
always before a heavy line of battle —
every man encased in the armor of
the trenches awaits the moment when
the enemy shall be embarrassed in the
tangle. He reaches it, —commences to
stumble through it, his feet hindered,
his garments catching fast —he is a
few hundred yards away, fire opens, a
level line of lead. Each shot is low,
aim careful and deliberate. “They
have got us with our Jogs now; ” it is
our time. Along a narrow riband of
ground six or seven miles long in
extent
BLAZES THE FIRE OF DEATH.
It is no combat. In the tangle the
enemy’s lines are in the main swept
away ; the more fortunate brave, who
pass it, fall in the abatis; the rare
hero who reaches our parapet, has the
more honor to die upon it. The Con
federates are not hurt. It is a butch
ery, not a battle. On parts of the
line, perhaps on all, repeated charges
are essayed. It is of no use; there
are somethings even heroism cannot
do. Take those lines the enemy can
not.
HE ABANDONS THE ATTEMPT.
The enemy’s loss was very great,
and in proportion to the time the
engagement lasted, extraordinary.
Our division was engaged not more
than thirty minutes, exclusive of inti
missions, and only Polk’s and Lowrey’s
left at that, and it killed and wounded
upwards of a thousand men. Cheat
ham, more than we, and on the right
the execution was equally great. In
our army the estimate was that the
enemy lost upwards of seven thousand
—killed and wounded —amongst them
were Gen. Harker and manly other
officers of high rank and distinction.
THIS DAY THREW A LIGHT ON WAR IN
A FOREST COUNTRY.
It confirmed the lesson that well traced
intrenchments properly constructed,
on ground lying favorably, with thick
parapet head-log, abatis, and sapling
tangle, cannot be carried in front
against artillery and the long range
rifle, unless at a cost not to be paid
where there is any approximation to
equality of numbers.
The flanking operation alone is ad
missible under such conditions; none
other is practicible. This is the point
THE KENNESAW GAZETTE.
of the lesson. A lay soldier could not
miss it.
I venture to assert that Gen. Sher
man will admit that he learned the
fact that bloody day in June. Cer
tainly, he never repeated the experi
ment of assault in front under similar
conditions in the Atlanta campaign.
On the next day, the 28th,
A TRUCE WAS ALLOWED
that the enemy might bury their dead.
Although forbidden, there was much
reprehensible intercourse by our sol
diers with the enemy.
The 29th of June passed without
any incident, except a very heavy
musketry-fire on our division-front at
midnight, which carried the general
and his staff, galloping through the
dark in a heavy fire to the works.
We could not ascertain the cause of it
—some alarm, possibly, of the enemy,
or an experiment on his part to find
whether we were still in our position,
or retreating. Such a fire should not
be returned; the actual advance should
be awaited in silence; otherwise the
enemy can always discover at night
whether the main force has retreated
or not.
On the 30th of June all was quiet.
On the Ist of July there was severe
shelling in the afternoon. On the
2nd of July we made
ANOTHER NIGHT MARCH IN RETREAT,
the enemy’s movements having again
endangered our flanks. This move
ment was conducted with the consum
mate skill always exhibited by Gen.
Johnston. Each division having its
own roads, and all lighted by little
fires, hidden by the forest from the
enemy, to prevent commands from
going astray.
THIS RETREAT GAVE UP MARIETTA,
a beautiful town of some importance,
not strategical, however, eighteen or
twenty miles north of Atlanta, and
twelve miles north of the Chattahoo
chee river.
[2b be continued.']
From the Front.
Field near Ruff’s Station, I
July 4th, 1864. )
In order to counteract a flank
movement made in force by the enemy
on our left, the army commenced to
withdraw from the neighborhood of
Marietta night before last.
The movement was conducted in a
successful manner, characteristic of
Gen. Johnston.
Gen. Hardee’s Corps, though in
some places not more than forty or
fifty yards from the enemy’s lines, did
not begin to move until just before
daylight yesterday, and was conduct
ed so quietly the enemy was
aware of it until the evacuation was
completed. Not a gun was fired
along the line during the night, ex
cept from the Kennesaw Mountain.
About sunrise the enemy hoisted a
flag on Kennesaw Mountain. An
hour or two later, they advanced,
passing to the rear of the Military
Institute, when our cavalry commenc
ed skirmishing with them.
A brigade of the enemy this morn
ing attacked a small force of one hun
dred dismounted cavalry, and were
compelled to retire. We captured
thirty Henry rifles, a few prisoners
and horses.
The enemy have been feeling for
our position to-day.
Considerable skirmishing was made
along the line, principally on French’s
front. — Atlanta Intelligencer, July 6th,
1864.
As you go over the W. & A. ask
the conductor to show you the great
“horse-shoe bend.”
Sberman’s Army—Talk Among
The Troops—A Strange Scene
At The Front—Burying
The Dead—Whisky
Drinking, Etc.
We copy the following from a Yan
kee newspaper which has been sent to
us by a friend from the front:
I witnessed a strange scene yester
day, in front of Davis’ division during
the burial of the dead, who were kill
ed in the terrific and disastrous charge
of the 27th. Grouped together in
seemingly fraternal unity were officers
and men of both contending armies,
who but five minutes ago were engag
ed in the work of slaughter and death.
There were Generals Cleburne, Cheat
ham, Hindman and Maney in busy
conversation with, as I subsequently
learned, the officers of the 14th Michi
gan infantry, who, it seemed were
well acquainted with the families of
many of the Tennessee officers and
soldiers in Cheatham’s division.
Cheatham looked rugged and healthy,
though seemingly sad and despondent.
He wore his fatigue dress, a blue
flannel shirt, black neck-tie, grey
home-spun pantaloons, and a slouch
black hat. At first he was not dis
posed to be either inquisitive or com
municative, but after putting himself
outside a few heavy jorums of commis
sary whiskey from the bottle of one of
our officers, he “was himself again,”
and made many inquiries about Nash
villians and the Rock City. General
Maney was less reserved. He was
elegantly dressed, as were also lieute
nant-Colonel House, Captains McLean
and Atkinson. Captain Lee, from
Columbus, being introduced to Cap-
Dixon, of the 14th, Michigan, asked:
“Do you belong to Mizien’s regi
ment, for some time stationed at
Frankfort and Columbia?”
“Yes, sir, I do.”
“Then you are the man who was
Provost Marshal ?”
“Yes, sir.”
“It is well for you,” said the cox
combish Captain Lee, “that we didn’t
get possession of that place and you —
I would have hung you.”
“No you wouldn’t,” interposed a
red haired, red eyed Major Hawkins,
(formerly deputy sheriff of Nashville)
“for the boys say. their folks were bet
ter treated by these Michigan men
than by any troops ever stationed
there.”
“That’s so,” said Major Vaulse, o'i
Cheatham’s staff,; “boys, that’s better
whiskey than we’ve got.” (reaching
for the ardent.)
Col. House was in charge of the
burying party, and was courteous ami
affable, putting on his most insinuating
smiles.
Being reminded of the antagonistic
attitude of himself and brother, (Sam,
of Franklin,) who was reported as
making “reconstruction speeches,”
and being a loyal man, he remarked:
“Well Sam was always a conservative
man, but I don’t think he is very
loyal.”
Captain Cook, from Franklin,
Tenn., who was wounded a few days
since, died yesterday. Colonel Clancy,
of the 52d Ohio, in talking to Gener
als Maney and Hindman, remarked
that it was a sad state of affairs to
witness human beings of a common
origin and nationality, dig two hours
every day to bury the dead of twenty
minutes fighting. “Yes, sir, indeed,”
said one : “But if the settlement of
this thing was left to our armies, there
would be peace and good fellowship
established in two hours.”
“General,” said a Federal officer,
addressing long-haired Hindman,
“what do you think if the result of