ca. 17, Retreating Army of Tennessee brings news of the fall of Fort Donelson to Murfreesboro, excerpt from the diary of John C. Spence
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Our town was quietly reposing, not dreaming that an army would tread on our quiet streets, or that we should have any thing to molest us in our every day avocation. But, merely to speak of war as a thing that was raging in other parts of the country and not likely to ever reach us -- these and similar feelings were in the minds of all.
When one morning, early, our ears is [sic] greeted by the sound of the horses hoof, the roll of Artillery wagons and trains, the heavy tread of the retreating soldier and cavalry in our midst. If dreaming, we are now awakened to a new sense of feeling, that war is spreading its baneful effects through the land and its future effects to be dreaded.
Spence, Diary, p. 18.
* * * *
Our town was quietly reposing, not dreaming that an army would tread on our quiet streets, or that we should have any thing to molest us in our every day avocation. But, merely to speak of war as a thing that was raging in other parts of the country and not likely to ever reach us -- these and similar feelings were in the minds of all.
When one morning, early, our ears is [sic] greeted by the sound of the horses hoof, the roll of Artillery wagons and trains, the heavy tread of the retreating soldier and cavalry in our midst. If dreaming, we are now awakened to a new sense of feeling, that war is spreading its baneful effects through the land and its future effects to be dreaded.
Spence, Diary, p. 18.
James B. Jones, Jr.
Public Historian
Tennessee Historical Commission
2941 Lebanon Road
Nashville, TN 37214
(615)-532-1550 x115
(615)-532-1549 FAX
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