Monday, March 2, 2015

3.02.2015 Tennessee Civil War Notes

2, An Address to the Women of the South.
…Let us emulate the virtues of our grandmothers of the revolution….Once more let the sound of the spindle and loom be heard in our midst; once more let the heart of the maiden throb beneath the bodice of home-spun. Again let the bride be led to the altar, robed in the snowy staple of our own manufacture, and, if she need further adorning than the blush of modesty and innocence, wreathe her in the native orange blossom of the South, and deck festal hall and bower with the gorgeous magnolia. Women of the South, your sons husbands and brothers are now laying the foundation of what we fondly hope to be a great and glorious empire. The youths now growing up round you, must complete what their fathers have begun. On you rests the responsibility of training them aright. To you they must look for proper counsel and advice. Revealed religion, inspired genius and true philosophy all proclaim that upon the early training of the child depends the future course of the man. This duty, I again repeat, devolves on you. Thank God that it is so. Thank him that your sphere of action lies at home, that your hands can never be imbued in human blood; that your voice will never be heard in the public strife or quarrel; that you desire no right but what your Bible sanctions. Study night and day, mothers of the South, how you can best influence your children. Turn off your "women's rights" spiritualists from Yankeedom, but leave something of their self-reliance; in this only do they excel you—in grace, beauty, intelligence and virtue you have greatly the advantage.[emphasis added] Become yourselves the instructors of your children. Inform yourselves well of the great events, the noble deeds, that have taken place in the world. Learn a fluency of expression, ready power of narration, be willing at all times to [illegible] to illustrate, stimulate their ardor by your own lofty patriotism. You can do all this, and still govern your households. You have servants that are faithful and true—all menial service will devolve on them; providence has not thus favored you that you may remain repine and idle. Let posterity say of us as a nation, "bravely the man acted and nobly the women aided," and when this fierce civil strife is o'er, and smiling peace and plenty once more appear, with modest thankfulness let each say to the other
"I have done what you have done—that's what I can—
Indeed as you have been—that's for my country." M. A. G.
Memphis Daily Appeal, March 2, 1861.
        2, New Orleans newspaper report relative to contraband slaves and treatment of Rebel prisoners of war in Tennessee
A gentleman who left Clarksville on Monday states that about one thousand negroes had made their way to the Federals at Fort Donelson, and that the owners of the slaves who can show that they are loyal Lincolnites, are permitted to recover their slaves, and that all others are contraband. He reports that the Federals treat our prisoners with marked courtesy, and that their kind course toward the citizens respecting private property had had the most demoralizing effect on thee people in that section. They are just preparing to bind the people hand and foot.
Daily Picayune, March 2, 1862. [1]
        2, Skirmish near Eagleville
No circumstantial reports filed.
        2, Skirmish near Petersburg
No circumstantial reports filed.
        2, Confederate and Federal scouts in Gallatin and Carthage environs
Carthage, March 2, 1863.
Maj.-Gen. ROSECRANS:
I have information that the rebels intend capturing the fleet on its way down the river. No gunboats have yet been seen. I shall detain them, unless otherwise ordered, till gunboats arrive.
Respectfully,
GEORGE CROOK, Brig.-Gen.
Carthage, March 2, 1863.
Maj.-Gen. ROSECRANS:
The cavalry from Gallatin has not yet reported nor been seen. The enemy has been scouting all around us, and we can do nothing with these small parties without cavalry.
Respectfully,
GEORGE CROOK, Brig.-Gen.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 23, pt. II, pp. 98-99.
        2, A Confederate boot ballad
From the Knoxville Register.
Confederate Boots: A Ballad
Respectfully inscribed to Messr's. McGlohon, Van Gilder and Rogers in grateful acknowledgment of a magnificent pair of boots.
By Rev. Joseph Cross, D. D., Chaplain to Gen. Donelson's Brigade.
A song for Van Gilder! a song for McGlohon!
And Rogers the melody suits!
A song for the builder, bestower, and so on,
Of my bonny Confederate Boots.
Wet footed no longer, I am glad I have got 'em—
No logic this statement confutes;
But the straps should be stronger, and smoother the bottoms,*
Of my bonny Confederate Boots.
I can wade through the water, and break through the briar,
In the van of our martial pursuits
I can march in the mortar, and fight in the fire,
With my bonny Confederate Boots.
Without saddle or wheels, I will follow your foes,
Overtaking the fugitive brutes;
And I'll stamp with the heels, and I'll kick with the toes,
Of my bonny Confederate Boots.
The envy of office, the rush after riches,
No churl to this Chaplain imputes;
But O for a coat, and a new pair of breeches,
With my bonny Confederate Boots.
Here ends my ambition--my militant wants—
(And who the position disputes?)
With Freedom's fruition, a whole pair of pants,
And a bonny new coat, with my Boots.
*I broke the straps in pulling them on, and the pegs pricked the soles in my socks.
Headquarters Dep. E. Tenn., March 2, 1862.
Southern Confederacy [Atlanta, Georgia], March 7, 1863.[2]
        2, "Keep in good cheer, for it does me good to see Butternuts skedaddle when we get after them, and how they beg for their lives when we take them prisoners." George Kryder on return of wounded Federal POWs
Camp near Murfreesboro, Tenn.
March 2nd, 1863
Dear wife
~~~~
Today our boys that were paroled came back to us again. Yesterday morning we started out on a scout and found the rebels at Bradyville about 15 miles from here. There were 1,700 of them and we had quite a brisk skirmish with them and at last whipped them completely, killing four or five and how many wounded we do not know and took a great many prisoners. The exact number I could not ascertain but I saw 61 in one gang. There was none of our men killed but one of the 4th Ohio men was shot through the bowels and will die. There were only two of our regiment wounded: Deloss Ashley of our Co. was badly wounded in the arm and the ball went in under his arm and they cut out on his back, and the other was Thomas Thorp of Co. K was seriously wounded in the groin and it is likely to prove fatal. There were quite a number of horses shot. They shot mine for the third time so that we shot him dead after the fight. They shot Charles Benkan's [horse] and broke his fore leg and James killed him afterwards.
Capt. Colver of Co. K is going home tomorrow and so I thought I would send my money with him. There is some talk now that the soldiers are all to have furloughs in this department and if so I will try to come home as soon as I can, only do not despair. Keep in good cheer, for it does me good to see Butternuts skedaddle when we get after them, and how they beg for their lives when we take them prisoners….
~~~~
George Kryder
George Kryder Papers
        2-3, Scout from LaGrange, Tennessee, to Hudsonville and Salem, Miss., and Saulsbury, Tennessee
MARCH 2-3, 1863.- Scout from LaGrange, Tenn., to Hudsonville and Salem, Miss., and Saulsbury, Tenn.
Report of Maj. William D. Blackburn, Seventh Illinois Cavalry.
LAGRANGE, TENN., March 3, 1863.
COL.: In obedience to orders from Col. Grierson, I started on the morning of the 2d, with the First Battalion of this regiment, consisting of 140 men and 5 commissioned officers, on the Holly Springs road, to Old Lamar, thence to the neighborhood of Early Grove, thence to Hudsonville, thence to near Salem, where we staid all night with Mr. Hall, a wealthy "secesh". In the morning passed through Salem to near Wolf River; found the bridge gone, and had to turn up to McDowell's Mill to cross; found the "rebs [sic]" thick from Salem to Wolf, but in small squads and as wild as ducks; distributed the force in all directions, and had plenty of chases, a good many shots, and a few captures, as hereafter described. From Wolf we went to near Saulsberry; found nothing; thence, by Bob Smith's place, down on the north side of Wolf, to camp. A description of the persons, with the papers captured on them, is herewith inclosed.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
WM. D. BLACKBURN, Maj., Cmdg. Detachment.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 24, pt. I, p. 422.
        2, Federal scouts in Strawberry Plains' environs [see March 1, 1864, Confederate cavalry attack and depredations at Dandridge above]
        2, Association for the relief of East Tennesseans formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON, D. C., March 2, 1864.
Maj. Gen. U. S. GRANT, Nashville, Tenn.:
An association for the relief of those citizens of East Tennessee who have been reduced to destitution by the events of the war has been formed in Philadelphia, and a considerable fund has been raised to procure supplies. The association has appointed as its committee for the distribution of these supplies Messrs. Frederick Collins, Col. N. G. Taylor, and Lloyd P. Smith. I beg to commend them to your kindness, and to request that you will render them any assistance which may be in your power. They should have free transportation for themselves, their agents, and the articles which they desire to distribute, upon all Government railroads and chartered vessels.
C. A. DANA, Assistant Secretary of War.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 32, pt. III, p. 8.
        2, "They took their beds & bedding – got their dinner at the kitchen and took a shoulder of meat." Civil War life at Wessyngton Plantation, Robertson County. The letter of Mrs. Jane Washington, to her husband
Wessyngton
March, [sic] 2nd, 1864
My dear Husband,
I sent a letter to Springfield to be sent to you telling you of the move made at the Dortch place. I have not heard from Capt. Bunch but as Mr. Draughon went to Springfield this morning, he will be able to give you all the latest intelligence about the matter.
For my fear my letter may not reach you, I will recapitulate the whole matter. Monday morning about twelve o'clock, 4 Federal soldiers and four negros [sic], viz., It [sic] Sam, LeRoy, Mano & Simpson came to the Dortch place with a four mule wagon and took Fanny, Isabella & her child & Sarah Jane and announced that all who wished might go and Allen and Martha Lewis, Austin Harrison, It [sic] Joe, Merideth [sic], Big John & Tom White (eleven in all) went with them. They took their beds & bedding – got their dinner at the kitchen and took a shoulder of meat. They put up and fed their mules and said as one of theirs [sic] was lame, they wanted another and the white men went into the stable and picked out Sampson[']s wheet [sic] mule Joe, a black mule and hitched him to a wagon and tied their own behind. I sent to Bunch for a guard that night he promptly sent down two men & Mr. Woods coming about 5 o'clock we felt pretty safe. He and Grandville watched nearly all night but there was no one here. I wrote to Dick requesting him to get Bunch to go in pursuit of them as I wished to recover the mule and wagon sheet and also wished to have those white men punished for I thought they must be acting without authority, but as I have heard nothing from Springfield today fear they did not accomplish anything. I hope you will approve of all I have done. I acted as I thought was right.
Please get Lucy two pair of shoes as thick soled as they can be get one pair 5½ and one pair 6. Also a bottle of sewing machine oil and a grop [sic] China Buttons the size of the one I enclose. I know you will not have time to get them yourself so ask Nina to do it for you. I wish you were at home darling, but I think the convictions of those men so necessary to your safety that much as I hate to have you away, I want you to make time to have everything done right.
The children are all well and send love to Pa, and I wish I could give you one good squeeze this very minute.
Goodbye darling,
Your loving Wife
Jane Washington
Winds of Change, pp. 87-88.
        2, Confederate newspaper report relative to Federal depredations in East Tennessee
Yankee Villainy in East Tennessee.--A correspondent of the Atlanta Register recounts many of the outrages perpetrated by the Yankee soldiery during their occupation of East Tennessee. We quote the following.
Splendid mansions of Southern men have been made but barns and commissaries. Their splendid furniture, bed and wearing material, has been wrested from them. Many opulent families have not a blanket nor a bed quilt. I will relate one instance of Federal tyranny. Whilst Knoxville was invested by Gen. Longstreet, Foster, the present commander of the enemy's forces in East Tennessee, was quartered in Tazewell. He went to the dwelling of Mr. Blackburn, a prominent Southern citizen of that place, and forced his family into one small room. He then ordered his horses to be put in the dining room, where he kept them during his stay in the village. His staff drew their pistols on her daughter, a lady of very delicate health, which resulted in a very severe spell of sickness, from which she will never recover, being now at the point of death. Another equally as base, I'll relate.
Mr. Hipshire, the representative elect from Claiborne county, was forced to leave the country on the advance of the enemy. The force stationed at Tazewell took some twenty negroes from his lady, all of her hogs, sheep and cattle, all subsistence and forage. His lady, a quiet, amiable woman, flattered herself that so long as they had robbed the farm, barns and smokehouses, that they would not molest her again. Some few weeks since, as she was providing a scanty meal for her little babe, she was startled by the rushing into her private room of a Yankee officer and some seven or eight privates. What was the mission of the rogues? To rob and plunder. The ceiling of the room was soon torn away, and money that she had hoped to conceal taken. They took a fine set of ware that was very costly, and packed it up carefully and sent it to Tazewell. The Yankee officer then labeled the box containing the ware to his wife in Indiana. The actor of this outrage is one Major Lovelace, of an Indiana regiment. Let the press pass him around.
Charleston Mercury, March 2, 1864.[3]
        2, Civil authority restored in Montgomery, Robertson, Sumner, Smith, Mason and Jackson counties
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 13. HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE CUMBERLAND, Nashville, Tenn., March 2, 1865.
I. In order to aid the people of Tennessee in their efforts to restore the laws of the State, it is hereby ordered that the court-houses and jails in the counties of Montgomery, Robertson, Sumner, Smith, Mason, and Jackson, in which civil courts have been organized, be immediately turned over to the sheriffs of those counties. Also, that the court-houses and jails which may be occupied in any other counties of the State, in which courts may be organized hereafter, shall be turned over, in like manner, upon notification being given to the military commander of the district in which they are located of such organization by the constituted civil authorities.
* * * *
By command of Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas:
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 49, pt. I, p. 813.
        2, Attempted Depredations at the home of a McMinnville woman
…I was just telling Puss [a slave] to go back and stay with her mother [Mammy], when Bruno began to bark and growl savagely – we heard a noise too like a scream. "Oh!" said Puss, "it's the chickens." Yes" I said, "This is a good mink night." In a moment we heard it again and she ran to the door – as she opened it, I heard thro' the driving and beating of the storm a wild" Hello!" [sic] At the same instant Mammy emerged from the darkness exclaiming "it's somebody – its soldiers – they're holloring [sic] hello! G_d d__n you! Hello!" She was frightened and I told Puss to run back with her. I was here with the children – Carolina was asleep. In a half minute I could see whenever the lightning flashed several horsemen riding around the house and soon came the usual routine of oaths accompanied with "Where's the man of the house? We want meat – hand us out some hams, quick here." "I have no hams for you." "D__n you, that's a lie." "Where's your smoke-house-we'll bring them!" "There's the smoke-house, but you'll find nothing in it!" "We'll find plenty of what we want in the house then – come on" and I thought they were all about to rush in. They rode up to the porch – when I said "You can't do that – if I had provisions I would be willing to give it to you – but I have not – and this day received a strong protection from the commanding officer here – who orders all this command not only to protect but to defend me and my property is necessary. Go on quietly to town and you will be provided with something to eat there." "D__n it and who's to give it to us?" "Your commander, of course." "What houses are these here?" turning to the kitchen. "It is the kitchen and"-I could say no more – the rain drove into my face – I saw they had left the porch – I shut the door and locked it with trembling hands. I sank into a chair by the stairs, shaking all over. I rubbed my hands and tried my best to keep it off – but it would come – one of those hard nervous chills. Every moment I expected to hear them come against the door – or to hear some fuss down at the cabin where I thought they had gone. I got to the wardrobe-swallowed some brandy and then sat down on my bed….The wretches did not return but I was tormented all the while not knowing what they might be at down at the cabin….
War Journal of Lucy Virginia French, entry for March 9, 1865.
        2, Brief Confederate report on the execution of guerrilla chief Dick Davis in Memphis [See also April 29,, 1864, Skirmish in Shelby County, Dick Davis' Guerrillas ambush Federal scouting party at Pigeon Roost crossing]
The celebrated guerrilla, Dick Davis, long in prison at Memphis, has been hung by the Federals. He is reported to have a last message to his men, requesting them not to retaliate for his death. He is generally believed to have slain about seventy Yankees with his own hands before they caught and hung him. The merciless war waged by him against the federals, all on his own blood-for he had no commission in our service-was in retaliation for their brutality to his brother, a member of the 2d Missouri Cavalry, whom they horribly mutilated and then burned after he had surrendered himself a prisoner.
Macon Daily Telegraph and Confederate, March 2, 1865.
        2-4, Federal Operations about Athens
MARCH 2-4, 1865.-Operations about Athens, Tenn.
Report of Capt. William A. Cochran, Seventh Tennessee Mounted Infantry.
ATHENS, March 4, 1865--3.55 p. m.
The guerrillas made a raid into this county the night of the 2d. We pursued them within fourteen miles of Murphy, and killed 5 of them, captured 15 horses, 2 Spencer rifles, 2 carbines, 2 fine pistols, and other property. Killed Wheeler Maston, Capt. Maston's brother. Capt. Burnett, of Company C, commanded the scout.
W. A. COCHRAN, Capt., Cmdg. Seventh Tennessee Mounted Infantry.
Brig.-Gen. TILLSON.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 49, pt. I, p. 74.



[1] As cited in PQCW.
[2] As cited in: http://www.uttyl.edu/vbetts.
[3] As cited in: http://www.uttyl.edu/vbetts.

James B. Jones, Jr.
Public Historian
Tennessee Historical Commission
2941 Lebanon Road
Nashville, TN  37214
(615)-770-1090 ext. 123456
(615)-532-1549  FAX

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