The Lone Star Defenders 14

The Lone Star Defenders 14

On the night of September 18 we marched out about four miles on the

Corinth road, leading west, and lay in line of battle until about

4 P. M. the next day, when a courier came in great haste, with the

information that the enemy was advancing on the Bay Springs road from

the south, with only a company of our cavalry in front of them. We

had then to double quick back about three miles in order to get into

the road they were on. We found them among the hills about one and a

half miles from the town, a strong force of infantry, with nine or

ten pieces of artillery, and occupying a strong position of their own

selection. We formed on another hill in plain view of them, a little

valley intervening between the two lines. Our fighting force consisted

of General Little’s division of two brigades, Hebert’s, and a brigade

of Alabama and Mississippi troops commanded by Colonel John D. Martin,

and the Clark battery of four guns, Hebert’s brigade in front of their

center, with two of Martin’s regiments on our right and two on our

left. We began a skirmish fire, and kept it up until our battery was

in position, when we began a rapid fire with canister shot. We then

advanced in double line of battle, slowly at first, down the hill on

which we had formed, across the little valley and began the ascent of

the hill on which the enemy was posted, General W. S. Rosecrans in

command. As we ascended the hill we came in range of our own artillery,

and the guns had to be silenced. The entire Federal artillery fire was

soon turned on us, using grape and canister shot, and as their battery

was directly in front of the Third Texas, their grape shot and musketry

fire soon began to play havoc with our people, four of our men, the two

files just to my right, being killed. We charged the battery, and with

desperate fighting took nine pieces and one caisson. The horses hitched

to the caisson tried to run off, but we shot them down and took it, the

brave defenders standing nobly to their posts until they were nearly

all shot down around their guns,—one poor fellow being found lying

near his gun, with his ramrod grasped in both hands, as if he were in

the act of ramming down a cartridge when he was killed. The infantry

fought stubbornly, but after we captured their guns we drove them back

step by step, about six hundred yards, when darkness put an end to a

battle that had lasted a little more than two and a half hours, the

lines being within two hundred yards of each other.

 

I cannot give the number of Federal troops engaged in the battle,

but General Rosecrans, in giving his casualties, enumerates eighteen

regiments of infantry, three of cavalry, one detached company, and

four batteries of artillery. The cavalry was not in the engagement,

and I think he had but two batteries engaged. One of these, the

Eleventh Ohio Light Battery, lost its guns and fifty-four men. The

total Federal loss, reported, was 790, including killed, wounded, and

missing. Hebert’s brigade, that did the main fighting, was composed

of six regiments, reporting 1774 for duty, and lost 63 killed, 305

wounded, and 40 missing; total, 408. Colonel Martin had four regiments

(1405 men), and lost 22 killed and 95 wounded; total, 117. We had two

batteries with us, the Clark battery and the St. Louis battery, but

they only fired a few shots. The Third Texas had 388 men, and lost 22

killed and 74 wounded; total, 96. Company C lost W. P. Bowers, Carter

Caldwell, W. P. Crawley, and W. T. Harris killed; and J. J. Felps

severely wounded. Crawley had a belt of gold around his waist, but only

four or five of us knew this, and I presume, of course, it was buried

with him. General Maury’s division was not engaged. General Henry

Little, our division commander, was killed. Lieutenant Odell, of the

Third Texas, who was acting regimental commissary, and who was mounted

on my horse, was killed, and the horse was also killed. Colonels Mabry

and Whitfield, and, I believe, all our other colonels were wounded. The

captured artillery was drawn by hand into town that night, where the

guns were left next morning, after being spiked, as we had no spare

horses to pull them away. Spiking guns means that round steel files

were driven hard into the touch-holes, giving the enemy the trouble of

drilling these out before the guns can be of any use again.

 

As General Ord was marching rapidly with a strong force from Corinth

to reinforce General Rosecrans, General Price concluded to retreat.

Putting the trains in the road some time before daylight, early in

the morning the troops marched out southward, leaving our wounded

men in Iuka and sending a detail back to bury the dead. As General

Hebert’s brigade had stood the brunt of the battle the evening before,

we were put in front and, to clear the road for the other troops, we

had to move at double quick time for six miles. This used me up, and I

obtained permission to go as I pleased, which enabled me to outgo the

command and to rest occasionally while they were coming up. We made a

march of twenty-five miles that day on our way back to Baldwin. But

oh, how my feet were blistered! They felt as if I had my shoes filled

with hot embers. Late in the afternoon, when I was away ahead of the

command I came to Bay Springs. This little village stands on a bluff

of a wide, deep creek, and is crossed by a long, high bridge. At this

time, when the creek was low, the bridge was at least twenty-five feet

above the mud and water below. I climbed down under the bluff, just

below the bridge, to a spring, where I slaked my thirst, bathed my

burning feet and sat there resting and watching the wagons cross the

bridge. Presently a six-mule team, pulling a wagon heavily loaded with

ammunition in boxes, was driven onto the bridge, and as it was moving

slowly along one of the hind wheels, the right one, ran so close to the

edge that the end of the bridge flooring crumbled off and let the wheel

down. Gradually this wheel kept sliding until the other hind wheel was

off. This let the ammunition go to the bottom of the creek, followed by

the wagon bed. Soon off came one fore wheel. This pulled off the other

one, then the wagon tongue tripped the offwheel mule and he dangled by

the side of the bridge, and soon pulled the saddle mule off, and this

process gradually went on, until the last mule started, and as he fell

off his hamestring caught on the end of the bridge flooring, and for an

instant the whole outfit of wagon and six mules hung by the hamestring,

when it broke and down went the wagon and the six mules atop of it. The

driver had seen the danger in time to make his escape.

 

We soon arrived at Baldwin, our starting point. Our wounded left at

Iuka fell into the hands of the enemy and were kindly treated and well

cared for. The good women of the town and surrounding country came to

their rescue nobly, and they received every necessary attention.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER VIII

 

BATTLE OF CORINTH

 

Captain Dunn, the “Mormon”—Paroles—Baldwin—On to

Corinth—Conscription—Looking for Breakfast—The Army Trapped—A

Skirmish—Escape—Holly Springs—Battle of Corinth—Casualties—Cavalry

Again.

 

 

CAPTAIN DUNN, of Company F, was one of our badly wounded men, one of

his legs having been broken by a grape shot. Captain Dunn was a unique

character. He was a lawyer by profession, a very bright fellow, and

lived at Athens, Tex. The first I ever knew of him he came to Rusk just

before the war, to deliver an address to a Sunday-school convention.

He was a very small man. In fact, so diminutive in stature that he

was almost a dwarf. He was a brave, gallant soldier, a companionable,

pleasant associate, and much of a wag. He was a great lover of fun, so

much so that he would sacrifice comfort and convenience and risk his

reputation in order to perpetrate a joke.

 

The ladies who came to nurse and care for our wounded soldiers at

Iuka were like other women in one particular respect, at least,—they

were desirous to know whether the soldiers were married or single,

religious or otherwise, and if religious, their church relationship,

denominational preferences and so on, and would converse with the boys

with a view of learning these particulars. The usual questions were

put to Captain Dunn by one of these self-sacrificing attendants. He

made no effort to deny that he was married and, with some hesitation,

frankly acknowledged that he was a member of the church of the Latter

Day Saints, usually called Mormons, which was enough information

for one interview. With the exclamation, “Why, _you_ a Mormon!” the

woman retired. In whispers she soon imparted to all the other ladies

who visited the hospital the astounding information that one of the

Texas soldiers was a Mormon. They were incredulous, but after being

vehemently assured by the interviewer that she had it from his own

lips, some believed it was true, while others believed it was a joke

or a mistake. To settle the question they appointed a committee

of discreet ladies to ascertain the truth of the matter, and the

committee promptly waited upon Captain Dunn. Without loss of time in

preliminaries, the spokeswoman of the committee said: “Captain Dunn, we

have heard that you are a Mormon and have come to you, as a committee,

to learn the truth of the matter. Are you a Mormon?” “Yes, madam,”

said Captain Dunn. “Have you more than one wife?” “Yes,” said Captain

Dunn, “I have four wives.” “Captain Dunn, don’t you think it awful

wrong? Don’t you think it’s monstrous to be a Mormon?” “No, madam,”

said Dunn, “that’s my religion, the religion I was brought up in from

childhood. All of my regiment are Mormons. All of them that are married

have two or more wives. The colonel has six; some have four, and some

five, just as they may feel able to take care of them.” A meeting of

the ladies was then called, an indignation meeting, and indignation was

expressed in unmeasured terms. The very idea! that they had scraped

lint, torn their best garments into bandages, had cooked and brought

soups and all the delicacies they could prepare to the hospital—done

all they could, even to the offering up their prayers, for a detestable

Mormon, with four wives! It was unanimously resolved that it could be

done no longer. From that good hour, in passing through the hospital

ministering to the wants of all the other wounded, they gave Dunn not

even as much as a look, to say nothing of smiles, cups of cold water,

soups, cakes, pies, and other more substantial comforts.

 

This neglect of Captain Dunn was eventually noticed by the other

soldiers, talked of, and regretted by them and its cause inquired into.

They earnestly interceded with the ladies in his behalf, and urged

them that whatever Captain Dunn’s faults might be, he was a brave