Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1864-01-16
Mur(rCcSbOrOugh Battle Ground.


On the 18th of March, 1863, we visited
the battle ground of Murirccsborough, and
in company with Il Federal officer traycrscd
about five miles in extent, of the ground
upon which the hostile armies contcndcd-
first in the fields and then in the woods
among the ccdarS and timbcrs where much
hard fighting was done. No man at dis
tancc who only reads the newspaper ac-
counts of that hard fight, can form any idea
ofthc number Of dead horses and mules upon
the ground. Their names were lcgions, cs-
timatcd ut fully 5000. We found them OF.
ten piled up one upon another-Somc shot
through the body, some through the neck,
Others with heads and legs Off But all
were in wonderful state Of preservation,
lying on the field more than two months.
The trees were pcppcrcd with bullets for
mlcs-thc twigs cut of, and many trees
were cut off by cannon balls, at points
ranging from five to thirty feet from the
ground. Large trees Of size sufficient to
make saw-Iogs wherethe cannon balls struck
them fairly, they passed clear through, and
we could see daylight through as we rode
along Even cannon balls We're to be seen
along the lines, and shells that failed to en-
plodc In other instances we saw pieces Of
shell upon the ground and we handled
them.
Now comes the sad and sorroWiul part of
our narrative. The graves of the slain in
battle were to be seen in every direction. in
untold numbers. The head boards Of single
graves indicated who many of the tenants
were, giving names. regiments and places of
residence when living, Many of them
were buried in the cotton fields, and others
in the opening in the woods where they
We're killed. In many instances bitches
We're dug and our guide informed us that
from one hundred to one hundred and fifty
were crowded into ditch. The dirt upon
many of them was, Of course only few
inches deep, and in Il few instances hands
and feet were sticking out. The most fear
ful evidence Of slaughter was to be seen in
front of where General RosEcRANs massed
his artllcry-say one hundred and twenty
guns. There lty the horses and mules
piled on each other, and in the distance and
beyond them, were the graves of dead
rebels
We could but feel sad as we passed over
this terrible battle ground, and in the bit .
tcrncss of our soul denouncc the bad men of
the South who had caused all this waste of
life and treasure! We felt an unuttcrablc
degree of sympathy for the poor fellows
that had been conscriptcd and forced into
the war, but none for those who had r0IuH- .
teered. and gone in of their own accord
Looking upon their graves and the long
trenches holding their bodies, we felt that
thcre thousands of Southern rebels in open
and wicked rebellion against the United .
States. hand vllainously sought and mourn .
fully but Justly found their rydtS-not in
the "tcrritorics,' but in the cotton-ticds
and ccdar-thickcts of State they had as
sisted in forcing out of the Union at the .
point of the bayonct, and in opposition to
the on-rcpcatcd wishes of Il majority of the
real people.
We gazcd with wonder and astonshment
upon the dcyastation and ruin of the sur
rounding country, and of a rich country,
once in a high state of cultivation. Fences
all gone; houses burned down; groves of
timber slain; live stock and grain all con
sumcd, and the horrors Of war looking one
full IN the face, We could hut think of a
new version of an old rhyme
"Could We with ink the ocean ill;
Were the whole sky parchment made,
Were every stick quill
And every man n scribe by trade
The of ink the paper sky
The scrbcs and sticks would not suffice
To write the Southern Rebel
Frauds, murders and lies