The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-12-25
lCoTresPondehce toe Nashville UHion.)
The B B'TTLEOF N1SHVlGLE-FORCES,
POSITIONS, AND GALLANT FIGHTING
OF MCARTHUR'S DIVISION.
NLsHvIIIr n 0Ilh

| ANAouf4ALAJ Leo. -stiA
Presuming that you and your read
ers would be interested in an account
of the fighting of McArthur's Division
at this place on the 18th and 10th ol
Dec, l propose to give a detailed state
ment OF the part which the 18th Iwoa
Veteran Infantry, commanded by 1t.
Col Stibbr, took in the operations OF
those days; also, a general statement
OF the doings Of the Brigade and Di.
vision to which the 18th belongs-pre-
faced by such general remarks upon
the forces engaged and the positions OF
the armies, as may tend to throw light
upon the interests staked upon the
battle, and the consequences OF victory
or defeat. have not yet seen a full
account published of the fighting OF
Macarthur Division, nor of the mum
Der of troops and the positions of the
two armies. While / attempt a sketch
of only small portion of our army,
let it be distinctly understood and
borne in mind, that there are other Of
ficers aud other men who have fought
with equal gallantry and deserve equal
honor. speak only of what L saw,
and of what l have learned from our
men. | trust that others will do the
same, and then impartial justice viii
be awarded to all
CHARACTRR AND NUMBER or THE FORCES
ENGAGED
From the most reliable information
that have received, Hood had about
10000 infantry and 1900 cavalry
Total, 45 900 lighting men. They were
not fresh conscripts. They were vete-
rams From the prisoners, learn that
some had fought at Doneld>on, Shiloh,
and Vicksburg Many had fought un.
der Longstreet at KnoxsviIle others
had followed the fortunes of Forrest,
and fought at Paducah, Pillow and
Tupelo; still others had recently stood
a wall of fire between the conquering
hosts of Sherman and Atlanta, the
Gibraltar of Georgia Truly they were
formidable body of well disciplined
troops, led by daring commander,
who was supported by such experienced
officers as Major Generals Stewart,
Cheatham, Forrest, and Lieut. Gen.
). d. Lee; all officers and men rem.
dered desperate by the desperate con
dltiOn of their cause, and by the grand
prize which their Generals held out to
them as the reward of decisive vic
tory. That prize was not Nashville
merely, with its millions of stores-it
was the spoil of the Northwestern
States. Hood said to his men, "des-
troy the army of Thomas, and you
shall cross the Ohio; you shall rest
and reVel in the spoils of rich towns
and cities carry desolation to the
homes of your enemies in the North,
/ and take vengeance for the devastation
which your old enemy, Sherman, is
now making around your own fresides,
| in the South. Thus he stimulated
his soldiers, by arousing the strongest
/ passions of the human heart. .either to
retrieve the falling fortunes of the
Confederacy, to infict vengeance upon
their foe, and win the promised prize,
or perish in the attempt
On our side, we little thought of the
fatal consequences of crushing defeat,
and yet the destruction of the Cum
berland Army, would break down the
last barrier between the veterans Of
Hood and the banks of the Ohio
would give him the coveted prize, and
lay our homes in smoking ruins. No,
We thought only OF victory Our avail
able forces, as near as can learn, mum
bered about 36 900 infantry and about
$4,000 cavalry Total 5000 fighting
men, who had met, fought, and de-
teated or captured their enemies on
the above named fields. We knew the
steel of our men, tempered in the heat
of such battles. We knew too, that
the annihilation of Hoods army would
be the destruction of the rebellion
south Of. Richmond, and we knew our
Generals and believed in them. In
chief command was Thomas, the hero
of Chickamauga, who comprehended
| the mOmentOus issues at stake, and
martialed his brigades, divisions and
corps with an energy unsurpassed
by the ablest General of the age -
And there was a. J. Smith, Of the 10Th
corps, the right arm of Thomas, which
bent back and broke the left arm OF
| Hood. And there too, was Macarthur,
who had recently succeeded "the fight
ing Mover" in command of the lst
division of Smiths corps, and who now
appeared, for the first time on the bat
tie field at the head of what was lately
Mowers fighting division" and won
the confidence of the veterans of his
command, and the admiration of the
enemy who when captured, said that
his battalions moved on the field with
the precision of machinery. And
there were other Generals, Schofeld Of
the 23d- corps, Wood, of the 4th. corps,
Steedman, with the corps d'Afrique,
and Cruffs division of white troops,
and Wilson and Hatch and johnson OF
the cavalry, who, with their swords,
have engraYen their names upon the
page Of history.
POSITIONS OF THE FORCES AND FoRTIFrCA-
TIONS
Nashville is enVironed by line Of
bluffs, extending with few interven-
ing valleys, from the Cumberland river
below the town around to the river
above the town, distance Of about
eight miles. Along the SUBMITS of
these bluffs and across their dividing
valleys, strong exterior and continu
Gus line of earth works from river 70
river, defended by abatis and eheVnlz
dc tr.se, had been erected during the
ten days following Hoods arrival in
front of Nashville. Midway between
this line and the city, and distant about
1000 yards, an interior line Of earth
works was also constructed. Through
our lines and the gaps between the
bluffs the following pixies, named in
their order from right 70 left, radiate
from the city, viz; the Charlotte, Har
ding, Hillsboro, tyranny White, Frank
lin and Murfreesboro From our front
line the country gently slopes down
into level valley from one Ito two
miles wide and then rises in front Of
our right wing into one continuous
range of hills, distant from two 70 FIVE
miles from our exterisr lines Near
the Granny White pike, this range
forms almost q semicircle Of high,
steep, conical hills Along this range
at the most commanding points, the
enemy had built strong lines Of EARTH
works, with several dstatched redoubts
opposite our right, defended By heavy
works, and by guns placed in position
20 command the appFosches for long
distance Nature made some Of these
positions fortresses, and after being
strengthened BY at they they were al
most impFegnable Assuredly our sol-
dieFs did not realize the strength OF the