The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-01-21
sashriIle Aniull.
III. CAMEgOE 8 CO.. Publshers.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 81, 1865.
The fight with Lyon at ScOttsbOFO-
Bravery Of the COlOred Troops.
Correspondence of the Nashyills Union.
49,

HUNTSVILLE, Ala, Jan. II, 1865.
A fight took place at Scottsboro
twenty miles west of Stevenson, on The
evening of the Sth inst, between tht
forces of the rebel Gen. Lyon and the
garrison at that place, consisting of de
tachments from Co. E, l0lst q. S. c. T
and from Co. E, 10th z. s. c. T., the
former commanded by Lieut. John 81
Hull, and the latter by Lieut. David
Smart, the whole under command o.
Lieut. Hull. This affair deserves more
publicity than it will get through the or
dinary medium of an official report, as il
helps settle the oft repeated question
"wiIl the negro fght?'
Lieut.. Hulls command numbered
fifty>three muskets in all, but eleven ol
his men were on outpost duty at the
water tanks over one mile west of the
depot, in which the balance of the com
mand, forty-two strong, were stationed.
Here the little garrison was attacked
by the whole rebel force of the rebel
General, reinforced by several inde
pendent guerrilla companies who infest
that region, and numbering from 800 10
1000 men, with two twelve FOUNDER
hoEitzers
After skirmishing with the enemy
and holding him in check for some
time, the garrison were driven into the
depot, upon which three deter
m ned charges were made, each
one of which was repulsed with
severe loss to the enemy The rebels
then withdrew beyond musket range
and opened upon the depot with their
artillery, but the garrison remained in
it until it had been struck by four
shells, three of which exploded in the
building Lieut.. Hull then Withdrew
his command TO mountain, four hun
dred and fifty yards distant, cutting
his way through the ranks of the reb-
els, who attempted to intercept his
progress, in hand to hand fight. One
rebel seized the Lieutenant by the col
lar, but was instantly killed by him.
The pursuit was short The rebels had
been too severely handled to approach
within reach of the muskets of these
dusky warriors; and, after firing few
random shots with their artillery into
the mountain, they left for the Tennes-
see river. Their loss was one Colonel
and seventeen men killed and forty or
fifty wounded. Ours was six wounded.
The men on duty at the watertank
we're captured, hut before reaching the
river they stsmpeded, at great per-
sonal peril, and all of them escaped
and are now with their commands
There were some interesting Incl
dents which took place during the en-
worthy to be mentioned
After the men had been driven into
the depot, Lieut. Hun went out upon
the platform to reconnoitre The enc
my's bullets were flying thiclly around
him, when he discovered his orderly
"a colored man) approaching
him. The Lieut. ordered him back
into the building. 81 wish to speak to
you," said the sergeant "Yery well,
replied the Lieutenant, "speak quick
Iy." "The men don't want to surren-
DER" continued the sergeant The re-
sponse from the Lieutenant was, $50
back and tell the men that while a
man Of US lives there win be no surren-
der"
The sergeant delivered this message,
and wild shout of joy went up from
the beleaguered garrison "a shout
which assured their gallant command
er that there you'd be no fsltering on
The part of his men in the deadly con-
dict which was rapidly thiekening
around them
Another incident a colored ser
geant named Anderson had his leg
torn off by the explosion of one of the
1hells--and afterwards loaded and 6red
his musket three times : This brave
soldier has since died Of his wound.
a1@s. s.
1t is worthy of mention that these
.oldiers were mostly new recruits, and