The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-05-12

would deploy in force and drive him of, wheI
he would gallop on to seizs aud hold the mex
, ridge he might and defspsible. Generally h,
=, would be among the last to retire, and wa,
gallopiUg on to overtake his command, wher
he was hailed by a brave, old mstron, wbc
called loudly to him, as he hastened by hel
house: stop. Why don't you stop and fight
You great, big, oowardly thing, youf Oh! il
old Forrest wac only here, he'd make you stand
The State of Mississippi owes a heavy debt
| OF gr9titude to Forrest for he saved her tn rec
different times from the enemy's occupation
during the war. and wrought earnestly for her
restoration and development after peace was
proclaimed. In 1868 General Stnrgis, at the
head of q column of cavalry and infantry, esti-
mated q: II 600 men. moved down into Missis-
slppi to ravage and occupy that fne region
known as the prairie country, which lies along
the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. The evils W hich
would have followed the success of this enter
prise are incalculable, whether estimated as to
its effect upon the people of Mississippi alone,
| or as to the const quences to the cause of the
Confederaoy itself. Forrest, foctu ately, was
| within sound of the call for help which went
| up from all parts of the State and moved at
| once to encounter the enemy-his whole force
| numbering about 600 horsemen. With tbess
| he fell upon Sturgis' column on the Tshom-
| lingo creek, a few miles from Tupelo. His
| slaugh5 was 80 sudden and fierce and unex-
| pected tha the advance of Sturgis was thrown
4 into confusion, was routed and driven back
| upon the main body which in turn became dis
| ordered, fell back upon the trains, and finally
broke mp in absolute disorder and fed in q
panic, without any sem blance of organ alton,
| back to its base at Memphis-. here the COM
mander arrived, among the other fugitives, in
| very sorry plight. The pursuit had been
remitting from the moment of rhe first attack:
| 1t was Forests way to press q beaten enemy;
he never gave time to rally or to rest. When
he was on the war-psth ard had struck an ef
fectiee blow, it was cure to be followed up
until there was nothing more to strike. The
upper counties of Mississippi were for days
traversed by the stragglers from Sturgis' COM
maud, many of whom were captured by the
Confederate soldiers, who happened to bs at
their home furlough from other commands,
and by the old men and youths exempt from
service because of age; and even by ttat noble
class of able-bodied Southern men w no claimed
exemption under the twenty negro bill, but
who could sometimes do valiant service on a
thoI oughly routed and panicked enemy. Some
time elapsed before another EXPEDITION could
be organized 20 invade and lay W aste the region
of Mississippi, in which was Forests home,
and over which he hovered with his protecting
wings for four long years.
COMPANY WITH SEVEN DEAD CAPTAINS.
General Smith with the cavalry column
moved from Memphis, and marched southeast
toward the appointed rendezvous at Meridian,
without any check till he came near Okaloua.
Forrest was in that vicinity, and was ordered ;,
retire before the enemy until he should effect a
junction with the main body of the Confederate
cavalry under Stephen d. Lee, whom their
whole force would fall upon Smith. Disre
gardipg these orders, Forrest advanced upon
the enemy and ga gave him SaH battle & in the open
gently uudulating prairie, with occasional
dumps of timber, and was altogether favora- |
BILE for the movement of large bodies of cav |
airy. Forests whole force numbered 1000 |
hoIsemen-the enemy about for times that |
number. In the course OF the action, Colonel |
Bill Forrest, younger brother Of the General, |
lent character, highly respected by the whole |
command aud dearly loved by bis brother. On |
hearing of his fall tire General rode forward to |
where he lay, took him in his arms and kissed |
his dead face, then mounted his horse. ordered |
the charge to be sounded aud led his body |
guard in person right into the enemys ranks. |
His onset broke mp their line, ana the deteat
soon became rout, which ended only at Mem
phis.
"The body-guard," or "hea5quarters' COM
pany," of his command was made up of the
most daring men in the army. On one occa-
sion, year or } before the war ended, Forrest
and l were seated on the portico of the head
q qnarters at Meridian, when this company pass
ed by on it's way to water. I remarked
General. you have the foest company of men
and horses there 1 ever remember to have
seen." "Yes," be said, sit is o foe company,
manded it-a1l the other seven have been kill
ed in BATTLE" The fact was, he with his body
guard often took part in the fight, and gener-
ally at the critical moment, ss at Okalopa,
when his opportune charge decided one of the
most desperate battles he ever fought. He
lost eleven field officers in the light, killed or
severely wounded. But he not only destroy ed
the cavalry column which was to cooperate
with Sherman, but struck q panic into that
general himself, who, on hearing of Forests
victory, hastily abandoned his enterprise and
ran back to Vicksburg with all speed. And
thus did Forrest again save Mississippi.
THE FORT PILLOW MASSACRE.
1t was after this, I think, that he captured
Fort Pillow, and rs 80 much has been said
about "his ruthless butchery" of the garrison
there, will give my recollection of his own
to me about it. l said to him one
day II hear you shot some of your own men
at Fort Pillow how was that ~ 'Well," he
said, "I'll tell you how that was The boys .
lad promised their wives aud sweethesrts TO
bring them calico frook the first chance they
got at Yankee store, aud while were
lighting our way up tn tho bre asst works of Fort
Pillow, noticed the firing ceased all at once
on the left of my line aud rode down that way
TO see bat was the matter, and there was the
suffers store just broken open, and as l rode
Up one of the boys came out with his arms ,
full of dry goods. 1 was mad dropped him
with my pistol right behind him came an
other, and he was q captain, and he, too, was
loaded with plunder, and shot him, too They
all went on with the fighting after that."-