Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-08-23

near Tuscumbia /; Gholson, with one |
brigade, near Jackson, Mississippi. |
General s. ID. Lee, now in command, |
determined to fall hack toward Okla |
Iona until he could concentrate his
forces, and left that night by rail,
after ordering Forrest to get in front
of Sturgis and retard his advance.
Forrest moved before day to take
position at BFyce's cross roads, on
dividing ridge where the waters of
the Hatchie rise and run north and
of the Tallahatchie rise and run
south, and when in four mites of
that place he learned that the, enc
my had already occupied it and
were now between him and his
headquarters at Tupelo.
lie had with him there his three
smallest brigades, the effective
strength of which at that time he
reported as follows: Lyons, eight
hundred; Rucker's, seven hundred,
and Johnson's, five hundred While
Buford, with Bells brigade, about
fifteen hundred strong, and two
batteries of artillery, were some dis
lance in the rear. Ordering them
to move instantly up, which they
did, coming eight miles in gallop,
he moved forward with the men he
had and opened the fight, and al
the same time ordered BufOrd to
send one regiment across the coun-
try TO attack the enemy in rear.
The battle ragged fiercely for some
hours with doubtful succerS, and
eight hundred Federals and six
hundred and forty Confederates fell
dead and wounded around Bryce's
house. One popularity of Forests
fighting was his almost reckless use
of artillery, and on this occasion he
had eight pieces of artillery that
were boldly handled by Captain
| Morton, a beardless youth, with
the face of woman and the courage
of lion. The Federals made sew
eral splendid charges, that were re-
pulsed at short range by the artil-
| lery, double-shOtted with canister.
/ The ConfederateS insist that both
| the Federal infantry and cavalry
were in this fight. The Federal
| cavalry officers who censured Stur-
gis, say they had cavalry alone, and
that instead of falling back with his
cavalry on to his infantry, prepared
/ in line, he undertook to hold the
position with his cavalry, and bring
up his infantry five or more miles
at double-quick, and that they ar
rived broken down and uniformed
just as the cavalry were driven
back on them, and all went pell-
nell together. Be this as it may,
when Forrest captured Bryce's
house, the enemy's infantry in
column were in full view coming
up. He turned loose on them his
own eight pieces of artillery and six
more Just captured, and about that
time Bartian's regiment struck them
in rear, and the flight commenced.
A more terrific pursuit was never
seen. The negroes had been sworn
on their knees in line before starting
from Memphis to show no quarter
to Forests men, and on their shirts
! and banners was inscribed, RE
| member Fort Pillow" This had a
double effect: it made the Fe(lerals
afraid to surrender, and infatuated
| Forests men; and it is said that
nineteen hundred were killed in
this pursuit. which was continued
sixty miles. The exact truth as to
this fight will, perhaps, never be
known; but taking either the Fed
eral or Confederate accounts of ii, it
was the most brilliant victory of the
war on either side. Forrest reports
his force as thirty-tWo hundred cav
airy and eight pieces of artillery.
The Federal report places SturgiS'
force at thirty-three hundred caVal-
ry, fifty-four hundred infantry and
seventeen pieces of artillery. With
a superior force of cavalry, he might
well have expected to hold, with
them alone, his position, well Sc
lected at Bryce's crossroads, until
his infantry could come up. Sturgis
was as much astonished at his defeat
as anyone, and was so terribly NOR
titled that when A. ]. Smith moved
out after Forrest, a confidential spy
from Memphis reported that S5turgis
was sitting in a hotel sOlilOq lizing,
at can't be done, sir!" and when
asked what could not be done, he
said, "They CAN'T whip old For
rest -
In this battle two thousand pris-
Oners were taken, all the artillery
! seventeen pieces), the whole ordi-
nance train, well supplied with am
to us; the ambulance and wagon
train, filled with most acceptable
supplies, especially coffee, which
the hungry cOnfederates had not
tasted for many days.
General sherman, in cipher dis
patch, dated June 90, 1864, says:
tile whipped Sturgis fair and
square, and now l will put him
against A. j. Smith and Mowen,
and let them try their hand" BY
this victory Forrest not only-saved
Columbus and the rich prairie region
of Mississippi again, but he saved
Mobile also by the withdrawal of
A. j. Smiths division, which had
been ordered to its attack.
ROemer says: "From that great
day when in person Alexander led
the Macedonian horse, he ranks the
first of cavalry generals of all times,
and the tactics there displayed were
in every respect the same which
now receive the sanction of modern
science-sudden deployment and
bold attack, outfianking the enc
my's wings, dividing the enemy's
forces, rallying, attacking the rear,
supporting the menaced point, and,
to crown all, pursuit of six hun
dred stadia (seVenty-five miles, in
| tWenty.four hours, Never was there
a greater achievement in ancient or
| modern warfare"
! When a new edition of Roemer's
work on cavalry is written, it is to
be hoped that the battle of "Tish-
mingO Creek" or "Bryce's Cross
roads," as the Federals call it, Will
not be forgotten, where the battle
was fought and a pursuit of sixty
miles made all in thirty hours.
! Concluded Next Week