Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-06-03
"reminiscences of the Second Tennes
see Cavalry.
BY LIEUT.. JNo. W. ANDES.
NO XIX

manu. ala, bu the I'm OHS u -
1864, in charge of q lOt Of captured
stock which We wished to take
through 10 Decatur. As before stated
the writer was detailed with one hun
dred men to act as a rear guard. AL
went on very well until we got into 6
s,maw what mountainous country neal
Hillsborough. As We were passing
through a thickly timbered section
the enemy suddenly turned loose upon
us from ambush in the woods, and fol.
lowed it with a wild yell and a dash
for our columns. Their princi.
pal object was, doubtless, tc
recapture our stock, and &c
do this they hoped to STAN
peds our forces. Oar gallant men
were not made of that kind of stuff,
however, and bravely stood their
ground. We returned the fire vigOr-
Ously and checked their advance. In
point of numbers we appeared to be
about equally divided, and the fight
went on for a time without any APP
parent advantage on either side. Our
gallant Colonel, w. +. Prosser, who
was at the head of the column, as
soon as he heard the firing c0mmenca,
sent Lieut.. A. =. PrOsser back with
about one hundred men to reinforce
US. They came at full speed, with
sabTes drawn aud a general shout, be-
fore which the rebels covered and
then fed as fast as their hOrses would
carry them, and our boys after them
at fall speed. For about a
mile our course lay across a
valley, with large open fields, and
through these the exciting chase con-
tinued. As commander of the squad
ron, 1t was my province TO put all end
TO the chase when the men had gone
far enough, but by this time the ex-
element ran 50 high that a command
given with voice of thunder would
scarcely have been heard or needed.
Seeing the danger that might overtake
us by going farther into the mountains,
where we might encounter 3 superior
force, l dashed forward to gain the
head of our columns. Arriving there
just ut the base Of mountain. where
the road crosses, on a bridge over a
creek, six of our men were going off
at the opposite side as / came up. The
road turned directly TO the left, down
the creek. Before / had time to give
any order, | discovered q line
OF Confederate cavalry in front,
numbering about one hundred men.
They fired upon US, every man appar-
emily, emptying his gun. There was
not exceeding one hundred yards be-
tween Us, and only eight of our men
there. We at once saw our critical
condition, but they were firing over
our heads, and We thought the best
thing 10 do was to show bold front.
| turned in my saddle and with q loud
voice ordered charge. Al this june.
ture Lieutenant ProsseT, with squad
of men, struck the bridge, and the
confusion. Capt. Rice, of the 7th
Alabama Cavalry, to which regiment
the Confederates belonged, was in
com mand and tried unsuccessfulIy to
rally his forces. I dashed up to him
with my sabre drawn, feeling that it
was fight or be captured. My
object was to get them in full
Roadway when L might take
of their scare and retreat
with our little squad of men. II vas
with us a desperate venture, for had
we attempted to retreat we would GER
tainly have been lost. When l came
up to Capt. Rice he had his pistol in
his hand. [ struck him across the
strike his neck. Our horses were
him to surrender, when he turned
with his pistol, pointed to my eide and
burst a cap but his pistol, fortunately
for me, missed fire. He began to real
.zs his perilOus condition as l had
mine, and coming to a path which
Oranched off from the main road, be
started on that, but his men having
taken the main road, filling it up and
rushing forward pell-mell. My horse
by that time was almost uncomfortable,
excited apparently as much as nis
rider. | managed, however, to turn
him inty the by-path after Capt. Rice
We followed this path about half
mile, l suppose, when We again come
on TO the main road, about midway of
the Confederate columns. / had about
given up all hope of escaping, but
made up my mind to still make an ef-
fort. He ordered his men to open up
the column and allow him to pass
through, but they needed him not.
AS ne checked up to get through the
columns / gave him another blow
with my sabre. He then spurred up
his horse and went dashing alongside
of his columns, / still after him. The
men along the line would strike at me
with their guns, a few caps were
bursted and failed to fire, and those
in the rear were calling out, Kill the
id Yankee" As the Captain
dashed up the columns we came to the
trunk of a fallen tree, with its
top so near the road that he
could not pass around it. He
refined his horse directly through the
fallen tree top. When he attempted
to jump, his fore legs struck the tree
and threw his rider off My horse
was turned the same way, and I per-
formed the same evolution. There we
were, both dismOunted with our pis-
tolls drawn, still holding my sabre in
one hand. He was first on his feet
and seized me by the coat collar,
cooked his pistol, put it TO my breast
and burstsd three caps. Luckily for
me, neither fired. BY this time / had
partially recovered, and was able to
stand erect upon my feet. / gave him
a blow on the side of the head with
my sabre, which stunned him some
what. He reversed his pistol and
struck at me with the butt of il.
threw up nay left hand, caught the pis-
toll and wrenched it out of his hands.
He still held my coat collar, and L
gave him another feeble blow, when
he let go and ran. All this time we
were not more than fifteen feet from