Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-08-23
WHOLE NO. 2, ,283.
within a short distance Of Nashville
CAPTUREs sTRETqHT.

I Od biie- AOU Oi april, 1000, lc va
: ordered to the relief of General Roc
! dy, who was threatened with
{ heavy force at Tuscumbia. Movin
7 with extraordinary celerity, h
. crossed the Tennessee river on tn
9th and on the 2Sth Joined Roddy
, who was holding the enemy il
check at Town creek. Before hin
was General Dodge, with abOu
eight thousand infantry; and jus
as Forrest opened an artillery fir
on him, scout reported COlone
Streight, with two thousand tw,
hundred cavalry, moving through
Newburg towards MOultOn, and be
fore him lay unprotected the iron
shops at Selma, and all the railroads
of Alabama and Georgia; where he
would strike no one could tell
Forrest saw at once that the move
nent of Dodge was a feint, to cover
the operations of Streight; and
leaving a few regiments to keep up
show of resistance, he fell back
that night toward CORTLAND, to
prepare for the pursuit of Streight,
which he commenced early on the
morning of the 10Th March, 1868.
The story of that celebrated pursuit,
which lasted four days and nights,
almost without cessation the con-
| Stant skirmishing, amounting often
to heavy battles the flanking of
the bridge over Black creek, through
the aid of Miss Emma Samson, who.
mounting behind him on his horse,
mi i'm tn q oil h.n
courage and simplicity of the same
country girl, spreading out her
skirts and telling him to get behind
her when they dismonnted at the
Ford under fire of the enemy; the
fierce fighting at Sand mountain at
dusk, where men fought by the
flash of their guns, and where For
rest had one horse killed and two
wounded under him; the weird
midnight attack, when he rolled his
guns silently by hand to within one
hundred and fifty yards of his an-
conscious foe, and awoke the slum-
bering echoes of the mountain with
the thunder of his artillery; the
sharp crack of the rifle and the
Rebel yell, before which the enemy
fled; and the final stratagem by
which seventeen hundred Federals
were captured by six hundred Con-
federates-has been so often and so
vividly told, that it needs no repe-
titiOn, until some Southern WdUerlU
shall perpetuate it in romance, or
some Southern Homer shall embalm
it in undying verse.
THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA.
From this time to the battle of
Chickamauga he was constantly en-
gagged and rendered effective service,
both in Middle and East Tennessee.
In the battle of Chickamauga, his
men, dismounted, fought with the
infantry until the retreat began,
when, mounting his men, he pur-
sued to within three miles of Chat
tanoOga. He captured a Federal
officer in tall tree that had been
conveniently arranged for an OBJ
mounting to his place,
he could see the enemy retreating
along the roads and in the town of
Chattanooga in great confusion and
chaos. He communicated these
facts to headquarters, and urged an
immediate advance of the COnfed- /
crate army upon them. Had his |
or his advice been followed,
march to the sea might |
never have been made,
HE LEAVES BRAGG's ARMY.
On the Sd of October, 1868 he
was ordered by General Bragg to
turn over his command, except /
Dibrell' brigade, to General Wheeler
for an expedition into Tennessee.
Regarding this as derogatory to
him, he resigned his commission.
General Bragg was my first brigade
mmander, and l was more at
tached to him than any General
under whom / served. Iknew him
to be pure and unselfish patriot,
and in the fall of 1861 bore from him
TO President Davis the strikingly
proposition to turn over to
A. 5. Johnston, for active
service in kentucky, his we'll
drilled army at Pensacola, and to
receive raw recruits in its place, il
he could not be taken with his men;
and L would say nothing now even
to wound his memory. But the
/
which he in an honest desire to pro-
mote the good of the service, recon-
nended, was unfortunate.
Wheeler, a brave, generous, un-
selfish and educated soldier did not
lesire it, and suffered in public esti-
nation when it was thrust on him.
Forrest, though a great strategist,
lrusted largely for tactics and many
military details to officers under
him; and If Wheeler had remained
Iecond to Forrest, as he was per-
'ectly willing to do, more splendid
for cavalry operations
,Ould scarcely have been made.
Thus ended Forests career i'm
Bragg's army; but before we turn
rom this department, must recall
IN anecdote strikingly illustrative
If the estimation in which Forrest
vas held by the people, and which
ne always told on himself with
great delight. When Bragg was
from Tennessee, Forrest
vas among the last of the rear
guaEd, and an old lady ran out of
Ter house to the gate, as he was
passing, and urged him to turn back
md fight. AS he rode on without
she shook her fist ut him
n great rage and said: "0h, you
yreat, big, cowardly rascal, only
wish old Forrest was here; he'd
make you tight ~
ORGANIZES A NEW COMMAND IN
WEST TENNESSEE AND NORTH
MISSISSIPPI.
Mr.. Davis refused to accept his
but promoted him to
he rank of MajOr-General and as
igned him to the command Of
North Mississippi and West Ten
lessee, and gave him permission to
axe with him his old battalion,
low known as McDonald's, and .
Morton's battery, which he had or
ganized, and whose guns he had
whole force amount
ng to three hundred men and four
runs. He reached Mississippi with
his force on the 18th of November,
S63, and after repairing to Gen.
Joseph h. johnston, and receiving
he assistance of MajOr-General S,
D. Lee to pass the enemy's line on
he Memphis and Charleston rail-
oad, he reached Jackson, Tennes-
ee, on the 9th day of December,
S63, and for the fourth time during
he war began to organize a new
At this time West Ten
,or,.,,, .,r..s, f,,II Is44In 80