The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-23
THE OLD EIGHTH BRIGADE.
How It Lost and Took Athens, Gaining
the Name of "Turchin's Thieves.
The Regiments Composing that Famous Corps
of Fighters-The Dilettanteeism Of
the Early Days of the War.
Written for the Journal by W. H. Smith.

Written for the Journal by w. III. Smith.
During the year 1862 there were few hrigades
in the Western army more talked about than
the one commanded by Col. j. B. Turchin. 1t
formed part of of the famous Third Division,
commanded by Gen. o. NJ. Mitchell. The brigade
consisted of the Nineteenth Illinois, Thirty
seventh Indiana, Eighteenth Ohio and Twenty
fourth Illinois regiments. The brigade was
fighting one, but soon after its organization 1T
acquired a reputation as a ''thieving brigade
This reputa ton was not deserved but it clun9
to it for long time. Colonel Turchin was not a
strict dsciplinarian, and as a natural conse-
quence the morale of his command was not good.
At that early period of the war the whole North
was afflicted with a class of men who
believed that the war should be conducted
with kid gloves, and that the property Of the
rebels should be sacredly guarded. When any
property was taken or destroyed, no matter how
great the necessities of the troops, or the provo
cation by the owners, howl was raised by the
softhearted and soft headed people of the North,
and the removal of the commanding officer de-
manded
There is another thing that ought to be noticed
in this connection Up to 1868, whenever any
the rebels as if he meant to whip them, it was
at once followed by serious charges against him.
| Thus Sherman was charged with being crazy,
| Grant with being drunk, and Mitchell with
robbing the people and specializing in cotton.
In making these charges against Mitchell
the word of rebels was freely taken
| by the press of the North and by
| the War Department. General Mitchell be-
| leved from the very outset that rebellion was
wrong, and that the science of war was to live.
If possible, off the enemy. Hence, he fought
whenever he got a chance, and fought hard, and
when he needed anything for the subsistence Of
his troops to help them in their warfare against
the rebels, he took it, For instance he once
wanted money; the government could not
furnish it; he captured rebel cotton, sold it, and
applied the proceeds to the use of his army. At
another time, when he wanted to cross river
and had pontoons, he took cotton bales from
rebel fort and out of them made floating
bridge. For these acts he was at the time
severely censured by the papers in the North.
the result being an extended correspondence
with the War Department.
So much by way of introduction to the story
of the manner in which the Eighth Brigade
got its name of 'Turchin's thieves"
When General Mitchell took command of the
Third Division it consisted of the Eighth, Ninth
and Seventeenth brigades. of what was then
known as the Army Of the Ohio but afterwards
as the Army of the Cumberland The army
was under command of General Buell.. Grant
was proposing to move Forts Henry and
Donnelson, and the duty of making a diversion
IN his favor was assigned to Buell.. This diver
sion was to be made towards Bowling Green,
and from thence on to Nashville The advance
IN this movement was given to the Third Divi-
sion, the Eighth Brigade leading. The details /
gave In q former paper, and it was in that
initiatory movement that Mitchell astonshed
the rebels and delighted the loyal North by the
lightning like rapidity with which he moved his
division, and 1.-THE the force and sudden en-
blows 1t was during this movement Also
that Turchins brigade began to acquire its
unenviable notorety He seemed to have but
one idea and that was to find a rebel head some
where ard hit at it. Notwithstanding General
Buell. had issued strict orders against the taking
OF private property, under emergencies the boys
OF the Eighth Brigade would raid milk houses
use fences for fires and straw for BEDS with
occasional sheep, chicken pig to exc out their
commissary stores. The officers did not seem
to concern themselves about it, and the brigade
soon became the forerunnerS of Shermans bum
mers.
When Buell. moved off from Nashville TO join
Grant at Shiloh, Mitchell was left in command
of all the troops at Nashville and in the
vicinity, and he at once began the series of
movements which carried CONSERVATION
throughout tho Southwest Huntsville,
Tuscumba, Stevenson, Decatur, Athens and
several other important points soon fell into
his possession. 1t was constant fight and
march with him. Turchns brigade Was always
in the lead. 1t was at Athens they met their
first check. 1t was there portion Of the brigade
for the first time showed the white feather and
it was then the bri gade performed the acts that
fastened the name Of 'Turchin's thieves" upon
them. Athens had been captured on the 18th Of
April, and OH the LIST of May was occupied by the
Eighteenth Ohio, under Col. r. II. Stanley.
Rumors were thick of concentration of rebel
forces to drive Mitchell back to Nashville
Mitchell was preparing for move on ChatanOo-
ga. and skirnishes with the rebels were of daily
occurrence. Loyalty was at a terrible discount
in Athens. The inhabitants were very bitter in
their feelings OF hostility to the Union and
frequently tainted the boys with prophecies that
the confederate forces would drive them
out of the town. Nowhere in Tennessee were
the people more insulting, and it was only by
the hardest efforts the officers could prevent the
troops from taking summary vengeance upon
the people. 1t took close watching to prevent
the burning of the place, as the boys often
threatened to xvi pc out the rebel hole"
On the morning of the LIST of May, 1862 a
small force of rebel cavalry, under command of
Col. j. S. Scott, attacked the guards stationed at
two of the bridges Athens Driving the
guards off, they next attacked the pickets of the
main line. Two companies of the Eighteenth
Ohio were sent QUO to reinforce the pickets
while Colonel Stanley proceeded with all haste
to load his stores on train of cars preparatory
to running for Huntsville The fight on the
picket line continued All hour or more, the en-
envy slowly retreating. They finally opened
upon the town, however, with three
small mountain howtzers. This alarmed
Colonel Stanley and without waiting for
achievements he started his trains, h urried his
wagons and men out of the own on a run.
abandoning his tents and large quantities of
stores. While the fight with the pickets was
going on, General Mitchell came up from Hunts
vile on engine. He sent word to Stanley to
keep up the fight, and he would soon bring re.
inforcements He then started on his engine to
obtain the reinforcements. Nothing however
could hold Stanley in Athens. After one of his
trains had passed on its way to Huntsville some
Of the rebels living in the vicinity sawed the tim
bers of the bridge, so that the second train was