Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-10-29

warned SChOleld to abandon COlumO la, /
and strangely enough drew back his own
/ force by route farther east through
Hurts Corners and Mount Carmel, leaving
the road open to Forrest to dash on to
Spring Hill
But Schoicld. for ull had the inside
track to the key point and acting on vii
ton's warning had sent Gen Stanley with
NIL speed back from Columbia toward r
/ Spring Hill 1t was the !gth OF November,
the day of all others III 1864 when, if lack
counts at all in war the Confcdcracy had
n last chance. At noon that day Staney's
men double Guickcd into Spring Hill and
soon began t" light with FORESTS troopers
for the r,a.tery Forrest was beaten and
Stanley held the road open
Yet Forrest was not Hoods best card in
this game At the head of his leading
division, crack body of men under the
intrepid Gen Cleburne he had crossed
Duck river ut Iiuey's. and at noon of that
dag was marching boldly northwestward
to the pike between Columbia and Spring
Hill, and between Stanley's isolated div
son and SchOuelus main force at COium
blaL Moreover. lie had left the corps of
Gen >. ID Lee south Of Duck river and in
front of Columbia to attack SchOiicld and
push MIN along the pike into the trap pre-.
pared for HIM at Spring Hin. At that
moment there was nothing to stay the
march Of liood's 10000 Contedcrates on
Nashville, Louisville and the north except
SANKEY'S band of 5000 men at Spring !iIil
and mob Of unorVaul2ed recruits and
convAIeScents ut Nashville with Thomas
The hope OF the west lay with Schoiicld
and he WAS virtually surrounded and cut
OFF at Columbia Hoods hore--the forloim
chance of the eoutA-lay in placing "ti
OF bayOnets across the pike and shutting
Scholeld of at SPRING Hill, when the Union
army III the west would be at his mercy
This was unexpected good fortune for
Hood sud second only to SAernan's ahan-
dOnmrnt OF the pursuit And Sherman
theories, hat Hood would follow him to he
sea, or that Thomas would hold MIN son. h
OF the leunes.ee2 Eere was "A mole in them
both ~ tat8i rs "A rent III balloon il vas
only the turn Ut hHiid that Lincoln : fears
! and Grants final doubts would be justified
ana Spring lliil come to count fey more in
history than Cctivsburg or Nick,bu.I
Calling Gems Cncatham and Ci,Ourup 10
hl~ SIDE Hood directed their eyes ur9n the
p PIKE where Schoieid's wagons aud their
! infantry guards were moving from Coium
: bln back to SYrl1g hin Sad n" TO C,sHf.
ham General, 90 you see the enemy there
retreatIug RAPIDLY to escape uS2 GO with
your corps take possession OF That pike ut
! or near Spring lin. Do this at
e once"
G His suhordinates moved away TO obey
d! this command and himself to order up an
@ other corps and this accomplished, Scho-
| fields army would he lost. Forrest cavNi-
ry held all Of he crossroads from the Pike
@ north of 81 lng Hin, in liue east and
u south, to d. K river having howlcI VII
: sou : men OH to the northeast out OF reach.
{ From 3 o'cIucN until dark there was con
u stant skirmlsAlnHaud some heavy lighting
near Spring Hi between SANKEY'S m-l
and those of Ca".tna and Forrest, bat
J Hood returned 10 the spot at dusk only to
l. find that Cueilham had not put has line
> across the pike. Cieburnes DIVISION that
It had been relied on for that feat had hlun
IL dered in the first attempt and then come
l. to a dead standatll. Hood brought with
J. him the leading division of Stewart corps,
, and learning of CleDurne's failure ordered
II that body Of troops to form on C.ehurne :
e line so As TO carry it across the pike. But
by this time Stanley had given the Con
> federates a taste of genuine lighting that
y stirred up their caution.
y Their assaults on the pike ut Spring Hill
| had been stuhhoruiy rcpulSed, and Stewart
! went about his work on the slow and sure
plan of accommodating In the end ~
LTOOlS NcIll ItlO O4NObdO tIOHS bIc pm
" and not across it.
y AS the evening rolled on Schoheld's wag
"a ons and men hurrying away from Column
Ia bia marched along he pike under the eyes
II of the pckcts OF Chcatham and Stewart
y and were fired upon, but they jealousy
le went their way. Hood at length called
II upon Forrest to do the work the infantry
d had failed IN, but when the redoubtabe
r trooper got his men in line they had uo
Ii ammunition and would not advance.
- A band of about 1000 under General
+ jackson galloped on nOrthward and at
II tempted to cut the pike beyond Sprlu4
!" Hill, but were repulSed, and from midnight
+ to daylight of the Both Schotieid's men re
u treated virtually unopposed IN the presence
?" of superior numbers Of their foes resting
l, idly within earahot OF Their march. For
j" Gen. Sherman to have counted in advance
Il upon such uneXplalnable conduct OF
t the part OF Cleburue, Cheat ham and For
rest, with Hood among them and at then
10 head, would have been madman's folly
- But that aud that alone saved Tennessee
~ and the north aud checked Hoods durlua
VI adventure.
&c The next day at Franklin, on the Har
= peth, where Schoheld brought them to bay
II in the bend of the river, Hoods men, meta
~ morphOsed in ght, pitched in like heroc'
To retrieve luelF lost ,DruIutS OltDuIlS
If" and four other generals of Cheatham
Il rorps were killed there in assaulting Soho
~ fields works, and three of Stewards gen
u erals fell also But it was too late. Scho
~ field had got on the inside. and every stei
I that he accomplished back ward added tt
| his strength and hlschauces From Frank
| lin he retired To Nashville, and Hood boI'
| game was up. AT Nashville, two week
| later, Thomas, with Schoheld, Wilson and :
I newly arrived army from Missouri, de
stroyed Hood completely and sherman
| theory, that Thomas could defend the west
! was justified. But it was a narrow escape
l The most reasonable explanation o
| Hoods conduct on the night of NOV % h
| that he tired himself out physically duuns
] the afternoon and his usual hlGh courage
! )oZed out with his waning energy.
| So slight thing as dyspepsia lost grea
] battle for Napoleon. Why may It no' b
| true that slight overstrain OF some sensl
live faculty Of Hoods on that busy after
| noon prevented II reversal OF Conltderat