The National tribune., 1901-04-11
ROGERSVIELE.
Capture and Escape of the Ad.
jutant= General ii.OfT Garrerd's
Brigade.
BY THEODORE r. ALLEN,
Captain, IN Ohio Car; Bsesaucolonel, Us.

No member of the 7th Ohio Cav. makes
claim of victory for our arms in the en-
ga agement at Rogersville. This for the
reason that we were fairly whipped from
the field by a force of three TO one. and
have no complaint to make. 1t is a poor
soldier that cannot take a licking when
he has to.
In view of the fact that the writer
was among the number who went down
under the fire of the enemy on that event
ful day, it will be quite impossible for
me to relate in circumstantial detail the
full particulars of the battle of Rogers
vile. or Big Creek" as it was called by
the Confederates. Indeed, there was q
period during the engagement when the
Subsequent proceedings" had no inter-
est for me, as, for time, l was not
conscious of surrounding events, and did
not know what had happened.
With the return of consciousness, the
first thing / noted was that Confederate
soldier was trying to take my boots from
my feet, or it may be that this proce d ng
of the rebel soldier was what brought me
back to my senses, as the loss of my only
pair of boots was a serious matter.
After l had convinced the rebel that
the time had not yet come for numbering
me among the dead, he gave me help
ing hand, and putting his arm around me,
assisted me to well at cabin near
by. Here he supplied me with water,
helped me to bathe my face and remove
the blood and dirt, and after a little while
| revived sufficiently to realize my sur
roundings. About this time Sergt.-Maj.
ID. s. Brown, of our regiment, who had
also been made q prisoner, was brought
to where l was, and we were placed un-
der guard. In these later days I have
often turned backward to the 9th OF No
vember, 1868, with the question in my
mind if that rebel soldier who did not
H.
of the living and if so, would now be
glad to present him with 4 brand new pair
of boots.
Gen. Burnside had moved with all his
forces up the valley from Knoxville, de-
feating the enemy at Blue Springs, where
our regiment met with the loss of mcst
excellent officer, Can't Joel p. Higley.
who was killed In this engagement A
short time prior to this battle our army
had received the surrender of the enc US
Gibraltar at Cumberland Gap, and after
a series of successes had driven the Con-
federate forces out of East Tennessee at
Bristol.
Gen. Burnside then returned to his
headquarters at Knoxville, leaving Gen.
Wilcox with six regiments of cavalry and
four regiments of infantry to operate on
the line of the railroad, and posting Col
Carter, native of East Tennessee, with
a native East Tennessee regiment ard the
Ith Ohio Cav, and a Chicago battery Of
two guns, on the line, of the Holston
River near Rogersville. In order to en-
JOY the triumphs OF the late campaign, the
Colonel and the Lieutenant Colonel OF the
Tennessee regiment went to Knoxville,
leaving Col Garrard, Of the 7th Ohio Cav,
in command.
On the evening of the 9TH of November,
1868, dispatch was received by Col.
Garrard from Gen. Wilcox to the effect
that tUn hriVohnc nf Gnnfa1arota
airy, comprising ~ regiments command
ed by Gen. William IL. Jones and Col.
Henry Giltner, were moving down the
HolstOn Valley, and that if attacked by
these two brigades, he (Wilcox) hoped
that we would be able to hold our posi-
ton. Col Garrard, snpposing he was to
be supported by Gen. Wilcox with The ten
regiments comprising his force, all of
which We're in hearing Of our artillery,
made his plans to meet the expected at
tack. Tea-
George Dallas Mosgrove, of the 4th
Ky: COnfederate) Cav, in his interesting
book, Kentucky Cavaliers in Dixie"
tells of the night march Of these two brig
AIDES, especially Of the five regiments of
Giltner's Brigade. In these two brig
AIDES there were IL regiments, and it was
these II regiments that jumped on us with
both feet on the morning of the 9th day
of November, 1863, and l have black-and-
blue spots on me yet as the result of the
exceedingly rough and inhospitable treat
ment they gave us that day.
Our forces consisted of only the 1st
Tenn. M'td Inf, the 7th Ohio Cav, and
two pieces of artillery, in all about 1000
effective men. / was Adjutant- General
of this small brigade.
Col. Garrard decided that it was his
duty to remain at his post and make the
best fight he could. Orders were given
to the command to be ready to fight at
daybreak, and at midnight strong scouting
parties were sent out on the two roads OF
the enemy's approach, with orders to fall
back only as they were driven.
Soon after daylight the scouting party
of the I'd Tenn. was scattered by charge
of the rebel column coming down the
Carter Valley, and this rebel column pro-
ceeded on into the town of Rogersville.
The enemy in the Holston Valley was de-
layed by the skirmishing of the 7th Ohio
scouts, SO that fighting in position did
not commence until about o'clock. The
rebel force that had come down the Car
ter Valley moved upon our left and rear
and opened the attack, which was follow
ed up at once by the attack of the other
force in front.
The Union position was a wooded table
land of about 40 acres, with Steep open
slopes to creek and a ravine in front.
and to the open fields OF the Holston VAL
ley on the right. On the left and rear
across open fields was dense forest.
About 1870 the rebels gained the ra-
vine and charged up the slope. While
arrangements were making here to resist
this charge, it was found that the rebels
had gained the hill, captured the artillery,
and were driving the 7th back through
the woods. The fight was maintained
from tree to tree with great desperation
So many of the artillery horses had been
killed or disabled by the rebel fire that
fol some time before the charge there had
been no hope of saving the guns. but be
fore leaving them the artillery officers had
rammed them full of shells, and fred their
last pistol shots at close range into the
rebel line.
The commander of the battery, seeing
that all hope of saving his guns was
gone, told his men to save themselves as
best they could. As the rebel charging
line, seeing victory in their grasp, rushed
upon the battery to seize the guns, the
commander OF the battery stepped in front
of his guns, and with tears of passion
streaming down his face, drew his revol-
yer and emptied it, shot after shot, into
the advancing line, which was by this
time almost on top of him. He then
threw the empty revolver Iat the rebels
with the exclamation of "Take that, you
d =" In another instant he was
a prisoner, but was treated with the
highest consideration by his captors. who
expressed great admiration for his su-
preme courage and gallantry.
The 1th Ohio Cav. cut their way out
across the open fields to the Holston River
under a heavy fire. The defeat of the