The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-05-29

~ and 10 This difficult work Hamptu1
and his cavalry were assigned WlVp ~, ~
sottte confidence by tue great lenuel,. ~,
~ r. Ire The commander In cher nnn
alton trusted and tried these caNnlIs n NV,
and they had never been founn 1890 ,"i.,,'sss,
there was no danger when sy .,,H5h npn,ih
disturb their faith in their abllliy " cvps
with every foe Outnumbered. poorly c,h ~
and lily armed. In comparison VIII lus
ennipment Of their enemy Hampton uiu ~.
~ Mats hrovelv and cotirageunsly to throw
Himself IN advance Of the raiding forces.
resolved either g check o. url,c ap.tn
hack SO near this iittle fhilrphu s."'.hn
hp measured swords and FORCES WIN w
Teasrai cavnlry Neither side sccmeu 70
know tho exact location or position 81
fhe forces Of the other, but they soon
warmed up 90 desperate work. ~ , guy .
Of The nrst day the advantage apparent!
vos with the Federals but at the close
OF Inc second d1y after seven separate ~
seulIs. sheridan and his men were worsteh
fhplr concentrated raid was prevented ana
with his ranks mperlled he was competed
In seek the protection Of his infantry 70
snve him from the avenglng hand -
Hampton and his men 49,
In view of all the clrcumsta,<es me
result was victory for the Confederate
raglly While the losses on either SHE
were not very large, yet relauNeN theS me.
we're Indicative. not only Of q hign order
of strategy, but OF unquallheu bravery
~
station, on the 10th of June, 1864, Forrest,
with his Western men behind hun, had
fought rot only the greatest cavalry battle
of the war, but the greatest cavalry battle
of the world Forrest and his men were
the most formidable enemy with which the
Federal armies coutended. General sher-
man said Of him, Forrest is the very devil,
and think he mas got some of our troops
under cover" ana he declared that Forrest
must he killed. If it took 10000 lives and
broke the treasury, adding, There WIN
never be peace In Tennessee until Forrest
Is dead. lie offered $4,000 reward for
his DEATH or capture and n major general
ship TO him who would destroy this roe
But the question most serious Of all to the
Federal commanders was who should ur
dertdfe this task. 4 great many Federal
soldiers had gone against Forrest, only TO
hud their plans anticipated ana the OBJ
jccts Tor which they md set out defeated.
At last the choice fell on Samuel Z. Stur-
gis. brlgaler general, VINO mad achieved
recent success IN his battles In East Ten
ne sec and was regarded as real lighter.
Thirty -four hundred cavalry, formed into
two brigade, commanded by two of the
best Federal soldiers then in the West,
composed the Federal advance, while $500
Infantry divided into three brigados, com
mandel BY General Sturgis, made up what
General WGshhurne said was force con
sisting OF some of our best troops"
After q march of some Seycnty-fve miles
from Memphis on June o. General SturSs
concentrated his entire command near
Brlcc Cross Roads, in Mississippi, with
500 men and twenty-five pieces of artil-
lery, and when he opened fight he had less
than 200 men lie conceived the design OF
crushing the cavalry before the infantry.
which was some eight miles away, could
| be brought into action At no dime during
the battle was Forrest able to carry into
actioq more than 1850 troops. With these
he defeated COmnuGpl of 3JtND
airy and 4SUO infantry OF unquest lOnaUly
the best men of the West. His artillery
the conflict started. From 10 until 4. in
the rays of fierce sun, these c0valrymen
from Tennessee, Kentucky. Alabama and
Mississippi engaged in desperate hand 10
! hand conflict with the soldiers Of Indiana
illinois, Minnesota, Iowa and New Jersey
sherman himself vas compelled to admit
that Forrest whipped Sturgls in n fail
fight. He not only whipped Sturgs, but
routed his forces. He wounded or killed
or captured 2Gl2 men, amounting TO about
30 per cent of hs entire force; captured
70 wagons and amhuIances, all but foul
the Federal line fleeing, panlc-stricker
mob.
sherman said Forrest has only his cav
airy; can not unders tand how he coult
defeat SturSis with 5000 men, ana yet h,
did, His men fought with a galantry puc
n desperation and a chivalry that may
have been eqnaled, but not surpassed, II
any Uulltf Vi any WtF. CIuGRlS tlnlNleN
that Forrest had fought him with 5000 OF
! 2Q,Oo0 men, aud that he had two division,
OF infantry IN reserve behind the cavalry
aud thus had been able TO accomplish Ms
dctcnt and inhict such unusual humiliation
The battle of Brice Cross Roads thns Wol
by Forrest Is entitled to 60 down through
tht ngrs as one OF the most briltadi en-
gagcmeuts ever fought. FOR military A.
nluS, for boldness of conception, for in
trepidlty q, action. for reckless rullran,
ana All mat Inspires men, II can have NJ
superior while mon shall live.
The war OF the States soon pronncnd ;
new type of expedition. The pcnt-up arm,
IN the field could only be fed hy raIlwai
transportation. One hundred thousnn,
men eampcd In ANY locality quickly d.
SuoIcd It's food supply and army forag,
became as destructive ms Egypt's Icons i
Men ana beasts alike demanded constan
aud enormous commlssary stores. and 1,
secure these the lines OF communication Il
thu rc,.r must be Kept we'll protected
To destroy these provision arteries hn
came special aim 7of opposing ganernls
,Inhe southern f9rGgS, as they iecedcd From
Federals farther and farther from tLrl
base of supplies and thus rendered my,
force always necessary TO defend The road,
over which the food and munitlcns We
carried to the front. Stuart. Ashby. lamu
ton, Morgan, Forrest and Wheeler so,l
tnteht the Union generals lessons in til
thousands of men were kept along the me
OF transportation to guard bridges, rail-
wGvs ana military depots
The Contederates gave these no rex,
operating over Wide scope OF territnr
they came by night and day to p!acle
torment or capture these men left Ia d.,
feud the rear. They rode like n pest, lrnc
they came by night and day 10 placus
ton at MONDAY. They appeared to splig.
up as II by magic and to haunt the wakin.
ANA sleeping dreams Of their opposers. i
can not be Justly denied that The Conred
crate cavalry In the Wost not only euunlo,
hui surpassed all similar operations In III
war. The raids Into Missouri ana X II
lucky, and through Tennessee, exhlhite,
a degree of endurance In the men md
quality Of genius In their leaders wbicI
Stamped all who engaged In them as So
ul,rs or SupcrhCSt courage, wonderful en-
duancc and iacGlculahlc resources m
SohTcderate cavalry soon became master
n ms new method of war, aud Il wa
months before the FcderaiS fully compfr
bonded the effectiveness Of such work q
developed the resources and the talen
which enabled them to retallatc in Lin
~ the men IN the WcS under Forresi
Morgan and Wheeler unfolded the enar
nous possibilities In Lhls system 0f iigh,
! ING they became lis most distinguished eS
pnDenls ana made marches ana fought hai
Ties, destroyed railways. steamboafs mil
tary stores captured sargisons aud terror
lzed their enemies TO u degree that CAV
| them splendid renown and world. wa
| famc They early learned how TO entie,
! PATE similar movements on the part a
| thelr enemiesh and We're enabled 10 met
/ OUT quick ana ample punishment to thos
| VINO undertook like enterprises.
IN the East the only succession captur
| OF those engaged In this work was that o
pahlgren' who had conceived the plan o
! capturing sacking and burning Richmond
| with his life he paid forfeit for failure
| lie himself being killed, his force num
boring less than 800 men. was scattere
] avn Il fraW#N