The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-04-24

In the summer Of 1862 Confcicr
ate cavalry force. consisting cf four ol
five regiments. was cncampcd a, Ne
Minnvillc, Tenn. Forrest, afterwards
general, but at that time ranking only
as colonel, was in command Of the
brigade. The Sd Georgia cavalry rcgi-
ment, commanded by Col. ". j. Law
ton, was part Of this force. In it
was company commanded by the
Kcv. j. Il. Dunlop, a Presbyterian
minister, who had resigned The charge
Of his church in I'rainbridgc, Ga, to
buckle on the sword, and had been
elected captain Of cavalry company,
which he had been instrumental in
raising and to whom his men were per
fcctly devoted.
At Murfrco sboro was force Of
Yankees, consisting Of cavalry, artil-
lcry and infantry, and considerably y
outnumbering the Confcdcratcs. Col.
Forrest decided to surprise and cap,
turc the Fcdcrals, and thus get sup
plies and arms for his men, many Of
whom at that time had nothing more
effective than doublc-barrcl shotguns.
Accordingly we broke camp one Sat
urday and, after marching all night,
reached Murfrccsboro Sunday morning
just at the dawn of day The Fed
eral pickets were captured without
giving an alarm and our foe, all un-
conscious of danger, was quietly sleep.
ing. They were in two camps, one on
the opposite side of the town from )ur
approach and the other to the right as
we entered. The gallant Wharton, of
the Texas hangers, with part Of the
command was ordered to attack the
camp to our right, while Forrest, with
the other part, was to attack the Que
on the opposite side Of the town.
Wharton s attack was Il complete sur
prise to the enemy. Without warn.
ing he aud his hangers burst into the
sleeping camp, yelling and shouting,
drove out the terrified Fcdcrals, and
for while held possession Of the
camp. Afterwards, seeing the small
force Of their assailnnts, the Yankees
rallied, and, after stubborn fight, in
which Wharton was wounded, they re-
gained possession Of the camp. The
part under Forrest, in which was the
I'd Georgia, were not SO successful.
Thc~noise Of the horses hoofs striking
upon the stony ground as we charged
through the town awokc the sleeping
inhabitants, who rushed out to greet
us, wildly shouting and cheering, and
I'D their enthusiasm raising such din
as to reach the ears Of tho sleeping
camp, short distance out Of town.
Then. too, another unexpected diff
Guilty arose. In tho centre Of the
town, directly fronting the street up
which wo were charging, stood tho
brick Court House. En- this was
Federal guard, keeping watch over
some prisoners. AS soon as the head
of our column came in sight this guard
opened fire upon us out of the win
dows Of the Court House. This un-
pectcd attack delayed Forrest and
frustrated his plan of surprising the
camp beyond. When we got there,
instead Of taking them by surprise, we
found them drawn up in line Of battle
on the crest of i slope in an old field,
having splendid battery of six guns
and long line of infantry supporting
it. We were the party surprised.
Under this unlocked for condition of
things Forrest ordered Col. Lawton to
draw up his regiment in front Of tho
Federal lines, in piece of woods
which sheltered us to some extent.
saying that he, with the rest Of his
troop, would ride around them and
attack them in the rear, and ordering
Lawton as soon as he heard his guns
in the rear to charge them iu front.
Thus We stood for about Two hours, l
suppose, waiting to hear Forests
guns in the rear. In the meantime
the Fcdcrals, knowing that we were in
the woods, kept up an incessant fire
with their artillery, sending a con-
tinual stream of shot and shell
screaching over our heads, cutting
down the limbs Of trees, bursting over
US, doing no particular damage it is
true, but terrifying and demoralizing
the men, most of whom had never
been under fire before. Thus matters
stood: We, with our shotguns, lis
tening to the music of the shells, and
the Yankees having perfect picnic
L.