The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-30

| dead and wouri. well our | front. They came VI. nty yards of | our lines, and then ffeo. filing thicker now and faster than before. About D. | m. another assault was made, but also | repulsed. The main attack had all day been directed against the position held by | Bates Division and battery on top of the | hill. Our line at Bates battery turned | at right angles due south along the top | of this range of hills. and the enemy | seemed to regard this as the key to the i situation. There had been one continuous assault on 1t from the beginning of the | battle, but was bravely defended by a | single line. The enemy, h the mean | while. had kept extending their line south | from Bates Division on top of the hill, and by 12 o'clock had reached a point | where the range turns due east to the Franklin pike, and in our rear. It was plain that the enemy's object was to ex- tend this i1anking column to the Frank lin pike before night, and cut off our re- treat. When not engaged. we were in
 terested spectators of this hard battle on top of the hill distinctly marked by
 two parallel lines of ilre. About 1 ?. m.
 and when the fianking column of the en-
 emy on the hill was about one-fourth of
 a mile from the pike, Bates' position and
 battery, after a most heroic defense,
 were carried by the enemy. This oc-
 cured in full view of the 1st Alabama.
 The enemy pouring through this opening
 in otir line began moving upon the left
 flank and rear of our regiment. At the
 same time we were charged by heavy
 force in front. We retreated down our
 trenches to the right, loading and firing
 upon the charging force in front We
 hoped General Hood would send force
 tn har n nkinn Cnlun1H left
 But in fact he had none to spare. The
 lst labama went down the trenches one-
 fourth of a mile. firing as rapidly as
 possible until the enemy in front was
 hardly ten steps away. Here 1t was clear
 that we must surrender or at great peril
 to our lives attempt to escape. A few
 chose the former; others, throwing down
 their guns: cutting off cartri ige boxes
 and belts. but keeping canteens. haver-
 sacks and blankets, sprang up from the
 ditch and made a dash for liberty through
 the park for the hill in the rear, 4J0
 yards distant, over which led their only
 way of escape. Still under fire, we climb
 ed its side 50 precipi:ous in some places
 that we had to pull ourselves up by
 switches prof >cting from Assures of rock.
 Some were killed and wounded in this
 ascent of the hill. After crossing this
 hill. and two or three others !ntersecting
 1t on the south, we reached Franklin pike about dark, and ujst as slow rain
 began falling.
 Nowhere else has such injustice been done the Confederate soldier as at the battle of Nashville. The facts and con- di lions consid cred, no battlefield of the South more fully illustrates his superior quality as a soldier. contending as he was with an enemy so vastly superior in numbers, appointments and physical con- dition If we analyze his conduct during these two days, we shall find nothing to censure. The flight of the barefooted | men. made up of odds and ends of the army and under officers unknown to them could not be considered any dis credit to the army. The conduct of l Cheatham's two divisions holding in check a much larger force on the first days battle. was most heroic. Bates
 defense of his position for seven hours
 against overwhelming odds, and never yielding until his little band were dead or wounded in the trenches. and dead and wounded Yankees were piled up in
 his front for fifty yards, Is entitled to the highest admiration. Bates did the hardest fighting of all that day. though
 he was at last overcome by sheer phys
 icai force. Again, after our lines were
 broken, the Confederates retreated in
 walk down the trenches, at the same
 time firing as rapidly as they could at the
 enemy charging our front. Surely there
 was no evidence of panic in that. The
 truth is at no time was there anything like a panic among the men. When the alternatives of capture or escape had to be made, some chose the former. some the latter, but In either case the decision was made deliberately; and certainly 1t took some courage to attempt escape under such circumstances. The popular impression is that a soldier never runs except when scared. but soldiers of ex- perence know that 1t often requires greater bravery to run, than to charge a fort Again. we killed and wounded many times more Federals at Nashville than they did of Confederates.
 This was the last battle of the Army of the Tennessee fought under General Hood as commander. and 1t is seen that one unbroken series of disasters fully jus tifies the apprenenston of the army when he took command General Hood was one of the bravest of the brave, and we do not think his proven incompetency to command the army detracts one jot from his distinguished service to his country The same misfortune might have befallen any other subordinate Gen eral of the Army.
 hGLTGdL 4CnnSESCC.
 Resuming, the army in a totally disor- ganized condition tramped on through rain and slush down the Franklin pike. The next day the commands were prac ticaIly reorganized at Franklin. Four days later we reached Columbia, where we remained nearly a week. Here For rests cavalry and Walthalls Division. | to which our regiment belonged. were formed into rear guard to cover the | retreat of the army. These combined ag- gregated only about 1000 effective men, | but successfully resisted every advance | of the enemy several times driving them | back in disorder, capturing men, guns, | etc, and securing to the army a safe | and orderly retreat. While at Columbia | snow fell to a depth of several inches, | and the pike all thence to Pulaski was | fecked by blood of our bare-footed men | on the white snow. At Pulaski the army | left the pike and marched two days | southwest across a hilly country. The | third day we came to a creek the valley | of which we descended a whole day, | it many times on pole bridges | by our pioneer corps. Leav- | Ing this, we again marched across | hilly country to Shoal Creek which, | swollen by the recent heavy rains to a | width of 200 yards. presented serious | obstacle to our advance. However. being | shallow 1t was passed by deep fording.
 lst Alabama Sent to North Carolina
 Battles of Averysboro and Ben-
 tonville.
 The army recrossed the Tennessee Riv- | CT at Bainbrtdge, a few miles above Flor ence. Ala, December 24. 1884. Reaching rorinth. the sick and barefooted were