Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-04-25

Ala, on his famous ride through
4 Alabama and Georgia which
had for its sequel the remarka-
DE tunnel escape from Libby prison,
Richmond, few months later.
men and was composed Of his own reg
1ment, the Fifty first. Indiana; the Sew
unty-third Indiana, Third Ohio, Eight
s1eth Illinois and two companies of the
First Tennessee cavalry. The infan-
4rymen were mounted on mules, for the
most part young, unbroken and very
wild.
The orders to the raiding chief d.
;tected him to penetrate the enemy's
lines to the interior of Alabama and
Georgia and destroy the railroads
which carried supplies and munitions
to the Confederate army under Gener-
al Bragg, then operating in middle
Tennessee. 1t was hoped by the plan
uers that this raid would put an end
to Bragg's campaign as effectually as
the work of Forrest and Van Dorm had
+thwarted Grants overland campaign
against Vicksburg in December, 1862.
Just at the time raids in the enemy's
rear were the Federal order Of the day.
Stoneman's cavalry was on similar
errand in Virginia behind the army Of
Lee, then stationed at Fredericksburg,
and Grierson was riding over the coun-
try behind the defenders of Vicksburg.
In order to mask 'Streight's move
ment from the eagle@eye of Forrest
heavy column Of Federals, marching
IRON Iuka, Miss, eastward, made
feint upon Tuscumbia. But Forrest
was too clever to be thrown off the
trail He was q raider himself, with
a reputation to sustain. Streight's first
long halt was at Days Gap, in Sand
mountain, and when his rear guard
marched through the pass it was at
tackled by Forrest.
Streight prepared to give Forrest
taste of his own favorite game. When
the rear was attacked, the head of the
column had reached the other side of
the mountain. The line came to halt
and faced about, with one flank rest
Ing upon ravine and the other upon
"A marshy creek. All the roads leading
In from the right, left and front were
strongly guarded and two twelve
FOUNDER mountain howitzers placed in
the center on the road. The Tennessee
cavalry, acting as rear guard, was
instructed to fall back before the enc
my's advance and pass through the
line of battle.
Streights arrangement was hardly
completed when Forests brother,
Captain w. H. Forrest, charged the
Tennesseeans, who promptly gave way
and were followed into the gap by
their assailants Then the whole Fed
poured rapid fire upon Forests
ranks. Two Confederate guns opened
at once upon Streight's line. and Colo
mel Roddy's regiment charged vigor-
ously, but was quickly repulsed. For
rests guns were within 800 yards of
the Federal center, and Streight sent
the Third Ohio and Eighteenth ILL
nois forward to charge the routed enc
my and capture their artillery. The
raiders shot down the horses at the
Confederate guns, and these were
abandoned, with their caissons, togeth-
er with forty wounded and nearly as
many dead troopers.
1t was nearly midday when the Con-
federates drew off from the fight.
Streight surmised from the boldness Of
the attack that he had Forrest to cope
with and expected the next blow upon
his front. Posting strong guard in the
gap, he pushed on with the main body
to a crossroad six miles from the bat
tlefield. For once Forrest was misled.
Two Of his regiments were not up yet,
and he waited for their help to dis
lodge the enemy from the gap and con-
tented himself with a long range Skin
mish until p. m. Massing his four
regiments; with four guns. he dashed
forward only to encounter thin Skin
mish line Of Federals, who galloped
away without firing a return shot.
Streight had rightly judged Forests
tactics, for he was soon assailed on the
1ank by FORESTS advance guard. Rid
ing rapidly on, he selected the next bat
tleground at the crossing of Crooked
creek, in another mountain pass. The
captured guns, with the mountain how
tiers, were stationed to cover the road.
An hour before shutdown Forrest came
on at the head Of three regiments and
rode up to within hundred yards of
Sueight's line. For three hours the
combat ragged so close that at times the
flashes of carbine and pistol illuminat-
ed the features Of the combatants with
a CHASTITY glare.
Again Streight pulled out his main
column, leaving the pass to be held by
"a handful. The captured guns. having
become a useless burden because the
ammunition fitting them had all been
dred back at its original owners. were
spiked and left behind. Twice during
the night retreat Forests advance was
ambushed, and next morning Streight
lined up his column for battle at
Bloutsville. Forrest failed to come up
and the raiders pushed on across the
Black Warrior river. where the real
guard engaged the pursuers in lively
skirmish.,
- Affo,.~ iorncein a Tho stroono Ssfroirr1,i