The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1903-06-12
FORESTS LAST FIGHT
J. 3. Fletcher, of Tyler, Tex, Gives
Graphic Description of Ii.


After a lapse of more than thirty.
seven years, the writer has concluded
to give a short account of this fight,
as 1t Is very indelibly impressed upon
his mind. He was then a smooth
faced boy of less than twenty years Of
age, and member of Company d,
Eighth cavalry, Forests corps. The
fight occurred, as l now recollect, on
April 1, 1865, and was just about the
last fight Forests cavalry had durin &
the war. On the morning of March
81 the four regiments composing Ly-
on's Kentucky brigade, viz: Third,
Seventh Eighth and Twelfth, togeth-
er with a part of Gen. Roddy's Ala
bama cavalry, commenced fightin g
Gen. Wilson's advanced forces at
Montevallo, Ala, about sunup. The
first gtand was made in the cemetery,
just outside of the town. Wilson's
greatly superior forces soon forced
us to fall back, which we did in good
order. We fell back about three miles
to a creek, where we made another
stand. utilizing the high banks of the
creek as a temporary breastworks.
Here we repulsed several obstinate
charges made by largely superior
forces, holding the Federals in check
for about three hours. In the alb
sence of our brigade commander, Gen.
Hy. Lyon, Col. Ed Grassland, of the
Seventh Kentucky, was in temporary
command.
The Federals finally made an at
tempt to flank us by crossing the creek
both above and below us, and were
about to surround us, When the bugle
sounded a retreat. In this retreat we
stubbornly contested every inch Of the
ground. We would form a regiment
on one side of the road and fight
awhile, until too holly pressed, and
then we would fall back and reform
in the rear of some other regiment
which had previously been formed be-
hind us. Thus we continued fighting,
forming and falling back, all day,
leaving the ground strewn with both
the blue and the gray.
We camped that night, March 81,
1865, near Randolph, Ala, and in and
around an old church, which 1 learned
was a Hardshell Baptist church. Il
remember right we'll that l spent the
night il the old church, and in the
pulpit at that. This is, to my recol-
lection, the first pulpit l had ever had
the pleasure of occupying. 1t was a
sad night, for nearly all the available
space in the church was occupied by
poor wounded and dying soldiers. The
sad memories of that night will never
be forgotten in this life.
The next morning, April 1, Ge1.
Forrest, after a hard ride of one hun
dred miles in a very few hours,
reached us about sunrise. | remem-
Der so well the shout that went up
from those pineclad hills when it was
known that our beloved leader had ar
rived. Soon the bugle sounded call
ing us to boot and saddle" and in
very few minutes we were mounted
and in line. l shall never forget how
the whole command that morning, as
we sat on our horses in line of battle,
united in singing that sweet, sad song
so we'll remembered by old soldiers,
Just Before the Battle, Mother, l
Am Thinking Most of You," etc.
Roddy's men had nearly ell van
ished during the first days fight. The
boys said they had gone home to get
a clean shirt. Of course l don't know
where they went, but l know that
they were not at roll call April l. l
remember how Roddy's men looked as
they fell back on the first day. Their
bright smiles CD haunt me still"
On this morning our available force
consisted of the four Kentucky regi-
ments, perhaps $50 raw militia, one
battery of four light guns and Gen.
Forests staff and escort, commanded
by Ccpt. Sam Donaldson, altogether
about 800 men of all arms. With
this small force we had to meet a
well disciplined army consisting of
10000 cavalry, 1900 infantry and four
full batteries of artillery, and these
fresh a1d flushed with victory.
The forces were arranged as fol
lows; Forrest, commanding our bat
terry, was planted across the road run
ming from Montevallo to Selma; the
Third and Eighth Kentucky Cavalry
(dismounted) was formed on the left
hand side of the road, their right rest
ing on the battery; the Seventh and
Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry (dis-
mounted) were formed on the right
side of the road, their left wing rest
ing on the battery; the fourth regi-
ment formed a V, the small end rest
ing on the battery; the militia was
formed directly behind the battery,
as a support, and Forrest, with his es-
cort and staff, were formed just in
the rear of them.
Just about o'clock a. m. the fight
began. Forrest had thrown forward
that hard fighter, Lieut.. Nat Boone,
with ten men, to recon hotter, and soon
the shrill clangor of bugle was heard
beyond the old field in front of the
Confederate position, and soon after
Boone and his little band dashed into
sight, followed closely by the enemy,
who charged in right gallant style.
The battery now opened up on them
with telling effect, as we'll as the
whole line, and soon the Federal line
began to waiver and fall back, leaving
about $50 killed and wounded lying on
the field. All then was quiet for about
twenty minutes. No, not quite; the
cries AID groans of the wounded and
dying were heart-rending. The rea-
son / remember it so we'll I guess, is
that it was the last scene of the kind
ever witnessed, for which heartily
rejoice.
In little more than twenty min
utes from the time of the repulse the
Federal bugle was heard sounding an
other charge. Then opened upon my
boyish sight one of the grandest
upon. Out of the woods and into the
old field came the Federal advance
in columns of two. They were SUI
perbly mounted on magnificent white
horses, and, flushed with victory the
previous day and stung by the morn
ing's defeat, they came with drawn
sabers and yelling like Commanche In
dams. There were just forty of them
in this charge, and as they came on
yelling and waving their sabers our
gether with the four Kentucky regi
ments. They were firing at them
point blank, short range, and they
fell like wheat before the sickle. Yet
they never wavered and the flag, "Old
I'D