The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-02-25


tenant Ashton. took command In !,
rev minutes Ashton was mortnlIy
wounded ana the non-commissioned OF :
Hccrs were killed and disabled until In
u snort time tho command Of the bat
tery dcvoivcd upou n corporal Corporal
=. VI Williams. and detail of men
rom an Infantry regiment had TO be
made 10 work the guns. Tho assaults
and charges OF the Ecdcrois were spir-
'ich gallant and desperate The hili.
Sidcs ana valleys In our front were
thlchiF strewn with their dead and
wounded. One maJor-xcneral and three
briSadier-Ssnerals fell in teeburnc's
front. AS soon as the enemy was re-
pulsed aud driven bncii on our right,
CIchnrne was ordered 20 reinforce our
centre with all possible haste" lie
said: 81 pushed .orwar,l. bu, before
hai gone far n dispatch from General
liHrdee reached me with the appalling
new. that the enemy had pierced our
centr" and were on Missionary Ridge"
RETREAT.
Our troopF now fell back across the
chickamauEa. Many prisoners were
captured from NJ at Missionary Ridge
and Lookout Mountain who could have
avoided capture, bu, az General Gle
burne aftcrward said. They fingered
here and there, in the shadow Of the
trees. for the purpose OF being cap
thred. faint-hcarted patriots. succumb-
Ing 10 the hardships OF the war and
the Imagined hopccssness Of the
hour 'tjopelersress!" That was the
cause. When our aruy was reduced
and weak encd greatly. while the
enemy Was being strongly reinforced.
our troops were dispiri;ci. dls, oura ged
Hope died out. confidence waned ana
J could clearly perceive a spirit OF
care, dissatisfaction. disappointment
and "hopeiegsncIs." We wore. divided
TOO weak 10 Withstand an assault from
the heavily reinforced enemy. yet W..
must stand and oppose him II could
result only In death and defeat. never
thelcss. We nuat risk the death and
suffer the defeat. Many "succumbed
TO the imagined hopeiessness OF tho
hour" Some a; the closc OF the Sight
and beginning OF tho retreat Fingered
under the shadow OF the treea for the
puipose OF being captured" on our
right eight s,nnda Of coiors OF the
Federal commands fell into the hands
OF Clebnrnc and Walker. Among
them were the Flags Of the Twenty
seventh Pennsylvania Regiment and
the Ninety-th!rd Illinois Regiment,
with about 800 prisoners. Not much
OF a jubilee or picn'c on that part of
tho held. Had our troops been un-
aware OF the serious depletion Of our
strength and the heavy reinforcement
Of The enemy tho fight would have
been Gercer and longer. and there
would have been fewer prisoners and
many more dead men.
GcucrHl CIrburnc.
As TO ;hn nebulae OF history-all OF
which carnc,--and perhaps should
not--be gathered and chronicicd: The
fall Of the gallant Maior-Generai Gle
hurne at the head OF h!s splendid d.
vision on tho field at Franklin. is his
torical data: hut there are minor rcla-
tive detail. witch arc not on record,
ana viii never be, In history. Clcburue
loved his splendid regiments HIS
officers and mon Iorored. admired
conhdeh in ana relied on him 40 dan
Ger or risk too great 10 be under
taken Or incurred II Clcburne said
Forward" regarded Major General
Cleburne az one Of tho best division
commanders and unc OF the most CT
fcctive fighters in tho Confcderacy.
regarded his division as saw II march
In review nj Dalton, twenty eight reg
Imcnts. ton Arkansas. eight Texas.
three Tennessee. three Alabama. two
Mississippi Fifth md Third Confedcr
ate Regiments. as the best division of
the Tennessee campaign. under Gem
erai Hood, on an occasion Cleburne
was ordered to assault with his d.
vision.
He. as did Msjor-G General w. II. T.
Walker. just before he was shot and
fell from his horse dead az the battle
OF Atlanta Ga, protested. and
murder Of his troops to assault
as ordered E:nphntically ordered
TO advance. lie asked to be sup
ported Without support he charged.
was overwhelmed and. after desperate
fiGhtng, was repulsed with terrible
slaughter OF his men. He declared pri-
vRtely 10 one or two of his officers and
personal friends that IL ever again he
was compelled 10 sacrifice his com
mand he would remain on the field to
which he led Their, With mis- dead. Very
soon after. at Franklin. he performed
his solemn VOW. Again his division
had 10 advance unsupported. through
abattis, on the cnemy's most strongly
fortified and comparatively inaccessible
position. Cleburne led his men through
and over every obstacle to the works,
onto the works and into the works
General Hood. comma nding. in his Of
cial report said. speaking of the same:
The troops moved on most gallantly
to tho attack. Here the engagement
was of the flerccst possible character.
Our men possessed themselves of the
exterior of the works while the enemy
held the interior. Many OF our men
were Killed entirely inside the works.
The struggle lasted until midnight.
when the enemy abandoned his works"
During the fierce and terrible fight
ing in front of the works Clcburne
rode back and forth. along and through
his battle lines, recklessly lingering at
the mu1zle of the enemy's belchinE
guns and seeming for time shielded
from death by strange oracular power.
But when morning dawned. there. al
most on the cnbankment of the forti-
fcations, lay Cleburne and his horse
among the hundreds OF his "sacrif1ced'
dead and wounded. Brigadier General
S. r. Gist, OF South Carolina. lay dead
close to him. Chivalrous, indomita bl c
Pat Cleburne. Gallant leader of an In
vincible host OF as splendid troops as
I ever saw marshalled. His place In
the Army OF the West could no more
have been filled than could that OF
Stonewall Jackson have been filed in