Battle Of Nashville And the grand Retreat

[larry_cockerham]

December 20.--Everything over the river this morning. The march was resumed on the Pulaski pike--Lee in front (Stevenson commanding), Cheatham next, and General Stewart in rear. General Forrest, with his cavalry and a division of infantry under command of Major-General Walthall (composed of Ector's, Strahl's, Maney's, Granbury's, and Palmer's brigades), directed to oppose the advance of the enemy's cavalry. General Stevenson's corps camped within two miles of Pulaski, and the other two corps in his rear, and in order of march. Army headquarters at Mr. Jones', Pulaski.
Forrest was aiding the defense of Columbia on the evening of the 20th as per his official report:

"On the 20th General Hood, on leaving Columbia, gave me orders to hold the town as long as possible, and when compelled to retire to move in the direction of Florence, Ala., via Pulaski, protecting and guarding his rear. To aid me in this object he ordered Major-General Walthall to report to me with about 1,900 infantry, 400 of whom were unserviceable for want of shoes. The enemy appeared in front of Columbia on the evening of the 20th and commenced a furious shelling upon the town. Under a flag of truce I proceeded to the river and asked an interview with General Hatch, who I informed by verbal communication across the river that there were no Confederate troops in town, and that his shelling would only result in injury to the women and children and his own wounded, after which interview the shelling was discontinued."

[larry_cockerham]

From History of the 33rd Mississippi: [Insert – from General George H. Thomas Jan 20 1865 report: “On the morning of the 20th [December] General Hatch constructed a floating bridge from the debris of the old railroad bridge over Rutherford's Creek, and crossing his entire division pushed out for Columbia, but found, on reaching Duck River, the enemy had succeeded the night before in getting everything across, and had already removed his pontoon bridge; Duck River was very much swollen and impassable without a bridge.”]
Battery G, 1st Ohio were in position at Rutherford’s Creek, no bridges and the water “too high to ford”.

On 20 December the army had reached Columbia, Tennessee, and what was left of Featherston's Brigade was tasked with being the rear guard of the army and holding off the pursuit of Gen. Wilson's Yankee cavalry. Gen. Featherston's Brigade was temporarily consolidated with Gen. Quarles Brigade for this defense with Gen. Walthall in overall command of the infantry rear guard. Despite all the suffering and privation the men of the 33rd Mississippi had been through they still were brave soldiers and continued to fight on. The action of the rear guard was complimented by the Yankee commander, Gen. Thomas, when he wrote, "with the exception of the rear guard (Hood's) army had become a disheartened and disorganized rabble of half-armed and barefooted men. The rear guard was undaunted and firm, and did its work bravely to the last."

[larry_cockerham]

December 21.--Army headquarters still at Mr. Jones', Pulaski. Stevenson's corps marched across Richland Creek and went into camp; Cheatham's and Stewart's corps camped on this side. Forrest fell back from Columbia toward Pulaski as per his official report.
[Insert – from George H. Thomas Jan 20, 1865 report: “The weather had changed from dismal rain to bitter cold, very materially retarding the work in laying the bridge, as the regiment of colored troops to whom that duty was intrusted seemed to become unmanned by the cold and totally unequal to the occasion. On the completion of the bridge at Rutherford's Creek sufficient material for a bridge over Duck River was hastily pushed forward to that point, and the bridge constructed in time to enable Wood to cross late in the afternoon of the 22d and get into position on the Pulaski road, about two miles south of Columbia. The water in the river fell rapidly during the construction of the bridge, necessitating frequent alterations and causing much delay. The enemy, in his hasty retreat, had thrown into the stream several fine pieces of artillery, which were rapidly becoming uncovered, and were subsequently removed.”]

1st Ohio as per the OR had pontoons up at 2 pm. 1st Ohio, 1st Michigan and 1st Kentucky were ordered to cross as soon as the pontoons were laid over the Duck River.

From History of 33rd Mississippi:
The retreating Confederates were not hard to follow. Numerous accounts tell of the trail of bloody footprints left in the ice and slush of the roads south of Nashville that were put there by shoeless soldiers who marched along clad only in rags. After Nashville, there was not much left of the 33rd Mississippi Infantry. A count done on 21 December 1864 revealed 68 "effectives" out of a total of 84 men. It was a far different regiment from the almost one thousand men strong group who had assembled on the fields at Grenada back in 1862.

[larry_cockerham]

December 22.--Army headquarters at Pulaski. Stevenson's corps was directed to move forward on the Lamb's Ferry road, in rear of the pontoon train, and camped about eight miles from Pulaski. General Stewart's corps camped in rear of Stevenson's about six miles from Pulaski, and General Cheatham's on Richland Creek, in the immediate vicinity of town. The wagon train ordered to move at daylight toward Bainbridge, by the Powell road. The US Army crossed Duck River at Columbia today. The 1st Ohio, 1st Michigan and 1st Kentucky had crossed by 5 pm. The infantry of the 4th Army Corps crossed that evening.

From Forrest’s report:

The enemy succeeded in crossing Duck River on the morning of the 22d. I at once ordered my troops to fall back in the direction of Pulaski. Brigadier-General Chalmers was ordered on the right down the Bigbyville pike toward Bigbyville. The infantry moved down the main pike from Columbia to Pulaski, the rear protected by both Buford's and Jackson's divisions of cavalry, while a few scouts were thrown out on the left flank. The enemy made his first demonstration on my rear pickets near Warfield's, three miles south of Columbia. He opened upon us with artillery, which forced us to retire ****her down the road in a gap made by two high hills on each side of the road, where he was held in check for some time.

[larry_cockerham]

December 23.--Army headquarters on Powell's Ferry road, six miles from Lexington, Ala. The army, after the day's march, camped as follows: Stevenson's corps at the intersection of the Lamb's Ferry road with the Powell road, four miles from Lexington; General Stewart in rear, on the Lamb's Ferry road; General Cheatham moved on the Lawrenceburg road. The 6th Ohio, 1st Kentucky, 1st Michigan and Pennsylvania Battery B were crossing the Duck when the bridge broke.

Forrest was in a position of defense at Lynnville as per his official report:

On the night of the 23d I halted my command at and near Lynnville, in order to hold the enemy in check and to prevent any pressure upon my wagon train and the stock then being driven out. left, and after an engagement of two hours I ordered them to fall back across Richland Creek. I lost 1 killed and 6 wounded in this engagement. The enemy lost heavily. Brigadier-General Buford was wounded in this engagement, and I ordered Brigadier-General Chalmers to assume command of Brigadier-General Buford's division together with his own. I reached Pulaski without further molestation.

Richard Jenkins in 2006 provided the following:

Tonight I was doing some work on my piled up desk and I came across two maps that I copied while I was in Pulaski that I had forgotten about. The important one is a map that was produced by Monroe F. Cockrell in September of 1941. The map is titled "The military Campaigns of Nathan Bedford Forrest. This map shows the travels of Forrest in all of his campaigns. There two things that you may be interested in. The crossing at Richland Creek took place east of the railroad south of Lynnville just before the creek turns south. He then followed the creek on its east bank until it turned west again. The map has him going south from there to just about half way between Pulaski and a place called Browns Plantation. He then turns west and crosses the railroad and then the Creek again. From there it shows him on the 25th just to the north and west of Kings Hill. It then shows him crossing Sugar Creek just about 1.75 miles up stream from the Alabama state line.

[larry_cockerham]

December 24.--Army headquarters at Mr. Joiner's, eleven miles from Bainbridge, on the main Bainbridge road. Stevenson's corps reached and camped on Shoal Creek and Stewart's in his rear. General Cheat-ham not yet come into the main road from the Powell road. Forrest was in position of defense at Richland Creek as per his official report. The Federal Corps camped at Lynnville.

BATTLE AT ANTHONY’S HILL

As the Army of Tennessee continued their retreat south of Pulaski, General Forrest noticed a defensive hollow as the army moved slowly up Anthony’s Hill. See earlier in this document the description of the battle and the graveyard and church which are still standing in 2005. Next is Gen. George Thomas' report of that afternoon’s battle. See more on this and Sugar Creek in the following pages.

[Insert- George H. Thomas Jan 20 1865 report. This must have been the battle with Forrest at Anthony’s Hill: “During the afternoon Harrison's brigade found the enemy strongly intrenched at the head of a heavily wooded and deep ravine, through which ran the road, and into which Colonel Harrison drove the enemy's skirmishers; he then waited for the remainder of the cavalry to close up before attacking; but before this could be accomplished the enemy, with something of his former boldness, sallied from his breast-works and drove back Harrison's skirmishers, capturing and carrying off one gun belonging to Battery I, Fourth U.S. Artillery, which was not recovered by us, notwithstanding the ground lost was almost immediately regained. By night-fall the enemy was driven from his position, with a loss of about 50 prisoners.”]

[larry_cockerham]

December 25.--Army headquarters at Bainbridge, on the Tennessee River. The pontoon was being laid across the river as rapidly as the arrival of the boats would allow. General Cheatham came into the main road this morning, and in rear of Stevenson's corps moved to the river, where a line covering the bridge was formed, Cheatham occupying the right and Stevenson the left. General Stewart's corps, upon arriving at the point where Cheatham's corps came into the main road, was put into position so as to protect both roads.

From Forrest’s Report:

On the morning of the 25th, after destroying all the ammunition which could not be removed from Pulaski by General Hood and two trains of cars, I ordered General Jackson to remain in town as long as possible and to destroy the bridge at Richland Creek after everything had passed over. The enemy soon pressed General Jackson, but he held him in check for some time, killing and wounding several before retiring. Seven miles from Pulaski I took position on King's Hill, and awaiting the advance of the enemy, repulsed him, with a loss of 150 killed and wounded, besides capturing many prisoners and one piece of artillery. The enemy made no further demonstrations during the day. I halted my command at Sugar Creek, where it encamped during the night.

The 5th Division, 1st Brigade under Edward Hatch encountered “a force under Cheatham was met about five miles north of Pulaski and a sharp skirmish ensued. A portion of the same command was again overtaken at Sugar Creek, and driven, or troops encamping on the ground they occupied.”

From the History of the 33rd Mississippi:

The rear guard tried to delay the Yankee cavalry with ambushes and delaying tactics. On Christmas Day at Anthony's Hill, Tennessee, the rear guard bloodied the Federals with a volley and then a charge while the rest of the army was crossing the Tennessee River at Florence, Alabama. Pvt. Van Kees said it was, "some little fiteing”. On 26 December 1864 there was another brief fight for the rear guard. The Federal horse soldiers came up on a group of Rebels who where out in the open. The Yankees charged and did capture some of the Southerners, but the main force of the Confederates were hidden in ambush and suddenly rose up, charged the Yankees, and captured several troopers and horses. What a humiliation that must have been for a few cavalrymen. At the height of their triumph over the Rebel army, to be captured and sent off to a prison camp to spend the last few months of the war must have been total ignominy.

[larry_cockerham]

A few miles south of the present-day town of Minor Hill, highway 11 winds down from the hills and goes through a gap which immediately opens a view of the valley of the Sugar Creek. By the new highway bridge, dedicated to Sam Davis, there is a marker commemorating the battle on the morning of December 26, 1864 when Forrest again halted the pursuing Union Army long enough for the Confederates to gain some critical time in their retreat. Mr. Moore said the actual road that was there in 1864 followed a path slightly to the west of the current highway. This was most likely Lambs Ferry Road.

The stream today on the 1st of May is healthy from the spring rains, but when Duke and I walked down to the edge, the couple of paths that we followed seemed to suggest that the water level was near summer pool. The stream is still a good forty feet in width. Duke immediately volunteered to check the water depth and confirmed that paddling was in order. His rotund little body affords maximum displacement so he easily bobbed to the surface and made his way to shore. We were within 50 feet of the current bridge and right in the bend of the river. The water at the next path only a few yards upstream was easily within wading depth for my soggy friend. An army could have quickly crossed to the west of this site with a little care in frozen conditions that winter day in 1864.

On December 26

Sugar Creek must have been a formidable obstacle of which General Forrest took full advantage. Little has likely changed in this valley since then except for the new house built just off the highway downstream from the bridge and of course the nice concrete bridge itself which would have been mighty useful to the Army of Tennessee. The fertile hay fields this May day were just beginning to reach the apex of their growth and were a lush green unlike the frozen barrier these two armies would have encountered in December with the soft alluvial soil very quickly becoming a sea of mud. Duke and I brought home a small contingent of prized Tennessee ticks and the memories of his two brief swims in the refreshing spring stream.

More investigation on this subject has led to the recent (2006) discovery that the crossing and battle site were closer to the Lawrence-Giles count line just northeast of the village of Appleton, Tennessee. This is perhaps half a mile west upstream from the site at the highway 11 bridge previously described. Apparently the AOT for the most part used Powell Road west from Anthony’s Hill and then turned down Shannon Creek through Puncheon before crossing Sugar Creek just north and east of the little community of Appleton, Tennessee. There is an old church still standing at Puncheon that was used as a camp site during the war. [Puncheon was a term used to describe pine logs split in half with the flat side up that were pressed into the ground to create a floor.] This area is located right on the Lawrence-Giles county line. Apparently the Army of Tennessee took a less restrictive and easier route through the Puncheon community. The battle site can be reached through Appleton past an old general store building and on past Dobbins cemetery. The battle occurred about one half-mile north of the cemetery along the west bank of Sugar Creek near the convergence of the west fork and the main stream.

Mike Ricketts in 2006 offered the following:

Many think the Battle was fought at the Dobbins Cemetery, but it was about ½ mile from there. If you take that road past the big red store that goes by the cemetery, there is posted land down there. The posted land is the battle. Just past the ford of the creek is the first of 3 large fields. Between fields 2 and 3 is the ravine that the infantry fought from. It is still in pristine condition and beautiful land. I had relatives in 4th and 5th Alabama Cavalry, 16th and 35th Alabama Infantry, Morton’s Battery, 8th Tennessee Infantry, and 7th Tennessee Cavalry

[larry_cockerham]

December 27, 1864

On the morning of the 26th, Hood's engineers had just completed the pontoon bridge, after working through the night. During the day, most of Lee's and Cheatham's men crossed, followed by A. P. Stewart's men on the 27th. After nightfall on the 27th, Forrest's weary troopers clattered across the pontoon bridge. Only Walthall's troops remained to protect the crossing. On the 28th, Walthall issued orders at 3:00 a.m.: "Featherston's Brigade will move promptly (without further orders) at daybreak across the bridge, to be followed by Field and Palmer. General Reynolds will withdraw his command from Shoal Creek in time to reach the main line by daybreak and leave a skirmish line behind for a half-hour. He will follow Palmer. Ector's Brigade will cover the road until the whole command has passed, and then will follow, leaving a line of skirmishers behind until the rear of the brigade has passed on the bridge." (Sanders)

This day Battery G, 1st Ohio, 6th Ohio Battery, 25th Indiana Battery and 1st Kentucky Battery (US) camped at Sugar Creek.

[larry_cockerham]

December 28, 1864

With the crossing of Walthall's command, the disastrous Tennessee Campaign came to a sad end. Hood's Army, a skeleton of its glorious self just thirty-eight days earlier, continued its march towards Tuscumbia and eventually to Tupelo, Mississippi, before they were able to rest. Speaking of the pursuit, Thomas would remark that Hood's army was completely demoralized, adding "The rear guard, however, was undaunted and firm, and did its work bravely to the last!" Thomas would receive his promotion to Major General on December the 25th, which he is said to have cast aside, remarking "I earned that a year ago at Chattanooga." (WS)

Major D. W. Sanders, in a speech to the Southern Historical Society, in 1881, remarked, "Walthall with his incomparable infantry, together with the magnificent cavalry and artillery under Forrest, saved Hood's army from annihilation and enabled them to escape south of the Tennessee River." (Sanders-404) Huddled on the icy riverbanks of the Tennessee, on December 26th, a soldier of the Washington Artillery wondered in amazement at the army's escape from Thomas, writing; "He ought to have captured us all on the river's bank that Christmas Day! True, our rear guard was fighting every day, and Forrest did prodigies of valor, but the wonder is that they were not run over." (Stephenson)
Thus the state, the army’s namesake, was left behind - shrouded in its black veil of mourning, whilst the winter winds once again shifted the tide of war, along with the soil that covered over 8,000 recent graves dug in the bosom of mother earth.