Borderruffian
1st Lieutenant
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2007
- Location
- Marshfield Missouri
Five companies of the 6th Tennessee Union Cavalry were formed out of the "Nation," and Fielding Hurst, accompanied by his two negro servants, Lloyd and Sam, assumed command on August 14, 1862.
The progression from training to scouting to terrorism was swift, and only local legend preserves the names of the smallest hamlets torched during his forays. Eventually, he set out for Purdy, seat of McNairy County, and thoroughly Southern in sympathy. While the men paid the price of their convictions on the field, the women and children of Purdy paid their price in the scorching flame of their homes and places of worship. "It was Hurst who played the role of Nero in Purdy, even singing songs and praying while the churches were burning." On April 16, 1863, Col. E.W. Rice (US) wrote to his commander Maj. Gen. Oglisly: "Colonel Hurst's 1st W. Tenn Cavalry (6th Tn US) from Bolivar is at Purdy for the purpose of destroying property - has ordered the furniture removed from some of the houses and threatens to burn them. The colonel passed through line this morning but did not report to my headquarters, and I do not know by what authority he destroys the property."
Numerous early reports from Union command continually ask "Where is Hurst?" The same question was beginning to form on the silent lips of young mothers whose defenders marched with the Army of Tennessee (CS). The summer of 1863 found Hurst in Jackson, Tennessee There he ravaged and robbed the personal property of a Mrs. Newman, who filed a complaint with Federal authorities. After an intense investigation, Col. Hurst was found guilty of theft and charged $5,139.25 as recompense to Mrs. Newman. With things hot in Jackson, Hurst struck back out into rural West Tennessee. In August, Hurst surrounded and captured Captain Wharton and a portion of his men on the road from Purdy to Pocohontas. They were murdered. Ms. Emma Inman Williams writes in Historic Madison that they were buried as mile markers along that road. Mr. G. Tiliman Stewart, Henderson County historian until his death in 1986, remarked in 1977 that only the bodies were buried . . . the heads were placed on mile markers already existing on the road from Purdy to Lexington. In any event, the murders must have been horrible as various civilians wrote Confederate authorities about the matter. That of Mr. D. M. Wisdom reached Jefferson Davis himself.
http://www.tnyesterday.com/yesterday_henderson/hurst/hurst.html
http://hurstnation.com/
http://www.fieldinghurst.com/
http://reunionoverton.org/Fielding_Hurst.html
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewArticle.asp?id=34089
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The progression from training to scouting to terrorism was swift, and only local legend preserves the names of the smallest hamlets torched during his forays. Eventually, he set out for Purdy, seat of McNairy County, and thoroughly Southern in sympathy. While the men paid the price of their convictions on the field, the women and children of Purdy paid their price in the scorching flame of their homes and places of worship. "It was Hurst who played the role of Nero in Purdy, even singing songs and praying while the churches were burning." On April 16, 1863, Col. E.W. Rice (US) wrote to his commander Maj. Gen. Oglisly: "Colonel Hurst's 1st W. Tenn Cavalry (6th Tn US) from Bolivar is at Purdy for the purpose of destroying property - has ordered the furniture removed from some of the houses and threatens to burn them. The colonel passed through line this morning but did not report to my headquarters, and I do not know by what authority he destroys the property."
Numerous early reports from Union command continually ask "Where is Hurst?" The same question was beginning to form on the silent lips of young mothers whose defenders marched with the Army of Tennessee (CS). The summer of 1863 found Hurst in Jackson, Tennessee There he ravaged and robbed the personal property of a Mrs. Newman, who filed a complaint with Federal authorities. After an intense investigation, Col. Hurst was found guilty of theft and charged $5,139.25 as recompense to Mrs. Newman. With things hot in Jackson, Hurst struck back out into rural West Tennessee. In August, Hurst surrounded and captured Captain Wharton and a portion of his men on the road from Purdy to Pocohontas. They were murdered. Ms. Emma Inman Williams writes in Historic Madison that they were buried as mile markers along that road. Mr. G. Tiliman Stewart, Henderson County historian until his death in 1986, remarked in 1977 that only the bodies were buried . . . the heads were placed on mile markers already existing on the road from Purdy to Lexington. In any event, the murders must have been horrible as various civilians wrote Confederate authorities about the matter. That of Mr. D. M. Wisdom reached Jefferson Davis himself.
http://www.tnyesterday.com/yesterday_henderson/hurst/hurst.html
http://hurstnation.com/
http://www.fieldinghurst.com/
http://reunionoverton.org/Fielding_Hurst.html
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewArticle.asp?id=34089
Expired Image Removed
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