To understand the impact of Forrest's1862 raid it is important to understand the context. Fort Donelson, Fort Henry, occupation of: Bowling Green, Columbus KY, Nashville, Clarksville, Memphis, Murfreesboro & all of Middle Tennessee. (+/-) 40% of Johnston's army had been captured or deserted.
In Tennessee the one overwhelming advantage the secessionists had was a supreme predominance of cavalry… in numbers that is. There was little or no military organization. There was a wonderful conglomeration of yahoo slave patrollers that spent all day fussing about & fighting with neighboring groups. In order to bring some order to the ameba-like organizations & impose some adult level authority onto squabbling colonels, Forrest was promoted brigadier general, nanny in chief. (I am not exaggerating)
The fall of Nashville & occupation of Middle Tennessee occurred during the velvet glove phase of the war. Grant, in his memoir, does a good job of explaining that period of time. It was believed that the population in the seceding states had been deluded by hotheads & stampeded into war. Every effort was made to accommodate the civilian population.
The 9th Michigan marched into Murfreesboro via the square to the jaunty music of their excellent band who were playing new German silver instruments. (Link to view out East Main Street
What the earth shattering appearance of the 9th marching paste the Ready family town house was like is vividly depicted in young Alice Ready's journal:
finding-aids.lib.unc.edu
The view from Alice Ready's bedroom window was of these buildings that still exist.
Link:
From his store, among several properties still owned by the Spence family, John Spence had felt the first wafts of the winds of war. In response he began a journal that he would keep throughout the fell events that followed.
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In 1860 Murfreesboro's six square blocks housed 2,000 souls, half & half free & slave. Immediately, upon the fall of Nashville local slaves self-liberated. The 9th Michigan spread out along the Maney carriage lane as their color line. The old growth trees & the eternal spring made it the best campground the Old Mackerels occupied during the war. Self-liberated people flocked to their camp & were hired to perform camp follower services. This person to person encounter was registered as a seismic change of attitude about the reasons for fighting the war amongst the Michiganders.
In the early hours of July 13th 1862 young Kate Carney was woken by musket fire. From the third floor veranda of her family's enormous home north of the square, she witnessed Forrest's attack.
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A company of the 9th had fortified the Rutherford CO courthouse. The Old Mackerels on the Maney carriage lane rallied in a log house surrounded by a stout log wall. Between them & the stout defenders on the square, many a saddle was emptied.
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In true Forrest style, a callow Minnesota Colonel was tricked into surrendering to an inferior force. The men of the 9th swore great oaths when forced to honor the colonel's cowardly surrender.
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Forrest & the surrendered colonels shared a meal of cornbread & blackeyed peas around Mrs. Maney's formal dinner table at Oaklands Plantation. The infuriated men of the 9th watched the officers gather before shuffling eastward toward McMinnville & parole.
As John Spence chronicled, for a few days Murfreesboro had a blessed break from both armies. Their idyll became a nostalgic memory when a train bearing troops from Nashville whistled to a stop at the station. Dr Eams, who managed the hospital at the Baptist Union College building, recorded local people coming to him begging for relief. The velvet glove had come off & the fisted iron gauntlet had replaced it.
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Dr Eams documents how Forrest's men reverted to their habitual slave patrolling behavior either gunned down or ran down & captured the self-liberated people who were working at the hospital. Those that were returned to their masters were "…beaten unmercifully…"
You can see a lit candle at the distance of one mile. Forrest's success was the candle in the darkness of the Confederacy in 1863. The news accounts were completely over the top. Forrest was elevated to superstardom. To this day, ordinary skirmishes are extolled as the epitome of military brilliance. This is not to say that Forrest wasn't a world class light cavalry leader. He was a certified genius. However, the fact of the matter is that the CSA doctrine of cavalry raids on Union logistics in the Western Theater was an abject failure.
Link to the photos of Murfreesboro:
Link to John Spence's Journal of the Civil War:
History of the 9th Michigan with Illustratrions. For brevity I have not included Sgt Bennett's excellent history of the 9ths experience of Forrest's raid. This is one of the best regimental histories I know of.
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Also available in digital form.
www.loc.gov
Note: Obviously I have studied this subject for a considerable period of time. The stage where the events occurred includes my yard.
I have taken the trouble to compose this post because the people whose lives were permanently disturbed by Forrest's attack are seldom if ever a topic of conversation. It is all Forrest did this or that… never is the cost in precious life, family or livelihood his actions inflicted taken into account.
Reading Dr. Eames, Alice Ready, Sgt. Charles Bennett & John Spence's simultaneous accounts give a unique perspective on events. It is rare as hen's teeth to have such perspectives written in clear, articulate & punctuated form.
Bringing the