GILLMORE ROUTS PEGRAM NEAR SOMERSET. "H'DQ'RS DEP'T OF THE CUMBERLAND, "CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Oct. 19, 1863. "The General commanding announces to the officers and soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland that he leaves them, under orders from the President. "Maj.-Gen. George H. Thomas, in compliance with orders, will assume the command of this army and department. The chiefs of all the staff departments will report to him. "In taking leave of you, his brothers in arms-officers and soldiers he congratulates you that your new commander comes not to you, as he did, a stranger. Gen. Thomas has been identified with this army from its first organization. He has led you often in battle. To his known prudence, dauntless courage, and true patriotism, you may look with confidence that, under God, he will lead you to victory. "The General commanding doubts not you will be as true to yourselves and your country in the future as you have been in the past. "To the division and brigade commanders, he tenders his cordial thanks for their valuable and hearty cooperation in all that he has undertaken. To the chiefs of the staff departments and their subordinates, whom he leaves behind, he owes a debt of gratitude for their fidelity and untiring devotion to duty. "Companions in arms-officers and soldiers-farewell; and may God bless you! "W. S. ROSECRANS, Major-General." Gen. Burnside, after he was relieved from command on the Rappahannock, had been assigned" to that of the Department of the Ohio, and his old 9th corps dispatched with him to the West, with a view to an early and determined advance through eastern Kentucky for the liberation of loyal but crushed and suffering East Tennessee. The exigencies of the service, however, compelled a diversion of the 9th corps to rëenforce Grant, then in the crisis of his struggle for Vicksburg. So Burnside was obliged to remain idle at Cincinnati. A force of mounted Rebels having, under Gen. Pegram, emerged from East Tennessee, crossed the Cumberland mountains and river, and ad March 26, 1863. 427 dressed themselves to the spoliation of southern Kentucky. They proclaimed their force the vanguard of a large army advancing, under Breckinridge, for the rescue of Kentucky from her Yankee oppressors; paraded the greater portion of their number as infantry on entering any considerable village; and got up a handbill proclamation that every young man who did not choose to serve in the Confederate armies must leave Kentucky! These pretensions seem to have imposed, to some extent, on Gen. S. P. Carter, commanding the Union forces on that frontier, who retreated before Pegram from Danville, across Dick's river and the Kentucky; abandoning the heart of the State to rapine. Pegram lacked the audacity to continue the pursuit, as well as the force to justify it, or he might, perhaps, have chased Carter and Wolford across the Ohio. But the Rebels turned here to fly," thus revealing their weakness; and soon found a dangerous force on their heels. They were sharply chased by Wolford's cavalry through Lancaster, Stanford, and Waynesburg, to within three miles of Somerset, where they were brought to bay:" meanwhile, Gen. Q. A. Gillmore had joined the pursuit with 250 of the 7th Ohio cavalry and taken command: swelling the Union force to about 1,200 men. The Rebels are stated, in the reports on our side, to have been twice that number-a statement which is not confirmed by any returns, and is probably a gross exaggeration, explained by the efforts of the enemy to diffuse an extravagant idea of their numbers. At all events, they were very easily driven from their chosen position; and a charge on our rear by Col. Scott's Rebel cavalry, though it threw our forces into tem-crans's movement on Chattanooga. porary confusion, was repelled with Marching as light as possible-his spirit by Wolford: when the Reb- men nearly all mounted; his muniels renewed their flight, and were tions and stores mainly packed on pursued 5 or 6 miles; and now they mules-concentrating his forces at made another stand, and were not Crab Orchard, he pushed vigorously again attacked-night soon falling; through Mount Vernon, London," under the shelter of which, they Williamsburg, and thence due south moved quietly off; crossing the into Tennessee at Chitwood, halting Cumberland in squads, and making two days" to rest; and then making good their escape into Tennessee, a forced march over the mountains with a loss of only about 100" men of 40 miles in two days, to Montand a large share of their plunder. gomery, and thence reaching KingOur loss was about half so many. It ston, where the Holston and Clinch is plain that most of them might have rivers unite to form the Tennessee; been captured, but for the over-esti- and where he was greeted by Rosemate of their strength by our officers. crans's pickets and communicated Gen. Burnside, two months later, with Col. Minty's cavalry; while his sent a cavalry force, under Col. H. army made another forced march of S. Saunders, from Williamsburg, Ky., two days to Loudon, higher up; hopacross the Cumberland mountains into ing thus to save the railroad bridge, East Tennessee; which struck the rail- 2,000 feet long, over the Holston; road at Lenoir, 40 miles below Knox- which they reached" just in time to ville, breaking it thence nearly up to see it in flames. Pushing as rapidly Knoxville; then, passing around that to Knoxville-which our cavalry adcity, struck it again near Strawberry vance had occupied on the 1st-Gen. Plains, burning the bridge, 1,600 feet Burnside was welcomed" with such long, across the Holston, and that an outpouring of enthusiastic loyalty across Mossy creek, above; capturing and gratitude as had rarely been in all 3 guns, 500 prisoners, and equaled. But East Tennessee had 10,000 small arms, beside destroying been overwhelmingly and invincibly large quantities of Confederate mu- loyal throughout, while the sufferings nitions and stores; making its way of her Unionists, from Rebel conscripout with difficulty-the passes being tion, persecution, and spoliation, had all choked or guarded--to Boston, been terrible. Every able-bodied man Ky. Its loss was trifling. having been conscripted into the Confederate armies, those who refused to serve were accounted deserters, worthy of death; and the penalty was freely enforced. But the dungeon, the bullet, and the rope, whereby it makes the numbers "19 killed, 6 wounded, and 67 prisoners." 60 June 23. turn of his old corps, his advance on Knoxville simultaneously with Rose 60 Gen. Burnside, having thoroughly organized and equipped his command, about 20,000 strong, at Camp Nelson, near Richmond, Ky., commenced," without awaiting the re 66 Gillmore first reports their loss at over 300;" and again says it "will not fall short of 500 men." But the only account (by a newspa. per correspondent) that gives precise details, 61 Aug. 16. 62 Aug. 24. es Sept. 3. BUCKNER ABANDONS EAST TENNESSEE. was mainly hoped to stifle the loyalty of this heroic people, had only served to intensify it; and the longhidden National flags that now waved from almost every house and fluttered in so many hands, the bounteous food and refreshment proffered from every side and pressed upon our soldiers without price, by people whose stores were scanty indeed; the cheers, and fond greetings, and happy tears, of the assembled thousands, attested their fervent hope and trust that the National authority and protection, for which they had prayed and pined through two long, weary years, would never again be expelled from their city. And it has not been. The flight of the Rebel forces from all the points reached by our army in its advance was unexpected, and was misconstrued. So many passes, wherein a regiment and a battery might temporarily repel a corps, had been precipitately abandoned without a shot, as Kingston and Knoxville were, that it was fondly fancied that the Rebellion had collapsed-at least, in this quarter-that the recent and signal triumphs of the National arms at Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, &c., had taken the heart out of the remaining disunionists; that we had only thenceforth to advance and bloodlessly reclaim all that had been ruthlessly torn away. 429 crans's orders from the outset, and all It was a great mistake. Buckner his movements should have been was simply withdrawing the Rebel subordinate to those of the Army of forces from East Tennessee to reen- the Cumberland. When the enemy force Bragg and enable him to over- were found to be retreating southwhelm Rosecrans; and this facility ward, they should have been closely of recovery should have aroused sus- pursued; but Burnside had no supicion, and incited the quickest pos- perior but Halleck, who had no sible transfer of all but a brigade of conviction of Rosecrans's peril till Burnside's army to Chattanooga. In it was too late to avert it. And fact, he should have been under Rose- Burnside himself had no idea of look ing to Rosecrans's safety-in fact, this was not in the line of his prescribed duty-but proceeded promptly and vigorously to complete the recovery of East Tennessee. To this end, he impelled " Gen. Shackleford directly on the rear of Cumberland gap; on which Gen. De Courcy simultaneously advanced from London on the north; Burnside following in person two days behind Shackleford, who made a forced march of 60 miles in 52 hours, and thus closed in Gen. Frazier, who with four regiments held the gap, and had refused to quit it while he could, supposing himself able to hold it. But his men were in good part disaffected or discouraged, while the mill whereon he depended for flour was burned" by two companies of Shackleford's men, who crept through his lines and fired it unperceived. When Burnside arrived," Frazier had refused our summons; but he found, soon afterward, good reason to change his mind, and surrendered his 2,000 men and 14 guns. Our cavalry moved thence rapidly eastward; chasing off a small Rebel force under Sam Jones into Virginia, destroying the principal railroad bridges, and completing the recovery of East Tennessee, with the direct loss, in Burnside's command, of barely one man. Halleck says he now ordered Burnside to concentrate his army on the Tennessee river westward from Loudon, so as to connect with Rosecrans, who had just reached Cha tanooga, and that "it was hoped that there would be no further delay in effecting a junction between the two armies, as had been previ67 Sept. 7. Sept. 9. 66 6 Sept. 5. 68 ously ordered." The military reading of the General-in-Chief having been very extensive, he can probably cite numerous instances wherein the leader of a small army has made haste to unite that army with a large one, which would necessarily absorb it, without having been placed under the orders of its commander; but, in the recollection of this writer, such instances are rare. At all events, Burnside did not add another, but continued to diffuse his command throughout East Tennessee, until it had been beaten out very thin, and was thus exposed to be cut up in detail. Col. Foster, in the far east, after one skirmish near Bristol, was sharply assailed" at Blue Springs by Sam Jones, whom he defeated, after two days' desultory fighting; taking 150 prisoners and disabling at least that number, with a loss to our side of barely 100. 69 Shackleford now took post at Jonesboro', with a part of his command, under Wilcox, at Greenville, with two regiments and a battery, under Col. Israel Garrard, 7th Ohio cavalry, at Rogersville, where they were attacked" by 1,200 mounted men under Brig.-Gen. W. E. Jones, acting under the orders of Maj.-Gen. Sam Jones, who struck them at daylight, surprising and easily routing them with a loss of 4 guns, 36 wagons, and 750 prisoners, and creating such a panic at Jonesborough and Greenville that Shackleford's men raced back to Bull's gap, 18 miles, while Jones and his party were making equally good time in the opposite direction, fearing that Shackleford would be upon them in overwhelming force if they did not. This back"Sept. 21. 70 Oct. 10. 71 Nov. 6. FIGHTS AT PHILADELPHIA AND CAMPBELL'S STATION. 431 to-back race was one of the most ludicrous incidents of the war, though the laugh was rather the heartier on the wrong side. The Army of the Cumberland remaining quiet at Chattanooga, Bragg (or his superiors) conceived the idea of improving his leisure by a movement on Burnside, which Longstreet was assigned to lead. Burnside had by this time spread his force very widely, holding innumerable points and places southward and eastward of Knoxville by brigades and detachments; and Longstreet, advancing silently and rapidly, was enabled to strike" heavily at the little outpost of Philadelphia, held by Col. F. T. Wolford, with the 1st, 11th, and 12th Kentucky cavalry and 45th Ohio mounted infantry-in all about 2,000 Wolford had dispatched the 1st and 11th Kentucky to protect his trains moving on his right, which a Rebel advance was reported as menacing, when he found himself suddenly assailed in front and on both flanks by an overwhelming Rebel force, estimated at 7,000, whom he withstood several hours, hoping that the sound of guns would bring him assistance from Loudon in his rear; but none arrived; and he was at length obliged to cut his way out; losing his battery and 32 wagons, but bringing off most of his command, with 51 prisoners. Major Delfosse, leading the 12th Ky., was killed. The 1st and 11th Kentucky, under Maj. Graham, having proceeded four miles westward from Philadelphia, found their train already in the hands of the enemy, and recaptured it; chasing its assailants for some distance, and capturing quite a number 72 Oct. 20. of them; when our men in turn encountered a superior force, and were chased nearly to Loudon, losing heavily. We took 111 prisoners this day, and lost 324, with 6 guns; the killed and wounded on either side being about 100. Our total loss in prisoners to Longstreet southward of Loudon is stated by Halleck at 650. The enemy advancing resolutely yet cautiously, our troops were withdrawn before them from Lenoir and from Loudon, concentrating at Campbell's Station-Gen. Burnside, who had hastened from Knoxville at the tidings of danger, being personally in command. Having been joined by his old (9th) corps, he was now probably as strong as Longstreet; but a large portion of his force was still dispersed far to the eastward, and he apprehended being flanked by an advance from Kingston on his left. He found himself so closely pressed, however, that he must either fight or sacrifice his trains; so he chose an advantageous position and suddenly faced" the foe: his batteries being all at hand, while those of his pursuers were behind; so that he had decidedly the advantage in the fighting till late in the afternoon, when they brought up three batteries and opened, while their infantry were extended on either hand, as if to outflank him. He then fell back to the next ridge, and again faced about; holding his position firmly till after nightfall; when-his trains having meantime obtained a fair start-he resumed his retreat, and continued it unmolested until safe within the sheltering intrenchments of Knoxville. Our loss in this affair was about 300; that of the enemy was 73 Nov. 6. |