Passing on through
Frankfort and Russellville, Alabama, and notifying the boys to be ready to
start to camps next morning. I stopped for the night with my uncle, Ben
Hancock, who lived four miles north of Russellville. Starting back the 18th, we
rejoined our company the 19th at Jacinto.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History
of the Second Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, p. 170
* How vivid "to
my memory still" is that night! The pickets were stationed thus: B. A.
Hancock, in front; W. W. Hawkins, a few paces to the rear; while I was a few
paces to the rear of Hawkins. We expected to be relieved, as the custom was, in
two hours. But we were very much disappointed and somewhat chagrined at having
to sit there on our horses all that long night. Do not remember of doing the
like any more during the war.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History
of the Second Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, p. 170
A scout went out to
Burnsville and learned that one hundred and five Federal cavalry had been there
the evening before. So all except the pickets went back to camps.
Colonel McCulloch's
Battalion and ours were all the troops stationed near Jacinto.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History
of the Second Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, p. 170
Captain McKnight, I,
and ten others, went out to Burnsville on a scout. We met, about two and a half
miles from Burnsville, two of Beauregard's scouts. They told Captain McKnight
that they had seen, early that morning, about five hundred Federal cavalry
eight miles beyond Burnsville. After starting a dispatch back to Colonel
McNairy, we went on to Burnsville. We had been there only a short time when the
enemy came in sight. Their advance guard, about fifty, made a dash at us as
though they were bent on our capture. They followed us about two and a half
miles almost at full speed. As we were well mounted we all made our escape.
They fired a few shots at us, but we escaped without injury. I do not now
remember of being in another such race during the war. About two miles further
we found our battalion in ambush. In a short time McCulloch's Battalion, with one
six-pounder, came up. Expecting the Federals were advancing, and finding a
favorable position within about three miles of Burnsville, McCulloch's
Battalion and a part of ours were deployed in battle line, while the other
portion of our battalion (with McKnight's Company in front) moved on to meet
the enemy. Going about one mile further, we halted and formed in ambush, while
a small squad went on in search of the enemy. Going on to Burnsville, and
finding the enemy had fallen back, we all returned to Jacinto a little before
dark.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History
of the Second Tennessee Confederate Cavalry, p. 170-1
The non-commissioned
officers of our company were elected. The election resulted as follows:
John D. McLin, First
Sergeant; A. B. McKnight, Second; R. R. Hancock, Third; and J. C. McAdoo,
Fourth. (About one year afterward Sam Walker was made First Sergeant.) W. W.
Harrison, X. A. Baxter, W. W. Hawkins and C. Dougherty were, I think, the
corporals.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate
Cavalry, p. 171
McKnight's Company
went on a scout up the Tuscumbia road, but brought back no news of interest.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate
Cavalry, p. 172
About noon
McCulloch's Battalion moved out toward Burnsville, and just before sundown ours
followed. We found McCulloch within two miles of Burnsville. The Federals had
been in town, but had fallen back. We dismounted, hitched our horses, and
remained there all night.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate
Cavalry, p. 172
After returning to
Jacinto and cooking three days' rations, our battalion moved down to within one
mile of Booneville, where our wagons had been stationed since we took quarters
in the vacant houses of Jacinto, May 5th. We heard that the Federals were
marching down east of Jacinto, in the direction of Booneville, but we thought
that that must be a false report. Corinth was evacuated that night.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate
Cavalry, p. 172
Between daylight and
sunup about twelve hundred Federal cavalry surrounded Booneville, a. small
village station on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. There was one train of cars
there and about five or six hundred Confederates, including the sick and their
nurses, but there was no armed force there to defend the place. So the Federals
had quietly taken possession of the place, set fire to the depot and train of
cars, and had collected all the Confederates that were able to travel, and perhaps
a number that were not really able, and formed them in line ready to march off,
when about eighty of our battalion came upon the scene. Small as our squad was,
we made a daring charge and released the prisoners. How they (the prisoners)
did come yelling towards us! We then dropped back into the woods near by, and
after a little skirmishing, the Federals withdrew in time for us to save two
boxes of cars and also the engine. The train was loaded with arms and
ammunition. Our loss was one killed (Culwell), three wounded, and it was said
that the Federals carried off two prisoners, though the prisoners were not from
our battalion. The Federal loss was two killed, several wounded, and nine
prisoners. How those prisoners whom we released did appreciate being set at
liberty! And they did not forget it, but continued to express their gratitude
to our battalion when they happened to meet with any of us along through the
war. The release of five or six hundred prisoners, in the hands of twelve
hundred Federals, by not exceeding eighty Confederates, was no small feat.
The Confederate Army
was moving south along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, in the direction of
Booneville. So there was no little excitement in Confederate ranks on account
of the explosion of the bombshells in the burning cars, being taken for heavy
cannonading. However, they soon learned better, for it was not long before the
head of the column passed Booneville. Our sick had to get out, or be taken out,
of the depot to avoid being burned alive, so they were lying about on the
ground, some dead and others in a dying condition; so the scene was anything
but a pleasant one to look upon. Our battalion moved back to the same place we
camped the night before.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee Confederate
Cavalry, p. 172-3
It was reported in
camps about sundown that the Federals were tearing up the railroad about five
miles west of Burnsville. A squad of us mounted and rode out in that direction
far enough to learn that the Federals were surely there. As we did not wish to
attack about eleven hundred in the dark, we went back to camps. We then moved
our camps about two miles from Burnsville, on the Jacinto road, where we
remained the rest of the night.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee
Confederate Cavalry, p. 167
The battalion went
back to the railroad, and after learning that the Federals had gone back and
were encamped about six miles north of the railroad, we turned south, going
through Jacinto, the county seat of Tishamingo, and went into camps two miles from
town, in an old sage field. Jacinto is nine miles from Burnsville.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee
Confederate Cavalry, p. 167
After cooking three
days' rations, we struck tents and loaded our wagons. The wagons were sent to
Booneville, twelve miles from Jacinto, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. McNairy
moved his men back to Jacinto, and quartered them in the various unoccupied
houses. Allison's Company had splendid quarters in the court-house. Two scouts
were sent out, one to Burnsville, the other to Glendale, six miles west of the
former place, on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Found no Federals. We
remained at Jacinto for some days, scouting and picketing.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee
Confederate Cavalry, p. 167
There was a great
deal of talk and excitement in the battalion about reorganizing for three
years, or during the war, under a new law that the Confederate Congress had
lately passed, known as the "conscript law." The expiration of our
enlistment, twelve months, was now near at hand, and the question was, Shall we
re-enlist or quit and go home?
As our company had a
number of acquaintances in Colonel E. S. Smith's Regiment of cavalry, which was
then thought to be in Tennessee, north of the Tennessee River, not far from
Chattanooga, and as we were wanting to get back nearer home, Captain Allison
sent M. W. McKnight and B. A. Hancock to Corinth to take a petition to General
Beal. In said petition we requested the transfer of our company to the above
named regiment. General Beal seemed to be favorable to our petition, but said that
he would have to wait until he could find out the condition of Smith's Regiment
before he could grant our request. In the meantime, however, we learned that
Smith's Regiment was "bursted up," so that was the end of our
petition.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee
Confederate Cavalry, pp. 167-8
A gun-boat passed up
by Eastport, going perhaps one mile and a half above, then turning, went back
down the river without firing a gun. I, with some others, being on picket at
Eastport, concealed ourselves on a hill near by and watched the maneuvers of
the boat. We had a good view of the river.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee
Confederate Cavalry, p. 164-5
*General W. T.
Sherman was in command of this expedition.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee
Confederate Cavalry, p. 165-6
Our battalion moved
about nine miles west and went into camps one-half mile south-west of
Burnsville, still in Tishamingo County, on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.
All the troops, except a few cavalry, left Iuka.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee
Confederate Cavalry, p. 166
Forage by this time
was very scarce, so much so that our quartermaster was not able to furnish half
rations for our horses. By going to the country I had the good luck to find and
purchase one bushel of corn for my horse. Such trips were now daily made by
others.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee
Confederate Cavalry, p. 166
Six of Captain
Allison's Company (J. W. Kennedy, H. L. W. Turney, Jim Thomas, W. E. Rich, Tom
O'Conner and B. A. Hancock), whom we had left at home in Middle Tennessee, had
made their way out through the Federal lines, and after about thirteen days'
travel rejoined their company at Burnsville on the above date.
We were still
picketing the various roads leading out from Burnsville.
SOURCE: Richard R.
Hancock, Hancock's Diary: Or, A History of the Second Tennessee
Confederate Cavalry, p. 166
