Official Reports of the Action at and Surrender of Murfreesborough, Tenn., July 13, 1862: No. 2. — Report of Brigadier-General Thomas T. Crittenden, U.S. Army, commanding at Murfreesborough.

No. 2.

Report of Brig. Gen. T. T. Crittenden, U.S. Army, commanding at Murfreesborough.

I submit the following report of the affair of July 13, 1862, at Murfreesborough, Tenn.:

While at Athens, Ala., I received the special order of Major-General Buell assigning me to the command of the post of Murfreesborough, and went there as speedily as possible. I arrived there on the same train with Colonel Duffield, of the Ninth Michigan, on July 11. The next day I assumed command of the post and Colonel Duffield of the Twenty-third Brigade. Having no instructions, and knowing nothing of the affairs at the post, I had several interviews with Col. [Henry C.] Lester [Third Minnesota], then in command, and from his statements, made both to myself and Colonel Duffield, it was evident that he apprehended no danger. He stated that the only points from which the enemy could approach were McMinnville and Lebanon, that there was no force between Chattanooga and Murfreesborough, and that Morgan's force was far beyond Lebanon, en route for Kentucky.

Colonel Lester had separated his forces on or about June 23, 1862, leaving five companies of the Ninth Michigan and about 80 men of the Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry at the old camp, and removing the Third Minnesota Regiment and Hewett's First Kentucky Battery (four guns) about 1¼ miles northwest of the former camp. This was the whole force there on July 13, except one company Ninth Michigan posted in the court-house as provost-guard, altogether numbering about 950 effective men.

I appointed Lieut. [Henry M.] Duffield, Ninth Michigan, acting assistant adjutant-general, Lieut. C. H. Blakey, who had been previously acting, having left for Minnesota on recruiting service on July 12.

Lieutenant Duffield, under my orders, proceeded at once to prepare a morning report, but did not complete it that day.

I then went with Colonel Duffield to look for a proper camp for the whole force, as I would not permit it to remain separated. I found the water, the scarcity of which Colonel Lester assigned as the reason for such division, abundant to supply 5,000 men and a good camp ground within a quarter of a mile of the former camp. I examined other camp sites, but preferred the first, and ordered Colonel Duffield to concentrate his force there.

The same day I rode out with the officer of the day and made an examination of the pickets. Being dissatisfied with its strength and locations, I directed Major Seibert, commanding the cavalry, to double his cavalry force on all the roads to Lebanon and McMinnville, which he did, but withdrew them at night, in accordance with the custom and orders of Colonel Lester under which he had previously acted, of which custom and order I was entirely ignorant. There was no such order on the order-book, it being merely verbal. I had doubled the cavalry on the points of danger, as a temporary strengthening of the pickets, until next day, when I had ordered a much larger detail for picket duty from the infantry. My temporary headquarters were opposite to and about 75 yards from the court-house.

I have been informed that Colonel Lester had some intelligence of a cavalry force of the enemy assembling near McMinnville, but he did not inform me nor did I have any information of impending danger. I found things negligently and loosely done at the post and attempted to remedy all the negligence I saw there.

At daylight of July 13 General Forrest, with 2,500 cavalry, consisting of four regiments and one battalion — among them the First and Second Georgia and Seventh Texas, having marched 48 miles between noon of the 12th and that time — surrounded and captured the pickets on one of the roads to McMinnville without the firing of a gun, rushed at full speed into the camp of the Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry and into the court-house square and streets of the town. Passing through the cavalry camp they attacked the Ninth Michigan, which was ready to receive them. Severe fighting at this point resulted in driving the enemy back some 300 yards after repeated assaults, both sides losing heavily.

Colonel Duffield, commanding Twenty-third Brigade, was severely wounded early in the action and carried from the field. He was paroled at once, and I have had no report from him.

Lieutenant-Colonel Parkhurst, commanding the Ninth Michigan, after holding his camp nearly eight hours against superior numbers, finding the enemy were surrounding him with their whole force and having no hope of re-enforcement (not receiving any reply to several messages for assistance sent by him to Colonel Lester), surrendered his force, then reduced to 134 men. This fragment of a regiment, under its gallant lieutenant-colonel (Parkhurst), fought splendidly, and deserves honorable mention. Their loss was 11 killed, 86 wounded, and 36 missing.

Company B, Ninth Michigan, the provost guard, made a resolute defense of the court house for three hours during repeated assaults, killing 12 and wounding 18 of the enemy. They did not surrender until the court-house was set on fire. During these hours of suspense only an occasional shot was heard from the Third Minnesota and Hewett's battery. Of course their comparative quiet showed that they were not attacked in three. From the reports of Colonel Lester and Captain Hewett and from other sources I learned that their commands turned out promptly, marched unattacked nearly half a mile, and were there halted by Colonel Lester. Except slight changes of position, they remained there from 4.30 a.m. until 2.30 p.m., twice or three times menaced by small squads and once attacked by about 300 cavalry. The latter were repulsed by the fire of the skirmishers and one volley from two companies on the left flank of the regiment. Within three-quarters of a mile of their position they heard the fighting at the court-house for three hours and during seven hours and a half' the fight at the Michigan camp.

The Third Minnesota was a splendidly drilled regiment. The officers and men were anxious to fight, but Colonel Lester held them there without seeing any enemy in force. Colonel Lester received two dispatches from Lieutenant-Colonel Parkhurst, begging for aid, but would afford none. When all was lost except his own command Colonel Lester went under a flag of truce to see Colonel Duffield, and there saw the enemy, who had not dared to come within range of his artillery, and was so impressed with what he saw that he returned, determined to surrender. This is proved by his calling a council of his company commanders and his lieutenant-colonel [Chauncey W. Griggs]. They, by a viva-voce vote, decided to fight. Part of them went from the council. Colonel Lester reopened and reargued the matter. A ballot vote was taken and the force was surrendered. This was done by the statements and influence of Colonel Lester. Lieutenant-Colonel Griggs bitterly opposed the surrender and voted against it to the last. Not a man was killed in the line of the Third Minnesota during the day. I state the facts without comment.

With a few men I held my headquarters until after the court-house was taken. I early sent a messenger, in citizen's clothes, with orders to Colonel Duffield, but he could not pass through the enemy's lines. They had my quarters surrounded from the time they entered the square. I submit copies of reports made to me and refer to them. I respectfully demand a court of inquiry into the disaster at Murfreesborough.

T. T. CRITTENDEN,            

Brigadier-General, late Commanding Post.

Lieut. Col. J.P. GARESCHÉ,

Assistant Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff.

[Indorsement.]

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND,

Nashville, Tenn., November 26, 1862.

Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant-General of the Army, with the request that this case may receive prompt attention and that Colonel Lester be ignominiously dismissed the service.* As Capt. [John A.]  Tanner is under my command, I propose to avail myself of the authority delegated to me by the Secretary of War and shall dismiss him.† General Crittenden I will order to duty.

W. S. ROSECRANS,            

Major-General, U.S. Volunteers, Comdg. Department.

_______________

* Dismissed December 1, 1862.

† Dismissed to date September 22, 1862.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 16, Part 1 (Serial No. 22), p. 794-6

Official Reports of the Action at and Surrender of Murfreesborough, Tenn., July 13, 1862: No. 3. — Findings of a Court of Inquiry.

GENERAL ORDERS,

No. 4.

HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE CUMBERLAND,                      

Murfreesborough, Tenn., January 24, 1863.

I. At a court of inquiry, convened at the city of Nashville, December 17, 1862, by Special Field Orders, No. 19, Headquarters Fourteenth Army Corps, Department of the Cumberland, on the request of Brig. Gen. T. T. Crittenden, to investigate and give an opinion on the facts connected with the surrender of the troops at Murfreesborough, under his command, of which court Brig. Gen. James G. Spears was president, and Col. Joseph R. Scott, Nineteenth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, was recorder, the following facts were found upon the testimony:

1st. That he (General Crittenden) assumed command of the post at Murfreesborough on the 12th day of July, 1862, between the hours of 9 and 10 o'clock a.m.

2d. That he found the camp had been divided for three weeks previous and the forces separated.

3d. That he rode out on the morning of the 12th July, with Colonel Duffield, commanding the Twenty-third Brigade, and selected a camp, and told Colonel Duffield to concentrate the whole force there at once.

4th. That he rode out and inspected the pickets with the field officer of the day, and not being satisfied with their strength and location, ordered Major Seibert, commanding the cavalry, to double his cavalry patrol on the roads leading to Lebanon and McMinnville.

5th. That the pickets on these roads were re-enforced, but were withdrawn at night without the knowledge of General Crittenden, as was the custom of the post by order.

6th. That he ordered morning reports to be made out and one-fifth of the entire effective force to be detailed as grand guards.

7th. That he examined the brigade order books, and ordered a plot of the town and its approaches to be made.

8th. That he consulted fully and freely with Colonels Lester and Duffield, did a large amount of executive business, and was constantly employed until 9 p.m. July 12.

9th. That he was informed, on what should have been good authority, that there was no force of the enemy nearer than Chattanooga, with the exception of small parties of guerrillas, and that there was no danger of an immediate attack.

10th. That the attack was made upon the Ninth Michigan Infantry and Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry and the town at daylight on the morning of the 13th July.

11th. That the Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry was immediately overpowered. That the Ninth Michigan Infantry was promptly formed and repeatedly repulsed the enemy. That about 8 o'clock a.m. they took a more sheltered position, which they held until 12 o'clock, when they surrendered; their commanding officer being wounded and having lost nearly one-half their number in killed and wounded.

12th. That one company of the Ninth Michigan Infantry, acting as provost guards, held the court-house in the town until 8 o'clock, when they surrendered after it was set on fire.

13th. That General Crittenden surrendered himself and staff at 8 o'clock, having endeavored to communicate with the troops, but failed, owing to the stopping of his message by rebel guards.

14th. That the Third Minnesota Infantry and Hewett's battery of four guns, under command of Colonel Lester, being 1¼ miles from town and about the same distance from the Ninth Michigan Infantry and cavalry, immediately on hearing the attack on these places marched up the turnpike and took position in an open field, with woods in front, about 600 yards distant, where they remained until about 12 o'clock, cavalry occasionally appearing in their front in small parties, which were driven off with shot and shell from the battery, after which they fell back about one-half mile, near their camp, and remained there until they surrendered.

15th. That the estimated number of troops at the post was about 1,040; that of the enemy 2,600. Upon which statement of facts the court give the following opinion:

“We therefore are of the opinion from the evidence that Brig. Gen. T. T. Crittenden did all that should be expected of a vigilant commander from the time he took command until the surrender. We find  no evidence that impugns his skill or courage; on the contrary, he was very active on the day before the attack up to 9 p.m. in obtaining information and placing the post in a proper state of defense. Although it may be said that he should have immediately concentrated his forces and that any delay in so doing was dangerous, yet we find all ample apology for the delay in the facts that he was an entire stranger to the place and country, and that he was assured by Colonel Lester, who had preceded him in the command for two months, that there was no danger of an attack and that no enemy of importance was nearer than Chattanooga.”

All which is published for the information of the army.

II. The general commanding, after a careful examination of the testimony adduced before the court of inquiry, is of opinion that the defeat of our forces under Brig. Gen. T. T. Crittenden at Murfreesborough was chiefly owing to the withdrawal of picket guards from the roads leading to the town during the night and to the separation of the forces at the post; that the post was taken by surprise and the forces overpowered by being attacked in detail, all which would have been provided against had the timely orders of General Crittenden been obeyed.

By command of Major-General Rosecrans:

C. GODDARD,         

Assistant Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 16, Part 1 (Serial No. 22), p. 796-8

Official Reports of the Action at and Surrender of Murfreesborough, Tenn., July 13, 1862: No. 4. – Report of Maj. James J. Seibert, Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry.

No. 4.

GENERAL: I respectfully submit the following as my report of the battle at Murfreesborough, Tenn., on Sunday, July 13, 1862:

I first assumed command of the cavalry attached to that command, consisting of the Third Battalion Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry, and one squadron of the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, on May 29, but was called to Nashville on duty on June 19, returning again on July 6.

When I first assumed command it was the custom, as well as the order, of Colonel Lester, then in command, to send out daily from the cavalry a patrol of 5 men on each of the seven pikes leading to and from the town, starting out in the morning and returning in the evening. This order was not changed while I was in command until the day before the occurrence. When you assumed command you ordered me to double the number of the patrols on the roads to Lebanon and McMinnville, which was done. When the patrols returned in the evening I received the report daily from each of the non-commissioned officers in charge, which, after committing to writing, I handed to Colonel Lester.

The attack was made at daybreak in the morning, and I first saw the enemy when charging on my camp, which was a short distance to the right of the Woodbury pike. I had not over 80 duty men in camp at the time of the attack, most of whom were captured there. We then left my camp and joined the Ninth Michigan and surrendered with them at noon. I lost 5 killed and 20 wounded.

Before closing this report I would state that a report reached me about midnight that several men were seen in the night between our pickets and the town on the Bradyville pike. I immediately mounted  12 men and went to the points named, but after examining the fields and several houses and barns on the Bradyville and Woodbury pikes and discovering no signs of the enemy I returned with the men to camp, having reached it only a little more than an hour before the attack.

I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

 JAMES J. SEIBERT,

 Major, Seventh Pa. Cav., Comdg. Cav., Twenty-third Brigade.

General T. T. CRITTENDEN,

Commanding Forces at Murfreesborough, Tenn.:

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 16, Part 1 (Serial No. 22), p. 798-9

Official Reports of the Action at and Surrender of Murfreesborough, Tenn., July 13, 1862: No. 7. – Report of Col. William W. Duffield, Ninth Michigan Infantry.

No. 7.

Report of Col. William W. Duffield, Ninth Michigan Infantry.

MURFREESBOROUGH, TENN., July 23, 1862.

COLONEL: Although I had not yet formally assumed command of the Twenty-third Brigade, yet, as Brig. Gen. Thomas T. Crittenden and the other officers of the command have been captured and forwarded to Chattanooga, permit me to submit the following report of such portion of the attack made on the 13th instant as came under my own personal observation:

I arrived here, after an absence of two months, on the afternoon of the 11th instant, coming down on the same train with Brig. Gen. Thomas T. Crittenden, the newly appointed commander of the post, and found that several material changes had been made in the location and encampment of the Twenty-third Brigade since my departure. Instead of the whole command encamping together, as it had done, it was separated into two portions and several miles apart. The brigade had never been drilled as such nor a brigade guard mounted. Each regiment furnished its quota of officers and men and watched certain roads; and, worse than all, the commanding officers of the respective regiments were on ill terms with each other, and this feeling, upon one occasion, had broken out into an open personal quarrel. The result was a great lack of discipline and a bitter feeling of jealousy between the different regiments, manifesting itself in the personal encounters of the men when they met upon the street. There was no order, no harmony. The parts of the machine did not fit well, and the commanding officers seem either not to have possessed the will or the ability to adjust them. General Crittenden and myself, immediately after our arrival, visited the several camps, discussed the impropriety of a divided command, and decided upon a concentration; but as neither of us had assumed command we deferred it until the morrow. But on the morrow the blow fell, and the danger we anticipated became a reality. General Crittenden made his headquarters in town, while I preferred camping with my own men, and therefore pitched my tent with the five companies of the Ninth Michigan Volunteers.

The force then at Murfreesborough was as follows: Five companies (A, C, G, H, and K), Ninth Michigan Volunteers, Lieutenant-Colonel Parkhurst commanding, 200 strong, together with the First Squadron Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, Capt. Levi Chilson, 81 strong, were encamped three-fourths of a mile east of the town, upon the Liberty turnpike; one company (B) Ninth Michigan Volunteers, Captain Rounds, 42 strong, occupied the court-house, the other companies of the Ninth Michigan Volunteers having been ordered to Tullahoma a month since, while nine companies of the Third Minnesota Volunteers, Colonel Lester (one company being on detached duty as train guard), 450 strong, and Hewett's First Kentucky battery, two sections, 72 strong, occupied the east bank of Stone River, at a distance of more than 3 miles from the encampment of the detachment of the Ninth Michigan Volunteers.

Orders were received from Nashville the evening of the 12th instant directing the First Squadron Fourth Kentucky Cavalry to proceed immediately to Lebanon. The total effective strength of the command at Murfreesborough on the morning of the 13th instant did not therefore exceed 814 men, including pickets.

The attack was made at daybreak on the morning of the 13th instant by the Second Cavalry Brigade, C. S. Army, Brig. Gen. N. B. Forrest, over 3,000 strong, consisting of one Texas regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Walker; the First and Second Georgia Regiments, Colonels Lawton and Hood; one Alabama regiment, Colonel Saunders, and one Tennessee regiment, Colonel Lawton[?]. The noise of so many hoofs at full speed upon the macadamized roads was so great that the alarm was given before the head of the column reached our pickets, about 1 mile distant, so that our men were formed and ready to receive them, although they came in at full speed. The Texas and a battalion of one of the Georgia regiments, in all over 800 strong, attacked the detachment of the Ninth Michigan Volunteers. So fierce and impetuous was their attack that our men were forced nearly to the center of the camp; but they fell back steadily and in order, with their faces to the foe. But upon reaching the center of the camp their line was brought to a halt, and after twenty minutes of nearly hand-to-hand fighting the enemy broke and fled in the wildest confusion, followed in close pursuit by one company as skirmishers. A squadron of cavalry at this time launched at their heels would have utterly routed and annihilated them. Indeed so great was their panic that their officers were unable to check the fugitives for a distance of 7 miles, and Colonel Wharton,[?] commanding the Georgia regiment, was subsequently arrested by General Forrest for misconduct under the fire of the enemy.

During this attack both officers and men, with one single exception, behaved very handsomely. There was no excitement, no hurry, and no confusion. Everything was done calmly, quietly, and in obedience to orders. But it is with the deepest shame and mortification that I am compelled to report that one officer of Michigan has been guilty of gross cowardice in the face of the enemy. Capt. John A. Tanner, of Company K, Ninth Michigan Volunteers, at the first alarm left his quarters, abandoned his company, and fled from his command under the enemy's fire, and I therefore inclose you herewith charges preferred against him for violation of the Fifty-second Article of War. Capt. Charles V. De Land, Company C, Ninth Michigan Volunteers, deserves special mention for cool and gallant conduct throughout the action and the fearless mode in which he led his company as skirmishers in pursuit of the enemy when repulsed. Also First Lieut. Hiram Barrows, of Company A, same regiment, for the tenacity with which he held his ground, although sorely pressed by the enemy. The loss of the detachment of the Ninth Michigan Volunteers has been very severe for the number engaged, amounting to 1 officer and 12 men killed and 3 officers and 75 men wounded. The enemy's loss has been much more severe than our own. More than double the number of their dead were buried with ours and their wounded are found in almost every house. Among their wounded are a colonel, a major, two adjutants, and one surgeon. I inclose you herewith the surgeon's report of the killed and wounded of the Ninth Michigan Volunteers.

Not having been present at the subsequent surrender of the detachment of the Ninth Michigan Volunteers, under Lieutenant-Colonel Parkhurst, I can only state the facts as reported to me, which show that this force, isolated and reduced by killed and wounded to less than 75 men, after having held their ground from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m., were compelled to surrender or be cut to pieces by the entire force of the enemy. I am reliably informed that Company B, Ninth Michigan Volunteers, under command of First Lieut. L. J. Wright, held the court-house against an incessant attack by a greatly superior force from 4 a.m. till 7.30 a.m., and did not surrender till the enemy had possession of the lower story of the building and had started a fire, with the evident intention of burning them out.

Of the surrender of the Third Minnesota Volunteers and Hewett's First Kentucky Artillery, under command of Colonel Lester, I cannot speak from personal knowledge nor have I received any information from sources sufficiently reliable to warrant my communicating to you any details. Indeed I would much prefer not to do so. The circumstances of the case, as reported, bear painfully on the honor of a brother officer now a prisoner of war, and who is therefore unable to defend himself.

I inclose a list of killed and wounded of the Third Minnesota Volunteers, furnished me by the assistant surgeon of that regiment, amounting to 2 killed and 8 wounded,* one of whom was killed and 2 wounded in line, the remainder in camp.

In the early part of this attack I received two gunshot wounds, one passing through the right testicle, the other through the left thigh. These, although very painful and bleeding profusely, did not prevent me from remaining with my own regiment until the attack was repulsed, when, fainting from pain and loss of blood, I was carried from the field, and was therefore not a witness of what subsequently occurred. At noon the same day I was made prisoner by General Forrest, but, in my then helpless condition, was released upon my parole not to bear arms against the Confederate States until regularly exchanged.

I remain, colonel, your obedient servant,

 WM. W. DUFFIELD,

 Colonel Ninth Michigan Infantry, Comdg. Twenty-third Brigade.

Col. J. B. FRY,

Asst. Adjt. Gen., Chief of Staff, Huntsville, Ala.

[Indorsements.]

SEPTEMBER 20, 1862.

Respectfully forwarded to the Adjutant-General. It is gratifying to discover anything to mitigate the mortification of the affair at Murfreesborough. This report seems to do so as far as Colonel Duffield is concerned, but does not alter the general features of the affair.

D.C. BUELL,

Major-General.

I respectfully recommend that Capt. John A. Tanner, Company K, Ninth Michigan Volunteers, be dismissed from the service for cowardly abandoning his company at the battle of Murfreesborough.

 H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief.

Approved.

EDWIN M. STANTON,

Secretary of War.

_______________

* Nominal list omitted.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 16, Part 1 (Serial No. 22), p. 800-3

Governor Oliver P. Morton to Abraham Lincoln, October 21, 1862 – 9:50 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS, IND.,

October 21, 1862 – 9.15 p.m.

 His Excellency the PRESIDENT:

An officer just from Louisville announces that Bragg has escaped with his army into East Tennessee, and that Buell's army is countermarching to Lebanon. The butchery of our troops at Perryville was terrible, and resulted from a large portion of the enemy being precipitated upon a small portion of ours. Sufficient time was thus gained by the enemy to enable them to escape. Nothing but success, speedy and decided, will save our cause from utter destruction. In the Northwest distrust and despair are seizing upon the hearts of the people.

 O. P. MORTON,

Governor of Indiana.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 16, Part 2 (Serial No. 23), p. 634

Gen. Dumont’s Expedition to Lebanon --- More of the Exploits of Morgan, the Guerrilla

Special Correspondence of the Chicago Times.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 9.

Gen. Dumont, who came, saw and over came, returned Wednesday night from Lebanon, and bringing with him one hundred and sixty-five of the prisoners taken in the brief but glorious fight.  The General is somewhat crusty in style, and when he first took command of this post, a few very loyal people were offended by his manner.  But his prompt treatment of the rebels had begun to overcome their objections to his style, even before the battle at Lebanon. – Since the victory, I suppose it is safe to declare him a favorite with them.  They call him “Old Tiger,” and say he is the man for the moment.  Though I have not been able to get the details of the action direct from officers engaged in it, all accounts agree in giving our troops credit for the utmost intrepidity and coolness.  I have been told that Gen. Dumont was himself in the thickets of the enemy’s fire, and had two horses killed under him.

After Col. Wolford, of the Kentucky cavalry was wounded, he was taken prisoner by the enemy, but was rescued by Capt. Smith, one of his own regiment, after the banditti had carried him twelve miles with them in their flight.  It said the pirate John Morgan lost his favorite black mare, killed in action.  He found another fleet horse, however, and managed to save his bacon.  His servant and bother were taken.  But the most remarkable capture was that of Mr. Hooper Harris, of this city, the bloody-minded Captain, who, in company with his superior officer, Col. McNairy, or at least in his name, published, last fall, in one of the Nashville papers, an advertisement for blood-hounds to be used in hunting down East Tennessee Union men.

These murderous marauders, who set at defiance all the rules and usages of civilized warfare, had not been in the city twelve hours before their wives, sisters and cousins, who would have clapped their hands in exultation if Morgan could have made his way to Nashville and murdered Gov. Johnson in his bed, where crowding his office with applications for permission to hold interviews with their relations of the banditti.  Such is the brazen front of treason!  But the law-abiding are ever in greater danger of too much kindness than of too great severity.  The man whose life they sought above all others granted to many the favor they asked.  Do you think such kindness will lead them to repentance?  No.  The recipients will go away thirsting for his blood.

I regret to learn, just as I mail this letter, there are fears entertained that Col. Wolford will not recover.  He was treated most inhumanly by the rebels, who attempted to carry him off, being forced, though scarcely able to support himself in the saddle, and suffering excruciating pain, to ride at full speed.  Our loss in killed, if Colonel Wolford survives, amounts only to nine.  There are two or three missing.  The citizens of Lebanon deny firing from their houses; yet there can be little doubt of it.  Officers of Gen. Dumont’s staff saw men fire from windows at them, while there were women with them in the same room.  Such conduct was the height of cowardice, whether done by soldiers or citizens; and I can’t believe women would have remained in a room from which soldiers were about to fire.  The firing was doubtless done by their husbands or brothers, inmates of the houses.

One Federal officer states, I learn from the gentleman to whom the statement was made, that he plainly saw a citizen of Lebanon crawling on his hands and knees, behind a fence, with a rifle, to shoot at our men.  As he rose to discharge it, a government soldier shot him through the head.  Persons ran out of a house, and hastily drew in his dead body.  That the cowardly murderers should now deny their crime, is but natural.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 17, 1862, p. 2

A Brilliant Skirmish

(Special to Louisville Journal.)

NASHVILLE, - May 4. – Gen. Dumont with portions of Wolford’s and Smith’s Kentucky cavalry, and Wynkoop’s Pennsylvania cavalry attacked Morgan’s and Wood’s cavalry, 800 in number at Lebanon, Tenn. on Monday evening at four o’clock. The rebels were utterly routed, and large numbers slain, and one hundred and fifty five taken prisoners. Nearly all their horses and arms were captured. They fled after fighting one hour and a half.

Gen. Dumont is in pursuit, and will capture the whole force. The prisoners will be here this evening. It was a brilliant affair and managed with great skill by Gen. Dumont.

Morgan is reported killed.

Col. Wolford was wounded in the abdomen seriously and Col. Smith was wounded in the leg. The rebels were completely surprised and outwitted.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 10, 1862, p. 4