| Forrest caught Yankee troops snoozing in Murfreesboro |
By: SHIRLEY FARRIS JONES, Special to the Post
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Posted: Sunday, July 12, 2009 8:02 am
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Rutherford County Courthouse around the time of the Civil War.
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As the Federal soldiers continued their morning snooze, Forrest’s Texans sent up a piercing Rebel Yell and dashed upon the Michigan Regiment with a savage pistol and saber attack, riding their horses through the tents of the sleeping soldiers.
The remainder of Forrest’s command reached their intended objectives as the Texans continued to fight the 9th Michigan, which was becoming better organized as they became more fully awake, and were returning Confederate fire, shot for shot.
In the middle of town where the captives were being held, the Southern boys attacked the Courthouse but found it very difficult to inflict any real damage upon the massive walls of the building. At the jail, the Yankees locked the door, set the building on fire with the hostages inside, and the jailor fled with the keys to the refuge of the Courthouse.
The condemned Capt. Richardson recalled the events: “On the morning of the thirteenth I was aroused from sleep by my companion, Paul, … we stood on an empty box and looked out through the small grating of our prison window … we could discern the clatter of horses’ feet ... then came to our ears with heartfelt welcome the famous Rebel yell …one company of Federal troops … about to be surrounded by the Confederates … several of these soldiers in a wicked mood rushed into the passageway in front of our cell and attempted to shoot us before they ran from the building.
“We … saved ourselves by crouching in the corner of the cell by the door, a position … they could not bring their guns to bear. Before leaving the jail one of the Federals struck a match, and lighting a bundle of papers, shoved this beneath the flooring of the hallway where the planks were loose … the jailor fled with the keys … the metal doors were heavy and it was not until some of our men came in with a heavy iron bar that the grating was bent back sufficiently … to permit us to be dragged through,” Richardson said.
At this moment Forrest dashed up and inquired of the officer in charge if he had rescued the prisoners. He said they were safe, but added that the jail had been set on fire in order to burn them up, and the guard had taken refuge in the courthouse. ‘Never mind’, he said, ‘We’ll get them.’ I shall never forget the appearance of General Forrest on that occasion; his eyes were flashing as if on fire his face was deeply flushed.”
The situation at the Courthouse became a stalemate as the Federals fought stubbornly where it was said, “the air was so full of bullets that a man could not show his head without danger of having it filled with lead.” The women of Murfreesboro did their share, too, as “they saw the dear defenders of their cause, begging them to attack the hated foe.” Lt. James Blackburn of Co. F., 8th Texas, wrote: “The ladies in their night robes came out on the pavement and cheered with their shouts and their ‘God bless you!’ even when the enemy’s bullets were flying about them.” Despite the whistling of balls and rain of lead, the women stayed in the streets, filling canteens with water and haversacks with provisions. One woman received a ball through her dress, another’s parasol was shot from her hand.
Forrest launched simultaneous assaults from both the east and west, attempting to divide the fire of the enemy and allowing his men to gain the protection of the courthouse porch. From that point, they took axes and battering rams and proceeded until both doors were down. The Georgians performed bravely and valiantly for Forrest but weren’t quite done yet. The Michigan infantry company held out on the upper floor of the courthouse until “the enemy had possession of the lower story of the building and had started a fire, with the evident intention of burning them out,” according to reports from Duffield and other Federal officers. Forrest’s own report says the same that following “two or three hours hard struggle the court house was fired.” By now it was about 8 a.m. and Forrest apparently was in a very bad mood with the idea of the prisoners in the jail having nearly been burned alive. The Michigan soldiers in the courthouse at least had been offered the opportunity of surrender.
Finally, the courthouse was secure, along with the jail, the depot, the telegraph operator and large stores. Taverns and houses were searched for officers and other men, and their findings included Gen. Thomas Crittenden, who was supposed to take command of the post the very next day, and the provost marshal, Capt. Oliver Cromwell Rounds, who was finally located in the very respectable mansion owned by the Reaves family, not 20 paces from the square, hiding between two feather beds in his night shirt. He was jerked out of his safe-place, dragged outside, mounted on a horse, and galloped down the main street of town as Confederate flags and the captain’s shirt tails, blew gently in the morning breeze. But there was not much time for such foolishness!
Capt. Richardson said that after the ordeal “General Forrest came to me and said, ‘They tell me these men treated you inhumanly while in jail. Point them out to me.’ I told him there was but one man I wanted to call his attention to, and that was the one who set fire to the jail in order to burn us up. Forrest asked me to go along the line with him and point that man out. I did so. A few hours later, when the list of the private soldiers was being called, the name of this man was heard and no one answered. Forrest said, ‘Pass on, it’s all right.” Local legend has it that Forrest took the guard behind a building and personally killed him. Richardson later became a U.S. Representative from Alabama.
But there was still work to be done with two Federal camps as yet uncaptured. Forrest turned his attention next to the Minnesota camp and made three attacks but found the Yankees so firmly entrenched that additional assaults seemed to be useless. Leaving only enough troops to keep the Federal regiment occupied, he hurried to the Maney mansion where the Texans were still battling the 9th Michigan. It was past mid-day and the general feeling of his men was that the Federals could not be taken. So, Forrest called in his greatest assets – ingenuity and creativity.
Thus, Forrest began a game of bluff as he aligned his troops to make the best possible show of strength and then sent the wounded Union Col. William Duffield a note demanding immediate surrender. The note was quite short, very much to the point, creating an atmosphere of impending doom, if surrender was not forthcoming. Forrest completely ignored the situation as it was, and informed Duffield that all other Federal troops were surrendered and that the entire Confederate force was concentrated against this position. The note added that if forced to assault the Federal position that no quarter would be given. Duffield surrendered his command.
Now, two down and one to go, Forrest went back to the west side of town with reinforcements to do battle against the Minnesota Regiment under the command of Col. Henry C. Lester. For the second time, Forrest resorted to note-writing, telling Lester the same thing he had told Duffield. He waited patiently for an answer. Lester, being very conscientious by nature, asked permission to cross town and consult with Duffield. This seemed like a terrific idea to Forrest since Duffield was already a prisoner. Lester was escorted to the Maney house and the number of Confederate troops he saw must have been overwhelming. But what he did not know was that the solid mass of cavalry he witnessed was nothing more than the same troops being constantly shifted to make the numbers appear much greater than they actually were.
But Lester was convinced that surrender was inevitable, so by 3 p.m. every Federal soldier in Murfreesboro was a prisoner and the last of the troops that had been in occupation of Murfreesboro were in Confederate hands. By six o’clock, the prisoners were numbered, and the head of the squadrons was leaving town. They encamped that night at Readyville, and all along the way they met buggies, wagons, and men on foot, going home to Woodbury, making good Forrest’s promise “that they would be home by sundown next day.”
A transformation had taken place among Forrest’s followers. They had become in one day a unified brigade, now possessing a confident spirit and a capacity for the execution of delicate operations, and had discovered the sweet taste of victory.
To the people of Middle Tennessee, who had been the victims of untold and humiliating indignities with little hope of relief, Forrest became the particular ideal of what a soldier should be.
The women now felt they had a defender and would later threaten tyrannical officers with “Forrest will get you for this,” or “I’ll tell ole Bedford on you!”
It was told that while Forrest was waiting impatiently to withdraw, a stately, gentle-featured lady stepped out of her residence on the square and approached Forrest. As she swept her skirt along the red brick walk, she held in one of her thin white hands a small lace handkerchief, and, in the other, a silver spoon. “General Forrest,” she asked, “will you back your horse for me?” Bedford lifted his hat, and with his heavy black hair falling down upon his shoulders, bowed; then pulled on the reins. Leaning over, she scooped up a spoon of dust from the ground where the horse had been pawing and poured it carefully into the folds of the handkerchief. With no more words, she simply bowed low and turned back towards her house, bearing away with her the silver spoon and the little piece of bulging lace.
It had been a great day for the Confederates and Forrest’s first operation as a cavalry brigade commander stands unmatched in the military annals of the American Civil war. His raid upon Murfreesboro, with a cavalry force of 1,450 men, was able to surprise and ultimately capture the entire Federal garrison force, which consisted of two infantry regiments, one battery of artillery and a battalion of cavalry.
In addition to over 1,000 prisoners and four pieces of artillery, Forrest carried away and destroyed nearly a million dollars worth of Federal military supplies. He was also able to disrupt the vital Union supply line, the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, by tearing up sections of track and destroying bridges in the immediate vicinity.
Nathan Bedford Forrest could not have wanted a finer present on this, his 41st birthday! |
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