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his brother。  A short time after he left me; I saw him at the head of

about thirty well…armed East Tennesseeansrefugees。  They were

determined…looking men; seeking revenge for the wrongs and sufferings

that had been put upon them in the last two years; and no doubt

wreaked their vengeance right and left on all who had been in any way

instrumental in persecuting them。



The feeding of our army from the base at Louisville was attended with

a great many difficulties; as the enemy's cavalry was constantly

breaking the railroad and intercepting our communications on the

Cumberland River at different points that were easily accessible to

his then superior force of troopers。  The accumulation of reserve

stores was therefore not an easy task; and to get forage ahead a few

days was well…nigh impossible; unless that brought from the North was

supplemented by what we could gather from the country。  Corn was

abundant in the region to the south and southwest of Murfreesboro';

so to make good our deficiences in this respect; I employed a brigade

about once a week in the duty of collecting and bringing in forage;

sending out sometimes as many as a hundred and fifty wagons to haul

the grain which my scouts had previously located。  In nearly every

one of these expeditions the enemy was encountered; and the wagons

were usually loaded while the skirmishers kept up a running fire;

Often there would occur a respectable brush; with the loss on each

side of a number of killed and wounded。  The officer in direct

command always reported to me personally whatever had happened during

the time he was outthe result of his reconnoissance; so to speak;

for that war the real nature of these excursionsand on one occasion

the colonel in command; Colonel Conrad; of the Fifteenth Missouri;

informed me that he got through without much difficulty; in fact;

that everything had gone all right and been eminently satisfactory;

except that in returning he had been mortified greatly by the conduct

of the two females belonging to the detachment and division train at

my headquarters。  These women; he said; had given much annoyance by

getting drunk; and to some extent demoralizing his men。  To say that

I was astonished at his statement would be a mild way of putting it;

and had I not known him to be a most upright man and of sound sense;

I should have doubted not only his veracity; but his sanity。

Inquiring who they were and for further details; I was informed that

there certainly were in the command two females; that in some

mysterious manner had attached themselves to the service as soldiers;

that one; an East Tennessee woman; was a teamster in the division

wagon…train and the other a private soldier in a cavalry company

temporarily attached to my headquarters for escort duty。  While out

on the foraging expedition these Amazons had secured a supply of

〃apple…jack〃 by some means; got very drunk; and on the return had

fallen into Stone River and been nearly drowned。  After they had been

fished from; the water; in the process of resuscitation their sex was

disclosed; though up to this time it appeared to be known only to

each other。  The story was straight and the circumstance clear; so;

convinced of Conrad's continued sanity; I directed the provost…

marshal to bring in arrest to my headquarters the two disturbers of

Conrad's peace of mind; After some little search the East Tennessee

woman was found in camp; somewhat the worse for the experiences of

the day before; but awaiting her fate content idly smoking a cob…

pipe。  She was brought to me; and put in duress under charge of the

division surgeon until her companion could be secured。  To the doctor

she related that the year before she had 〃refugeed〃 from East

Tennessee; and on arriving in Louisville assumed men's apparel and

sought and obtained employment as a teamster in the quartermaster's

department。  Her features were very large; and so coarse and

masculine was her general appearance that she would readily have

passed as a man; and in her case the deception was no doubt easily

practiced。  Next day the 〃she dragoon〃 was caught; and proved to be a

rather prepossessing young woman; and though necessarily bronzed and

hardened by exposure; I doubt if; even with these marks of

campaigning; she could have deceived as readily as did her companion。

How the two got acquainted; I never learned; and though they had

joined the army independently of each other; yet an intimacy had

sprung up between them long before the mishaps of the foraging

expedition。  They both were forwarded to army headquarters; and; when

provided with clothing suited to their sex; sent back to Nashville;

and thence beyond our lines to Louisville。



On January 9; by an order from the War Department; the Army of the

Cumberland had been divided into three corps; designated the

Fourteenth; Twentieth; and Twenty…first。  This order did not alter

the composition of the former grand divisions; nor change the

commanders; but the new nomenclature was a decided improvement over

the clumsy designations Right Wing; Centre; and Left Wing; which were

well calculated to lead to confusion sometimes。  McCook's wing became

the Twentieth Corps; and my division continued of the same

organization; and held the same number as formerly…the Third

Division; Twentieth Corps。  My first brigade was now commanded by

Brigadier…General William H。 Lytle; the second by Colonel Bernard

Laiboldt; and the third by Colonel Luther P。 Bradley。



On the 4th of March I was directed to move in light marching order

toward Franklin and join General Gordon Granger; to take part in some

operations which he was projecting against General Earl Van Dorn;

then at Spring Hill。  Knowing that my line of march would carry me

through a region where forage was plentiful; I took along a large

train of empty wagons; which I determined to fill with corn and send

back to Murfreesboro'; believing that I could successfully cover the

train by Minty's brigade of cavalry; which had joined me for the

purpose of aiding in a reconnoissance toward Shelbyville。  In

marching the column I placed a regiment of infantry at its head; then

the wagon…train; then a brigade of infantrymasking the cavalry

behind this brigade。  The enemy; discovering that the train was with

us; and thinking he could capture it; came boldly out with his;

cavalry to attack。  The head of his column came up to the crossroads

at Versailles; but holding him there; I passed the train and infantry

brigade beyond toward Eagleville; and when my cavalry had been thus

unmasked; Minty; followed by the balance of my division; which vas

still behind; charged him with the sabre。  Success was immediate and

complete; and pursuit of the routed forces continued through

Unionville; until we fell upon and drove in the Confederate outposts

at Shelbyville。  Here the enemy was taken by surprise evidently;

which was most fortunate for us; otherwise the consequences might

have been disastrous。  Minty captured in the charge about fifty

prisoners and a few wagons and mules; and thus enabled me to load my

train with corn; and send it back to Murfreesboro' unmolested。  In

this little fight the sabre was freely used by both sides; and I do

not believe that during the whole war I again knew of so large a

percentage of wounds by that arm in proportion to the numbers

engaged。



That night I encamped at Eagleville; and next day reported to Granger

at Franklin; arriving in the midst of much excitement prevailing on

account of the loss of Coburn's brigade; which had been captured the

day before a little distance south of that point; while marching to

form a junction with a column that had been directed on Columbia from

Murfreesboro'。  Shortly after Coburn's capture General Granger had

come upon the scene; and the next day he advanced my division and

Minty's troops directly on Spring Hill; with a view to making some

reprisal; but Van Dorn 

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