34 



ARMY OPERATIONS. 



ARMY OPERATIONS. Near the close of 

 the year 1862, the battles at Fredericksburg 

 and Murfreesboro were fought. The latter was 

 not ended until the 3d of January, 1863. The 

 armies engaged in these conflicts then ceased 

 active operations. No other important military 

 movement of the Federal or Confederate forces 

 was in progress at that tune except that under 

 General Grant against Vicksburg, and the con- 

 centration of a force under Gen. Banks at New 

 Orleans. The campaign against Vicksburg real- 

 ly commenced about the 28th of November. 

 At that time, the forces of Gen. Grant were 

 at Lagrange, three miles east of Grand Junc- 

 tion, on the Cairo and New Orleans railroad, 

 with garrisons at Columbus, Humboldt, Tren- 

 ton, and Jackson, in Tennessee, and Bolivar 

 and Corinth in Mississippi. These forces were 

 designated as the Army of West Tennessee. 

 The Confederate forces were at Coldwater and 

 Holly Springs, about twenty miles distant. 



The plan of Gen. Grant was that Gen. Sher- 

 man should take command of the forces at 

 Memphis in Tennessee, and Helena in Arkan- 

 sas, and descend the river on transports with 

 the gunboat fleet, and make an attack on 

 Vicksburg by the 29th of December, and that 

 Gen. McClernand should take the forces at 

 Cairo and move down to Vicksburg, thus re- 

 enforcing Gen. Sherman soon after his attack 

 on the town. Meanwhile Gen. Grant was to 

 advance rapidly upon the Confederate troops 

 in Mississippi north and east of Vicksburg, 

 which formed the main body of their army, 

 and keep them fully employed, and, if they re- 

 treated to Vicksburg, arrive there with them, 

 ready to cooperate with Gen. Sherman. 



Large reenforcements and supplies were 

 received, and the advance of Gen. Hamilton's 

 corps, on the 28th of November, began to 

 move in the direction of Holly Springs, which 

 was reached on the 29th. By the 1st of De- 

 cember, Gen. Grant's forces had arrived, and 

 were chiefly encamped at Lumpkin's Mills, 

 south of Holly Springs, and seven miles north 

 of the Tallahatchie river. The Confederate 

 force, now under the command of Gen. Pember- 

 ton, retired to that river, and finally fell back 

 beyond Granada. Meanwhile Gen. Grant ad- 

 vanced to Oxford, and on the 20th of Decem- 

 ber an attack was suddenly made in his rear, 

 by a Confederate force under Gen. Van Dorn, 

 on the garrison under Col. Murphy at Holly 

 Springs, which surrendered. The prisoners 

 were paroled, and the supplies collected there 

 for Gen. Grant's army were destroyed ; also a 

 large quantity of cotton which had been pur- 

 chased of the people in the vicinity. 



This surrender of Holly Springs is thus 

 noted in the orders of Gen. Grant : 



HEADQUARTERS THIRTEENTH ARMY CORPS, DEPART- 

 MENT OF THE TENNESSEE, HOLLY SPRINGS, Mi 

 December 28d, 1802. 



ART- I 

 I8S., V 



I 



It is with pain and mortification that the General 

 commanding reflects upon the disgraceful surrender of 

 this place, with all the valuable stores it contained, on 



the 20th inst., and that without any resistance, except 

 by a few men, who form an honorable exception ; and 

 this, too, after warning had been given of the advance 

 of the enemy northward the evening previous. With 

 all the cotton, public stores, and substantial buildings 

 about the depot, it would have been perfectly prac- 

 ticable to have made in a few hours defences sufficient 

 to resist, with a small garrison, all the cavalry force 

 brought against them, until the reenforcements, which 

 the commanding officer was notified were marching to 

 his relief, could have reached him. 



The conduct of officers and men in accepting paroles, 

 under the circumstances, is highly reprehensible, and, 

 to say the least, thoughtless. By the terms of the Dix 

 Hill cartel, each party is bound to take care of their 

 prisoners, and to send them to Vicksburg, Miss., or a 

 point on James river, Va., for exchange or parole, 

 unless some other point is mutually agreed upon by 

 the generals commanding the opposing armies. By 

 a refusal to be paroled, the enemy, from his inability 

 to take care of the prisoners, would have been com- 

 pelled either to have released them unconditionally, 

 or to have abandoned all further aggressive move- 

 ments for the time being, which would have made 

 their recapture and the discomfiture of the enemy 

 almost certain. 



It is gi'atifying to notice, in contrast with this, 

 the conduct of a portion of the command, conspic- 

 uous among whom was the Second Illinois cavalry, 

 who gallantly and successfully resisted being taken 

 prisoners. Their loss was heavy, but the enemy's was 

 much greater. Such conduct as theirs will always 

 insure success. 



Had the commandant of the post exercised the 

 usual and ordinary precautions for defence, the gar- 

 rison was sufficiently strong to have repulsed the 

 enemy, saved our stores from destruction and them 

 selves from capture. 



The General commanding is satisfied that a majority 

 of the troops who accepted a parole did so thought- 

 lessly, and from want of knowledge of the cartel referred 

 to, and that in future they will not be caught in the 

 same way. 



By order of Major-General U. S. GRANT. 



Jxo. A. RAWLINS, Assist. Adjutant-General. 



The post was nnder the command of Col. 

 Murphy, who was surprised and captured with 

 all his force except a small body of cavalry. 

 The enemy estimated the stores destroyed as 

 follows: " 1,809,000 fixed cartridges and other 

 ordnance stores, valued at $1,500,000, includ- 

 ing 5,000 rifles and 2,000 revolvers; 100,000 

 suits of clothing and other quartermaster's 

 stores, valued at $500,000; 5,000 barrels of 

 flour and other commissary stores, valued at 

 $500,000 ; $1,000,000 worth of medical stores, 

 for which invoices to that amount were ex- 

 hibited, and 1,000 bales of cotton and $600,000 

 worth of sutlers' stores." 



On the same day an attack was made at 

 Davis's Mills, a little further north, which was 

 bravely repulsed. Near Jackson, Tennessee, 

 an attack was made by a body of cavalry under 

 Col. Forrest on the 19th. The telegraph wire 

 was cut and the railroad destroyed. On the 

 next day Humboldt was captured and an at- 

 tack made on Trenton. Other stations on the 

 railroad, as Dyer's, Rutherford, and Keaton, 

 were taken on the same day. Thp purpose 

 appeared to be to destroy every railroad bridge 

 from Columbus to Corinth, and thus cut off the 

 communications and supplies of Gen. Grant. 

 The consequence of these movements was to 

 make Gen. Grant fall back upon Holly Springs. 



