AEMY OPERATIONS. 



115 



the gunboats. Gen. Hobson had thus over- 

 taken him, and a large portion of the force was 

 captured, on the 21st, near Kyger's creek. 

 Gen. Morgan and about five hundred, however, 

 escaped, and were not captured until the 26th, 

 about three miles south of New Lisbon, near 

 Wells ville, where he hoped to cross the river. 

 Gen. Shackelford immediately sent to Gen. 

 Burnside's headquarters the following despatch : 



HEADQUARTERS IN THE FIELD, ) 



Three miles south of New Lisbon, Ohio, July 26, 1863. j 

 To Col. Lewis Richmond, A. A. G. : 



By the blessing of Almighty God I have succeeded in 

 capturing G'en. John H. Morgan, Col. Chike, and the 

 remainder of the command, amounting to about four 

 hundred prisoners. I will start with Morgan and staff 

 on the first train for Cincinnati, and await the General's 

 order for transportation for the remainder. 



J. M. SHACKELFORD, Col. Commanding. 



Before proceeding to state the important 

 movements of the army under Gen. Rosecrans 

 which took place at this time, it may be proper 

 to notice its situation subsequent to the bat- 

 tle of Stone river in the beginning of the year. 

 The operations of the army of the Cumberland, 

 under Maj.-Gen. Rosecrans, during 1862, closed 

 with the battle of Stone river, near Murfrees- 

 boro. This battle took place on the last days 

 of 1862 and the first of 1863. (See ANNUAL 

 CYCLOP^ED^, 1862, ARMY OPERATIONS.) On the 

 5th of January, the headquarters of the army 

 were established at Murfreesboro. The army 

 occupied a position in front of the town, and a 

 series of extensive earthworks, completely en- 

 circling it, were constructed for the purpose of 

 making it a depot of supplies and the base of 

 future operations. The railroad track and the 

 bridges in the rear toward Nashville were also 

 repaired. On the 9th of January, the army 

 was divided into three corps, designated the 

 fourteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first, and 

 commanded respectively by Gens. Thomas, Mc- 

 Cook, and Crittenden. Active operations were, 

 however, suspended, owing to the rains of the 

 season. Large supplies were collected in con- 

 sequence of the rise of the Cumberland river at 

 Nashville and Murfreesboro. But the enemy 

 was not idle. His cavalry overran the coun- 

 try, and men and wagons belonging to Gen. 

 Rosecrans were often captured by him. The 

 object was to cut off the communications of the 

 army of the Cumberland and its supplies. Thus 

 also many of the steamers on the Cumberland 

 river were captured and burned. 



On the 31st, Brig.-Gen. Jeff. C. Davis, with 

 a division of infantry and two brigades of cav- 

 alry, under Col. Minty, moved from camp on 

 an expedition in the direction of Rover and 

 Franklin. The force was absent thirteen days, 

 and during that time some portion of it visit- 

 ed Middletown, TJnionville, Versailles, Peyton- 

 ville, Franklin, Hillsboro, Kinderhook, and Tri- 

 une. The cavalry captured one hundred and 

 forty-one prisoners, including two colonels, one 

 major, four captains, and several lieutenants, 

 with one man severely injured, and one dan- 

 gerously wounded. 



On the 3d of February, an attack was made 

 on Fort Donelson, in another part of this de- 

 partment. On the 2d, the Confederate Col. For- 

 rest, with nine hundred men, had taken a posi- 

 tion at Palmyra, for the purpose of interrupting 

 the navigation of the Cumberland. On the next 

 day he advanced upon the fort both from above 

 and below. The garrison consisted of nine 

 companies of the 83d Illinois, a battalion of the 

 6th Iowa cavalry, Flood's battery, and some 

 wounded men, under command of Col. A. C. 

 Harding. The battery consisted of four rifled 

 guns, and in addition there was a pivot of thirty- 

 two pounder rifled, mounted on the northwest 

 corner of the fort. At half past one in the af- 

 ternoon a flag of truce was sent in by Col. For- 

 rest, demanding a surrender of the fort and 

 garrison. This was promptly refused, and pre- 

 parations for defence were made. The attack 

 was immediately commenced, and kept up, with 

 numerous charges, which were gallantly re- 

 pulsed, until eight o'clock in the evening, when 

 another demand for a surrender was made. It 

 was again promptly refused, and the enemy 

 retired in confusion. The Federal loss was 

 thirteen killed, fifty-one wounded, and twenty 

 taken prisoners, without including a captain 

 and twenty-six men who were captured on the 

 same day while on a scout; also one gun, 

 twenty-five mules, and forty-two horses. The 

 Confederate loss was estimated a two hundred 

 and fifty killed, six hundred wounded, and one 

 hundred and five prisoners. 



A period of inactivity now ensued, which 

 was suddenly broken by the defeat and capture 

 of a Federal brigade at Spring Hill on the 5th 

 of March. On the preceding day an expedition, 

 under the command of Col. John Colburn, con- 

 sisting of part of the 33d and 85th Indiana, 22d 

 Wisconsin, and 19th Michigan, numbering fif- 

 teen hundred and eighty-nine men, together 

 with the 124th Ohio, and six hundred cavalry, 

 and one battery of six small guns, was ordered 

 to proceed from Franklin to Spring Hill, ten 

 miles south, on the Columbia turnpike. Soon af- 

 ter commencing the march, the enemy were en- 

 countered, and, after a sharp skirmish, repulsed. 

 Moving forward about two miles, they were 

 again encountered, but, owing to the late hour, 

 the command encamped. Starting again on the 

 next morning, the 124th Ohio being in the rear 

 of the wagon train, the enemy was again met, 

 after an advance of two miles, and sharp skir- 

 mishing was kept up for some distance. The 

 enemy was then found in full force under Gen. 

 Van Dorn and Col. Forrest. A severe struggle 

 ensued, which was protracted until Col. Forrest 

 had taken a position in the rear, when Col. 

 Colburn, finding his ammunition failing, and his 

 retreat cut off, surrendered. Thirteen hundred 

 and six men were made prisoners. The cav- 

 alry were not engaged, and, with the artillery, 

 escaped. The Confederate force consisted of 

 cavalry and mounted infantry, composing six 

 brigades, under the command of Maj.-Gen. Van 

 Dorn. The whole force of Gen. Van Dorn had 



