AEMY OPERATIONS. 



117 



bal instructions of the General commanding this de- 

 partment, you will then proceed by a route of which you 

 will be advised by telegraph, to some good steamboat 

 landing on the Tennessee river, not far above Fort 

 Henry, where you will embark your command, and 

 proceed up the river. At Hamburg you will com- 

 municate with Brig.-Gen. Dodge, who will probably 

 have a messenger there, awaiting your arrival. If it 

 should then appear unsafe to move farther up the river, 

 you will debark at Hamburg, and, without delay, join 

 the force of Gen. Dodge, which will then be en route 

 for luka, Mississippi. If, however, it should be deemed 

 safe, you will land at Eastport, and form a junction 

 with Gen. Dodge. From that point you will then march 

 in conjunction with him to menace Tuscumbia ; but 

 you will not wait to join in the attack, unless it should 

 be necessary for the safety of Gen. Dodge's command 

 or your own, or unless some considerable advantage 

 can be gained over the enemy without interfering with 

 the general object of your expedition. After having 

 marched long enough with Gen. Dodge to create _a 

 general impression that you are a part of his expedi- 

 tion, you will push to the southward and reach Rus- 

 sellville or Moulton. From there your route will be 

 governed by circumstances; but you will with all 

 reasonable despatch push on to Western Georgia, and 

 cut the railroads which supply the rebel army by 

 way of Chattanooga. To accomplish this is the chief 

 object of your expedition ; and you must not allow 

 collateral or incidental schemes, even though promis- 

 ing great results, to delay you so as to endanger your 

 return. Your quartermaster has been furnished with 

 funds sufficient for the necessary expenses of your 

 command ; you will draw your supplies and keep your 

 command well mounted from the country through 

 which you pass. For all property taken for the legiti- 

 mate use of your command, you will make cash pay- 

 ments in full to men of undoubted loyalty, give the usual 

 conditional receipts to men whose loyalty is doubt- 

 ful ; but to rebels, nothing. You are particularly com- 

 manded to restrain your command from pillage and 

 marauding; you will destroy all depots of supplies for 

 the rebel army, all manufactories of guns, ammuni- 

 tion, equipments, and clothing for their use, which 

 you can without delaying you so as to endanger jour 

 return. That you may not be trammelled with minute 

 instructions, nothing further will be ordered than this 

 general outline of policy and operation. In intrusting 

 this highly important and somewhat perilous expedi- 

 tion to your charge, the General commanding places 

 great reliance on your prudence, energy, and valor, and 

 the well-attested bravery and endurance of the officers 

 and men in your command. Whenever it is possible 

 and reasonably safe, send us word of your progress. 

 You may return by way of Northern Alabama or 

 Northern Georgia. Should you be surrounded by rebel 

 forces, and your retreat cut off, defend yourself as long 

 as possible, and make the surrender of your command 

 cost the enemy as many times your number as possi- 

 ble. A copy of the general order from the War De- 

 partment, in regard to paroling prisoners, together 

 with the necessary blanks, are herewith furnished you ; 

 you are authorized to enlist all able-bodied men who 

 desire to join the " Army of the Union." You must 

 return as soon as the main objects of your expedition 

 are accomplished. 



Very respectfully, your obedient servant. 



J. A. GARFIELD, 

 Brigadier-General and Chief of Staff. 



The following additional instructions were 

 sent by telegraph to Col. Streight : 



April Mh, 1863. 



The written instructions you have received, are de- 

 signed to cover the cases you allude to. It is not 

 necessary that a manufactory be directly in the em- 

 ploy of the rebels, to come under the rule there laid 

 down. If it produces any considerable quantity of 

 supplies, which are likely to reach the rebel army, it 

 is to be destroyed. Of course, small mills, that can 

 only supply the necessaries of life to the inhabitants, 



should not be injured. Any considerable amount of 

 supplies likely to reach the rebel army, are to be des- 

 troyed. If you dress your soldiers in the costume of 

 the enemy, they will be liable to be treated as spies : 

 you should not do this without the consent of the 

 men, after they have been fully advised of the conse- 

 quences. J. A. GARFIELD, 

 Brigadier-General and Chief of Staff. 



Under these instructions, Col. Streight em- 

 barked on steamers at Nashville, with his com- 

 mand, and landed near Fort Donelson on the 

 Cumberland river. He then proceeded across 

 the country to the Tennessee river, while the 

 steamers descended to the Ohio and came up 

 the Tennessee to meet him. Thence he pro- 

 ceeded to Eastport, and formed a junction with 

 Gen. Dodge's force then marching upon Tus- 

 cumbia, and defeated the Confederate troops 

 stationed there, with considerable loss to them. 

 Thence he moved to Northern Georgia, aiming 

 to reach the important points of Eome and 

 Atlanta. Meanwhile Gen. Dodge, with his 

 force, turned southward, to make a sweeping 

 raid in Northern Alabama, and return to his 

 headquarters at Corinth. 



No sooner had Col. Streight commenced his 

 march than information of his movements was 

 received by Gen. Forrest and Col. Koddy, who, 

 with a cavalry force, happened to be within 

 striking distance. By a rapid movement they 

 came upon the rear of Col. Streight, and com- 

 menced a running fight, which continued for 

 four days, during which there were two severe 

 battles and several spirited skirmishes. The 

 Federal troops thus marched over a hundred 

 miles toward the heart of the State, destroying 

 bridges, and large supplies of corn collected for 

 the Confederate army, a large foundery for the 

 manufacture of cannon and shot, and seizing 

 all the animals needed. Strict discipline was 

 also maintained, and the inhabitants were not 

 needlessly harassed. The Confederate force 

 finally increased to overwhelming numbers, 

 and Col. Streight, having expended his ammu- 

 nition, and his men becoming exhausted, was 

 compelled to surrender at a point fifteen miles 

 from Eome, in Georgia. His men, numbering 

 thirteen hundred, were paroled and sent to 

 Virginia, and exchanged about two months 

 afterward. But his officers were retained and 

 imprisoned, on the demand of the Governor of 

 Georgia, by whom they were claimed as having 

 incurred the penalty fixed by a statute of the 

 State for inciting slaves to rebellion. It was 

 charged, at the time of the surrender, that ne- 

 groes were found in Col. Streight's command, 

 who were uniformed and bearing arms. This 

 was denied by the privates, who asserted that 

 only five or six negroes were with the command, 

 and they had started with it from Nashville. 

 This imprisonment of Col. Streight caused the 

 Federal Government to suspend the exchange 

 of Confederate officers, and subsequently to 

 imprison Gen. John Morgan and his officers in 

 the penitentiary of Ohio. Col. Streight was 

 then released from imprisonment as a felon, 

 and, subsequently, Gen. Morgan escaped. 



