498 



MURRAY, NICHOLAS. 



the Federal Government the route by sea to 

 Annapolis. 



On the 20th of August, Gen. "Wool took com- 

 mand of the post. It had been for a short time 

 previous under the command of Gen. B. F. But- 

 ler, who was then placed in command of the 

 volunteer forces of the department. The usual 

 communication between the North and South 

 during the year was by a flag of truce from 

 Fortress Monroe, which met one from the other 

 side in James River. 



The necessity of a seizure of the fortress was 

 often proclaimed at Richmond by ex-Governor 

 Wise. A garrison, however, sufficient to de- 

 fend it against any attack which might at the 

 time be made, has always been kept there by 

 the Federal Government, and after the seces- 

 sion of Virginia it was fully reenforced, and 

 there has been no time since when it could be 

 captured by the Confederate States. 



In his Message to the Legislature of Virginia, 

 on the 2d of December, Gov. Letcher thus al- 

 ludes to the situation of Fortress Monroe : " It 

 is to be regretted that Fortress Monroe is not 

 in our possession ; that it was not as easily cap- 

 tured as the navy yard and Harper's Ferry. As 

 far back as the 8th of January last, I consulted 

 with a gentleman whose position enabled him 

 to know the strength of that fortress, and 

 whose experience in military matters enabled 

 him to form an opinion as to the number of 

 men that would be required to capture it. He 

 represented it to be one of the strongest fortifi- 

 cations in the world, and expressed his doubts 

 whether it could be taken, unless assailed by 

 water as well as by land, and simultaneously. 

 He stated emphatically and distinctly, that with 

 the force then in the fortress it would be use- 

 less to attempt its capture without a large 

 force, thoroughly equipped and well appointed. 

 At no time previous to the secession of Virgi- 

 nia had we a military organization sufficient to 

 justify an attempt to take it, and events since 

 that occurrence demonstrate very clearly that 

 with our military organization since, and now 

 existing, it has not been deemed prudent to 

 make the attempt." 



MUNFORDSVILLE is the capital of Hart 

 County, Kentucky, and situated on the south 

 bank of Green River, one hundred miles south- 

 west of Frankfort. The river is navigable for 

 small steamboats during part of the year. It 

 was near here that a sharp action took place 

 on the lYth of December. The precise position 

 was on the south bank of the river, near the 

 iron bridge of the Louisville and Nashville 

 Railroad. This bridge had been partially de- 

 stroyed by the Confederate troops, to prevent 

 the passage of the Federal force, but a tempo- 

 rary structure had been thrown over the riv- 

 er. Four companies of the Thirty-second In- 

 diana Regiment, under command of the lieut.- 

 colonel, had crossed, and were thrown out as 

 pickets in squads of eight or ten upon an open 

 meadow at the distance of about one hundred 

 yards from the river bank. At the Munfords- 



ville depot there was a battery of three guns, 

 and another of an equal number about a mile 

 distant, in a southerly direction. A belt of 

 timber skirted the position of the Indiana com- 

 panies. 



Some Confederate soldiers being espied in the 

 wood, two companies were ordered to advance 

 and effect their dislodgement. They retreated 

 half a mile to their main body without firing a 

 shot, and the two companies advanced stealth- 

 ily as skirmishers. A body of cavalry, consist- 

 ing of Texan rangers, then made a dash upon 

 the companies, who returned the fire from 

 their shot-guns with a galling effect. "When 

 the batteries opened, the rangers made a charge 

 for the timber, and about the same time an or- 

 der was given for the Federal infantry to rally 

 upon the same point. The Indianians executed 

 the order under a galling fire from the batteries. 

 They thus reached the wood, and, under cover 

 of the trees, did fearful execution in the ranks 

 of the Confederate cavalry. 



The loss sustained by the Indianians was in- 

 curred under the effect of the first fire. The 

 rangers dashed in among their ranks before the 

 troops had found time to form. Once formed, 

 however, they gallantly advanced to the wood. 



The fight, for a few minutes, is described by 

 an eye-witness as a desperate encounter. The 

 Indianians resorted to their sabre-bayonets, 

 forcing a hand-to-hand combat upon their ene- 

 mies so long as the Confederates could be 

 induced to stand up. "When the Indianians 

 finally gained the wood and opened a fire upon 

 the rangers, they fled, leaving their dead upon 

 the field, including the body of Col. Terry, who 

 was killed by a musket-ball. His body was 

 sent back afterwards under a flag of truce. 



The Confederate loss was considerable. There 

 were found upon the field sixty-three dead 

 bodies, and the bodies of twelve or fourteen 

 horses. In addition, a large number are known 

 to have been wounded. The Federal loss was 

 thirteen killed and an equal number wounded. 



Two regiments of Federal troops, the Thirty- 

 sixth Indiana and the Sixteenth Ohio, came 

 promptly up to the relief of the four companies 

 from the Thirty-second Indiana, but the fight 

 was not renewed. 



MURRAY, NICHOLAS, D. D., an American 

 clergyman born in Ireland, Dec., 1803, died at 

 Elizabeth town, New Jersey, Feb. 4, 1861. He 

 came to America in 1818, and entered the print- 

 ing establishment of Messrs. Harper & Brothers 

 as an apprentice. Having after a time become a 

 Protestant he united with the Brick Presbyterian 

 church, then under the pastoral care of Dr. Gar- 

 diner Spring, and commenced a course of study 

 in preparation for the ministry. He graduated 

 at "Williams College in 1826, studied theology 

 at Princeton, and in 1829 was settled as pastor 

 of a Presbyterian church in Wilkesbarre, Penn. 

 He was called in 1834 to the pastorate of the 

 First Presbyterian church in Elizabethtown, N. 

 J., where he remained till his death. In 1849 

 he was elected Moderator of the Presbyterian 



