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Southern Historical Society Papers.


from any superior officer, had pressed his scouts to the river and discovered that reinforcements of the enemy were arriving. I was then in command of an infantry brigade, which, by some oversight, had not received the order to retire, and having continued the fight until dark, slept on the ground where Prentiss surrendered. About midnight, Forrest awoke me, inquiring for Generals Beauregard, Bragg and Hardee, and when I could not tell him the headquarters of either, he said, in profane but prophetic language, "If the enemy come on us in the morning, we will be whipped like hell." With promptness he carried the information to headquarters, and, with military genius, suggested a renewal at once of our attack; but the unlettered Colonel was ordered back to his regiment "to keep up a vigilant and strong picket line," which he did, and gave timely notice of the Monday's attack. On the day after Shiloh, General Sherman was attempting to press our army in retreat, and the advance guard of his division was composed, as he tells us, of two regiments—Seventy-seventh Ohio infantry and Dickey's Fourth Illinois cavalry. Forrest, with three hundred cavalry, was watching them. Just as they were attempting to cross a small ravine and were in some confusion, he made a charge so fierce and sudden that infantry and cavalry were all driven back together. Forrest, charging in among them with pistol and sabre, pursued to within one hundred and fifty yards of the division in line of battle, while cries of "kill him," "knock him off his horse," were heard all around him. The enemy lost fifteen killed and twenty-five prisoners, while Forrest was severely and his horse mortally wounded.

General Sherman, in his report of it, says: "The enemy's cavalry came down boldly at a charge led by General Forrest in person, breaking through our lines of skirmishers, when the infantry, without cause, threw away their muskets and fled. The ground was admirably adapted to a defence of infantry against cavalry, being miry and covered with fallen timber. As the regiment of infantry broke, Dickey's cavalry began to discharge their carbines and fell into disorder. I instantly sent orders to the rear for the brigade to form in line of battle, which was promptly executed." The success and result of this attack can be best estimated by considering this further extract from General Sherman's report: "The check sustained by us at the fallen timbers delayed our advance, so that night came on us before the wounded were provided for and the dead buried; and our troops being fagged out by three days' hard fighting" (it will be remembered that this was the only fighting they had on the third day), "exposure and privation, I ordered them back to their camps where they now are."

A BRIGADIER-GENERAL—CAPTURE OF MURFREESBORO'.

On the 10th of June, 1862, before he had recovered from his wound, at the earnest solicition of prominent citizens of North Alabama, he was ordered to Chattanooga to take command of four