History of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry Part 5

In the night, the enemy fell back, the cavalry followed to Lovejoy's Station, six miles further south, being on the left of our army, occupying the McDonald and Fayetteville road, nine miles south-east of Jonesboro. We remained at this point on picket one week, where we saw fighting more or less every day.

Leaving this point, we moved back and went into camp near Decatur, which is six miles east of Atlanta on the railroad leading to Augusta.

During our campaign in Georgia, we subsisted chiefly upon the country, which was gathered in by foraging parties, detached for that purpose, and under the command of an officer.

As a general thing, some of the parties would be skirmis.h.i.+ng with the enemy while the remainder would be gathering forage.

Skirmis.h.i.+ng, while in Georgia, was more of an every day business than otherwise.

When General Hood set his flank machine in operation and was followed by a portion of General Sherman's command, the Seventh remained at Atlanta with the 23rd corps, and was engaged in those mammoth foraging expeditions of which you have read the newspaper accounts.

We continued in this business until Gen. Sherman returned to Atlanta and commenced his "masterly retreat" on Richmond, via Savanna, Ga., Charleston and Columbia, S. C., when we turned over our horses and arms to complete the mounting and arming of Gen. Kilpatrick's cavalry, and returned to Nashville, arriving there on the 15th of November, 1864.

On the 25th, Col. Garrard was put in command of two regiments, the Seventh O. V. C. and Tenth Tennessee.

The brigade formerly commanded by Col. Garrard, the Seventh excepted, it having been a.s.signed to Gen. Kirkpatrick's command prior to our leaving Atlanta, and accompanied him on the Sherman expedition.

Lt. Col. Minor was put in command of a dismounted cavalry camp near Nashville, and Capt. Rankin in command of the regiment, by order of Gen.

Wilson, commanding cavalry corps, C. C. M. D. M.

The regiment was mounted, armed and equipped, under the superintendent of Captain Rankin, and started for Columbia, Tenn.

On reaching Spring Hill, it was ordered to take the left-hand road to Hardison's Ford, on Duck river, to support Col. Cap.r.o.n, and on reaching there, found him engaging the enemy at the ford.

The Seventh was formed in columns of squadrons in the rear of two brigades.

Company A, Captain Ketterman, was sent to watch a crossing a little down ways the river from where we were.

Companies B and C were ordered to make a scout of three miles on the road leading to Columbia, under Lieuts. Burton and Shuler.

Company E was ordered to make a scout up the river five miles, under Lieut. Srofe.

Soon after this, the brigade train was ordered to move out on the road leading to Franklin, with a guard of one company.

The train had not more than straightened on the road, when Companies B and C found a strong force of the enemy in their front.

Company E was cut off, the enemy having got between it and the command, and about the same time the head of the wagon train was attacked which created a stampede in the train.

Capt. Rankin wheeled two companies into position and moved out to meet the enemy, ordering Adj't. Mitch.e.l.l to bring out the remainder as soon as the wagon train could be got into our rear.

A volley was poured into the enemy by the two companies already in position and a saber charge was immediately made, the remainder of the regiment coming into position in time, thereby driving the enemy from the road and held them in check until the train and the brigade that was fighting at the river could be got out.

This fighting continued until 9 o'clock, P. M., when Col. Garrard, who had joined us, ordered the command to fall back.

In this affair the timely action of the Seventh saved the entire brigade and train from capture, but with the loss of near one hundred men killed, wounded and captured, including Capt. Ketterman, and the whole of Co. A, also our regimental colors, for which the enemy had no credit, as it was captured in the following manner: It being quite dark and everything having pa.s.sed the road, the Colonel wished to fall back and asked some one to go and notify Capt. Rankin, who was a short distance off, of his movement.

The Color Serg't tendered his services and immediately started on his mission.

The fighting men at this point were not more than thirty yards apart, and the Serg't rode directly into the rebel lines and was captured.

The Captain brought off his command and fell back, about six miles across Flat creek, leaving our dead and wounded on the field.

In this fight, much honor and credit are due to the officers and men of the Seventh for the bold manner in which they struck the enemy. It was this that gave us success, for we were far inferior in point of numbers.

Private John Turner of Co. E, deserves especial mention in this, that he was bearing the guidon of his company, and while running the gauntlet of the enemy was thrown from his horse, but held fast to his colors and joined his command, after remaining six days in the enemy's lines, bringing his colors with him.

On the following day, the most desperate engagement perhaps of the war, all things considering, of Franklin took place.

The Seventh O. V. C. occupied the left flank of the 23rd A. C., as they faced the enemy.

We continued our operations on the flank of Gen. Thomas' army until it reached the fortifications around Nashville.

About the 1st of December, the regiment crossed the c.u.mberland river and was engaged in guarding ferries below Nashville, patrolling the country as far as Harpeth Shoals, and pressing in horses until the 13th, when we moved to Edgefield opposite Nashville.

Here the cavalry command was reorganized.

The Seventh was a.s.signed to the First Brigade, Sixth Division, Brig-Gen.

Johnson, commanding. Col. Garrard having been returned to his command of the Seventh, and Col. Harrison, of Indiana, commanding the brigade.

On the 14th, all the cavalry was brought from the north to the south side of the c.u.mberland river, and on the following morning, the 15th, at an early hour, everything was in motion.

Our division occupied the extreme right of our army.

As soon as the fog was sufficiently cleared away we marched through our breastworks, the Seventh being placed in the reserve.

Soon fighting commenced in the front along the river below the city. (I should have mentioned that the Sixth Div. had but one brigade in it mounted and that was the First.)

The rebels were soon driven from their first line of works and contested every inch of ground with artillery and musketry, but they were steadily driven back by the two regiments in front of the Seventh.

Up to this time the Seventh had not been engaged.

At two o'clock, P. M., the Seventh was ordered forward and formed on the right of the road in a cornfield, near the river, and moved forward in line of battle.

In this field the ground was very wet and soft and there were many ditches several feet deep, which made it impossible to preserve a correct line, but we did the best we could under the circ.u.mstances, and by the time we reached the woodland the enemy were in full retreat down the pike.

On seeing this, Col. Garrard ordered a charge by squadrons or companies in columns of fours, and ordered Captain Rankin's battalion to charge down the pike and out to the enemy's left.

A universal shout went up from the regiment and at them they went, the woods being open and favorable for a charge.

This chase was for one and a half miles, and to within one hundred and fifty yards of a battery which opened on us and compelled us to fall back near one-fourth of a mile.

The regiment was soon formed and commenced skirmis.h.i.+ng with the Johnnies.

Col. Garrard not being satisfied with anything short of the battery which had caused us such trouble, (it being the battery that had blockaded the c.u.mberland river and captured our transports, among them the Prima Donna, commanded by Capt. Joe. Scott, formerly of Ripley, and had withstood the combined efforts of our gun-boats and iron-clads to dislodge them,) the order to have the regiment formed in readiness to make the charge.

The order was first given to Captain Rankin to form his battalion on the slope of a hill in front of the battery, at a distance of about six hundred yards.

Co. E, Lt. Srofe, on the right, near the pike; then Co. F, Lt. Boggs, Co.

B, Lt. Burton, Co. C, Lt. Archer, and Co. A, Lt. Derstine.