I’ll Drive Them into the Duck River: The Sabre Regiment Takes Shelbyville

When General David Stanley took command of the cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland in late 1862, one of the first changes he made was to direct a renewed focus on the use of the saber. "Our cavalry had been poorly instructed and depended upon their carbines instead of the saber," Stanley remembered. "I insisted on the latter and sent for grindstones and had all the sabers sharpened, each squadron being provided with the means for this work." 

     In one of the opening moves of the Tullahoma Campaign, the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry put their sabers to good use as they routed Wheeler's cavalry in a wild street fight in downtown Shelbyville, Tennessee. As remembered by Adjutant George Steahlin, it was "cutting right cuts, left cuts, front cuts, and rear cuts, making thrusts right, left, and front, dealing death at every blow until Duck River was reached." The Pennsylvanians captured hundreds of Confederate troopers, two flags, and three guns that belonged to Wiggins' Arkansas battery making it the "largest day’s work by the cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland." Steahlin's account originally saw publication in the National Tribune and was later shared in Rifle Shots and Bugle Notes, an 1884 compilation of soldiers' stories. 

         

The heavy Model 1840 dragoon saber, usually referred to as "old wristbreaker" due to its 2-1/2 lb  weight and overall clumsiness, was used to great effect by the troopers of the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry during their charge through the streets of Shelbyville. These 44-inch long sabers featured a curved 35-inch blade and a wire wrapped leather grip. Over 23,000 were made by various manufacturers including Ames, Horstmann, Tiffany, and even Schnitzler & Kirschbaum in Germany before production ceased in 1858. These heavy sabers saw extensive use by cavalry regiments in the first few years of the war including by the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Ordnance reports indicate that the lighter (and handier) Model 1860 cavalry saber didn't see service with the 7th Pennsylvania until the first quarter of 1864 and even then only equipped a single company of the regiment.

    At 3 a.m. on June 27, 1863, the bugle sounded reveille. A heavy fog surrounded us. The cavalry was formed in an open field in columns of regiments. By 7 o’clock, the fog had disappeared and as the bright morning shone upon the 7,000 horsemen massed in the field, I beheld one of the finest military displays I saw during the entire war. The “forward” was sounded and the 7,000 men and horses began to move for the pike. After marching in column several miles, we came to a halt. The 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry deployed on the right of the pike in a small piece of cedar woods. A forward movement was made about half a mile; then we received orders to take the advance of the column. As we reached the top of a hill, we passed a fortified picket post which Colonel William Stokes with the 1st Tennessee Cavalry had charged successfully.

          Before us was beautiful Guy’s Gap through which we passed on a trot for a distance of three miles. The east end of the gap was protected by a line of trenches running along the summit of a hill north and south as far as the eye could see. Wheeler’s cavalry had moved from Columbia and was now posted behind the Guy’s Gap trenches. As we came up, our column was brought to a walk by four pieces of Confederate artillery. Colonel William B. Sipes turned the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry into a field on the right of the pike, formed a line of battle and dismounted Major Charles C. Davis’s Third Battalion to move on our front on foot. The 4th U.S. Cavalry formed on the left of the pike while the 4th Michigan Cavalry was ordered to move to our right and find a bridle path that led to the trenches about a mile beyond. The 3rd Indiana Cavalry was held in reserve. Colonel Horatio Minty ordered Colonel Sipes to move to the pike with the two battalions of the 7th Pennsylvania, form in column of fours, and charge the trenches.

          We moved on a walk until we passed over a small bridge spanning a rivulet. Then we went up the hill on a trot until we reached the trenches through which we passed on a gallop. The 4th Michigan was coming in on the right on the Confederate left flank. The enemy’s line wavered, the men huddled like sheep, broke, and went at full speed towards Shelbyville. The first battalion of the 7th Pennsylvania did not halt, but charged with impetuosity, cutting right, and left, causing hundreds to fall. The second battalion charged through the woods on the left of the pike. A hand-to-hand fight took place for two miles when the Confederates turned off the pike into a road leading to Wartrace. The second battalion coming in on the left cut them off, and with the aid of a cedar stockade fence brought 480 to stand and taken prisoners. Colonel Sipes gathered the prisoners and took them to the rear, having now over 500 in his possession.

Sergeant Theodore F. Dornblaser fought at Shelbyville with Co. E of the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry and later wrote the well-regarded history of his regiment entitled Sabre Strokes of the Pennsylvania Dragoons in the War of 1861-1865. 


          As Colonel Sipes passed to the rear with the prisoners, he gave me orders to gather up the men who had become separated from the regiment during the charge. In the meantime, the Confederate artillery, posted on the square in Shelbyville, was throwing shells along the pike. I collected 80 men of our regiment and formed them into a company then deployed them on our front and flanks. In the meantime, our third battalion arrived as well as the other regiments of the Second Division. Davis’s third battalion was in good order with fresh horses. Colonel Minty gave orders for the 7th Pennsylvania to again charge the artillery.

          Colonel Sipes arrived just as I received the order. I repeated the order when Colonel Sipes replied, “My regiment is back with the prisoners and I cannot make another charge.” Colonel Minty overheard this remark and at once came up to Colonel Sipes saying, “Your third battalion is in good order with horses comparatively fresh. All the other horses of the brigade have been run down.” Colonel Sipes replied, “If I must make the charge, I’ll take the artillery and drive them into the Duck River.”

          I then called in the men I had deployed and formed them on the left of Davis’s battalion which now numbered 200 rank and file. This battalion had been cut up by Forrest at Murfreesboro in 1862 which accounted for its weakness. Major Charles C. Davis led the charge. Two pieces of captain Nathaniel Newell’s Battery D, 1st Ohio Light Artillery were placed on the right and left of the pike. As they belched forth fire, smoke, and shell, our bugler John Cole sounded the charge.

          Through the smoke, down the hill went the little band yelling like mad. We were on a dead run. Half the distance between the mile post and the Confederate battery was passed in safety. Two shots screamed over our heads but the third hit Co. G, killing three men and a horse but onward we ran. A ravine was reached a few hundred feet from the artillery. Fortunately, we were below their pointblank range.

The tablet above located adjacent to the county courthouse in Shelbyville, Tennessee explains the fighting that occurred right in the center of town on June 27, 1863. I had a chance to visit Shelbyville earlier this year and walked the ground where this fighting took place. The current courthouse is located in the same location of the wartime one around which the fighting swirled.
(Image courtesy of Phil Spaugy)


          As we reached a slight rise going into Shelbyville, we saw the Confederate cavalry waver and break. The artillery limbered up and joined the fleeing cavalry. The 200 men pushed onward with a yell. The last piece of artillery turned the corner of a street as the 200 began to saber the cannoneers. Then the riders were cut off from the horses. One piece was ours in a twinkling. The second piece was ours in two minutes. The railroad depot was reached and there the road turns to the right while on the left lay an open plateau.

          It was here that General Wheeler led his escort in a countercharge. He delivered one volley and broke, caused by the 3rd Indiana coming down on our left flank. Lieutenants Amos B. Rhoades [Co. B] and Francis W. Reed [Co. L] fell there, and ten men also died. Still, we hardly stopped to look, cutting right cuts, left cuts, front cuts, and rear cuts, making thrusts right, left, and front, dealing death at every blow until Duck River was reached. We pushed over the bridge where a dozen Confederates were crushed to death by their two remaining pieces of artillery. At the east end of the bridge stood Sergeant Edward Schutt of Co. A, bareheaded, his long golden hair disheveled and waving in the breeze, saber drawn and holding the third piece of artillery.

          But in the river were the most heartrending scenes that man ever beheld. The river was high and a strong current flowing owing to the rain the day before. The banks of the river were very high, at least 20 feet. Down this precipitous height leaped the Confederate cavalry on both sides of the bridge to escape the sabers of the 200. In the stream were hundreds of horses and men struggling to escape. Many horses and men were drowned. Some gained the shore and stood wet and shivering. The sun was down as the last man of the 200 returned and reported no enemy to be seen. The sick in the hospitals at Shelbyville took up the stampede and assisted to choke the bridge and add to the misery of the Confederate troops.

          General Wheeler’s cavalry never stood our cold steel. This day they were stampeded and totally routed. His loss was over 1,200 officers and men, three pieces of artillery, and two regimental colors. [Wheeler reported his losses as 331 killed, wounded, and missing.] Our loss totaled 17 officers and men. This was the largest day’s work by the cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland. General Wheeler had his horse shot from under him during the charge and only escaped by mounting another horse and swimming the river. The Confederate captain of artillery said that he would have given us a dose of grape as we came into town but he dared not. He was a German and took his misfortune philosophically.

The Duck River at Shelbyville, Tennessee, swollen from recent rains, proved to be a deadly passage for many Confederate soldiers as they tried to escape. "In their hurried attempt to cross the narrow bridge that spans the Duck River, many of them were knocked off into the river and drowned," recalled Francis McAdams of the 113th Ohio. "A body was taken from the river today which had been in the water eight days. It had been washed over a dam where the motion of falling water kept it constantly in motion till every vestige of clothing was stripped from it. The scene was shocking in the extreme." (Image courtesy of Phil Spaugy)


          Our regiment earned the title of the “Sabre Regiment of the Army of the Cumberland” on the 27th day of June 1863. Our regimental color bearer was an Englishman who had his discharge from the Light Brigade that made the famous charge at Balaklava during the Crimean War, and he remarked after the charge into Shelbyville that the charge was not surpassed at Balaklava. This sergeant, John A. Ennis, was killed at Selma, Alabama in taking the colors upon the ramparts of the last fort we captured during the war. Sergeant Major Brant took a sword from a Confederate officer marked “1762 Toledo.” A corporal of Co. G carried the company guidon; he was shot at the depot and rode a mile dead in his saddle.

Major Charles C. Davis of the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Shelbyville, the citation mentioning Davis’s “extraordinary heroism. Major Davis led one of the most desperate and successful charges of the war.” His medal was presented on June 14, 1894.

   [An interesting sidenote: The 7th Pennsylvania had previously tangled with this same battery during the opening phase of the Stones River campaign on December 26, 1862 as they approached the town of LaVergne and came under heavy fire. The “German” who was captured at Shelbyville was their nemesis from LaVergne, Captain Jannedens H. Wiggins from Arkadelphia, Arkansas who commanded the former Clark County Artillery from Arkansas, then known as Wiggins’ Arkansas Battery of horse artillery. The six-gun battery was now equipped with a mix of 3” iron rifles (possibly Noble Brothers 3" guns) and 12-pdr M1841 howitzers. Wiggins complained that his rifled pieces, each of which weighed 986 lbs, were both “very heavy and quite inaccurate, the rifles being much worn.” After his capture, Captain Wiggins would spend most of the rest of the war on Johnson’s Island, Ohio as a prisoner of war. He was exchanged February 16, 1865 at Point Lookout, Maryland, then set out to rejoin the ten survivors of the battery in North Carolina in time for Johnston’s surrender in April 1865.]

Source:

“A Brilliant Charge,” Adjutant George H. Steahlin, 7th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry; Joel, Joseph A., and Lewis R. Stegman. Rifle Shots and Bugle Notes, or the National Military Album. New York: Grand Army Gazette Publishing, 1884, pgs. 535-538

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