The Only Union Town in Tennessee: The Reserve Corps Visits Shelbyville

Writing from camp near Wartrace, Tennessee on July 4, 1863, Sergeant Jesse Oren of the 40th Ohio was delighted at the warm reception given to the Union army by the residents of Shelbyville.

“It is impossible to describe the joy that was manifested by the citizens as our column advanced into town,” he wrote. “The stars and stripes were waving at almost every house. It seemed to us more like entering a northern city where all the people are supposed to be loyal than a Southern one in the heart of the rebellion. I only wish all the people in the North were as true to the flag of their country as those in and around Shelbyville, Tennessee. At one house we saw an old lady who had seen her three score and ten waving with her own hand the flag of our Union.”

This warm reception boosted Oren’s confidence, even overconfidence, in his army. “All fears of another bloody battle have passed away and we look forward to sure and easy victory. We may be mistaken in the last part of this proposition. If it is necessary, we will make a battlefield of every inch of territory between here and the gulf. Before two months, Rosecrans’ grand army will stand as conquerors upon the banks of the Tennessee River at Chattanooga and Tennessee will be free,” he predicted.

Oren’s account of the Tullahoma campaign first saw publication in the July 24, 1863, edition of the Clinton Republican published in Wilmington, Ohio.

 

Shelbyville, located on a limestone bluff of the Highland Rim on the banks of the Duck River, was referred to by many Union soldiers as "the only Union town in Tennessee." The town did not support secession and was even referred to as "Little Boston." It welcomed the Army of the Cumberland with open arms when they marched into town on June 30, 1863.

Camp Dismal, near Wartrace, Tennessee

July 4, 1863

          Although we cannot have the happy privilege of celebrating this day at home with our friends, we can at least unfurl the stars and stripes on the same spot where, but a few days ago, floated the flag of the Southern Confederacy. The long-looked-for move has at last been made. Old Rosy, with his grand army, now occupies the camp and fortifications so recently held by Bragg and his deluded followers.  This grand move of the grand Army of the Cumberland is indeed one of the grandest of the war. Never has victory been so complete at so little cost.

          All had settled down to the opinion that Rosecrans did not intend to move until after the fall of Vicksburg was decided. Bragg was confident of this, so confident that he was preparing to act on the offensive. Rosecrans had laid still so long that Bragg had come to the conclusion that he was afraid to attack him. Like a lion crouching for his prey, Old Rosy had been watching and preparing. So when a favorable opportunity offered, he hurled his invincible columns against Bragg’s entire front with such powers and concert that his army was driven at every point, scattered, and completely demoralized.

          This forward movement was commenced on the 23rd ultimo. With a line of battle full 60 miles in length, our forces moved forward, driving everything in the shape of a Rebel before them. We had a strong cavalry force in front and on either wing to prevent a flank movement. We suffered so much in the Stones River fight from cavalry attacks in the rear that it taught us a lesson. Every precaution was taken to prevent this and so far, it has proved perfectly successful. In the rear, our supply trains were strung along every pike for miles but not one of them was molested. The hardest fighting took place on Manchester Pike at Hoover’s Gap on the 26th. After several hours of hard fighting, the enemy was repulsed with a loss of 200 killed and 800 prisoners.

          Our corps commanded by Major General Gordon Granger advanced along the Murfreesboro and Shelbyville Pike. We first encountered the enemy at Guy’s Gap 9 miles from Shelbyville. A few shots from our 12-lb brass field pieces and a charge from our dashing cavalry sent them flying into town behind their fortifications. On Saturday evening the 27th ultimo. The 7th Pennsylvania, 2nd Tennessee, 4th Michigan, and 4th U.S. Cavalry charged into town, capturing 700 prisoners, 100 head of horses, and six pieces of artillery. The Rebels were scattered in every direction. Numbers jumped into the river to escape and were drowned. Our cavalry was so eager in the chase that some of them plunged in after them and shared the same fate. This charge was led by General Granger in person and is one of the most brilliant and daring of the war. (See "I'll Drive Them Into the Duck River: The Sabre Regiment Takes Shelbyville.") 

Major General Gordon Granger
Reserve Corps

          Our infantry did not occupy Shelbyville until Tuesday the 30th as we were kept in the rear for the purpose of guarding the train. It is impossible to describe the joy that was manifested by the citizens as our column advanced into town. The stars and stripes were waving at almost every house. It seemed to us more like entering a northern city where all the people are supposed to be loyal than a Southern one in the heart of the rebellion. I only wish all the people in the North were as true to the flag of their country as those in and around Shelbyville, Tennessee.

          At one house we saw an old lady who had seen her three score and ten waving with her own hand the flag of our Union. Brave and patriotic woman; she had lived in other days when the contest for liberty and independence was being made and had been imbibed a true patriotism that no arguments of Jeff Davis could lessen. Our regiment was quartered in houses and for three days we shared the kindness and hospitality of these good people.

As we entered town, I could but think what a change- two months ago I was there as a prisoner of war. [Orren was captured April 5, 1863 during the First Battle of Franklin, see "Run-In with a Rake: The 40th Fights at First Franklin."] Nothing was then to be seen except ragged butternuts and Confederate filth. I walked amongst their soldiery with bowed head and was compelled to act as if they were the lords of creation, no difference what my inward sentiments might be. Now the town is filled with live Yankees and I could walk as a freeman and bid defiance to all butternuts generally.

Captain Nathaniel Michler crafted the above map of Shelbyville in the summer of 1863 after the Army of the Cumberland occupied the area in the wake of the Tullahoma Campaign. Rosecrans' nearly bloodless triumph secured middle Tennessee for the Union for the rest of the war but scarcely registered on Washington's radar after the twin victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg. 

We left Shelbyville yesterday for our present camp and it seemed to us all like leaving home. Since we came into Shelbyville, the Rebels have been coming in every day and giving themselves up. They say that whole regiments of Bragg’s army have thrown down their arms and gone home. His force has been so much reduced by desertions and otherwise that he cannot muster over 20,000 men. These are so completely demoralized and disheartened that they will never stand against the victorious and confident soldiers of the Cumberland.

All fears of another bloody battle have passed away and we look forward to sure and easy victory. We may be mistaken in the last part of this proposition. If it is necessary, we will make a battlefield of every inch of territory between here and the gulf. Before two months, Rosecrans’ grand army will stand as conquerors upon the banks of the Tennessee River at Chattanooga and Tennessee will be free.

Rosecrans’ headquarters are at present at Tullahoma. His forces are pausing for a short rest along Bragg’s old line. The railroad is completed up to this point and the cars will be in today. Our regiment belongs to the First Brigade of the First Division of the Reserve Army Corps under the immediate command of General Granger. The boys of Co. B are well and in the best of spirits. I never saw boys enjoy themselves better than they did on this march. Some of them have come to the conclusion that if we keep on in this way, we will be home before many months.

We ask you today while you are feasting on all the good things of the land to not be unmindful of Uncle Sam’s nephews who are away down in Camp Dismal, cheerful and contented with flitch and hardtack. We hope before another 4 of July shall have rolled around that we will be with you and help celebrate this great national sabbath.

 

Source:

Letter from Sergeant Jesse Newcomb Oren, Clinton Republican (Ohio), July 24, 1863, pg. 1

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Arming the Buckeyes: Longarms of the Ohio Infantry Regiments

Image
     A common question that comes up in conversation about Civil War Buckeye regiments is "What were they armed with?" We are fortunate in that the state of Ohio kept good records of how the regiments were armed when they went into service, this being especially true for those regiments which went into service in 1861 and 1862. The state adjutant general's reports for 1861 and 1862 have been heavily drawn upon to construct this article, as well as consultation with Phil Spaugy who has done extensive research on how Ohio's troops were armed during the war.      Buckeyes carried a fairly wide variety of weapons into the field, and the below article breaks this down into weapons of both domestic manufacture and imported arms. The early days of the war found the state of Ohio practically bereft of longarms; as an example, when the 1st and 2nd Ohio Volunteer Militia left the state in late April 1861, they left unarmed, being armed at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on their way to
Read more

Bullets for the Union: Manufacturing Small Arms Ammunition During the Civil War

Image
       Civil War bullets are perhaps the most common item collected from the era; the two armies expended bullets by the millions during the four years’ conflict and spent or deformed bullets of all shapes and sizes have made fascinating and affordable collectibles since the guns went silent in 1865.       I recently acquired a display piece featuring 35 different types of small arms ammunition used during the Civil War, including everything from a small .28 caliber ball up to a .69 caliber three-ring Minie and it triggered some questions: how did the Federal army obtain its small arms ammunition during the war? Where did the lead come from to make the bullets, and where and how was the ammunition manufactured? This post seeks to answer those questions. A typical .58 caliber 3-ring Minie bullet   “Whenever the blasts of war blow in the ears of men who trade in the implements of destruction, they are apt to experience more joy than the true warrior, for then comes the harvest of gain.
Read more

Dressing the Rebels: How to Dye Butternut Jeans Cloth

Image
     In the early days of the Civil War,  the Southern states found themselves with an abundance of cotton but a shortage of cloth with which to make army uniforms. The trade in cloth prior to the war had largely been to send raw cotton or wool north to New England (or Great Britain) where it was converted into usable cloth; but now that trade was broken and the Southern states were thrown upon their own resources in their efforts to properly clothe the Confederate army.  This collection of Confederate enlisted men's frock coats and shell jackets gives some indication of the variety of shades of butternut worn during the war. All of them are shades of yellow brown, some heavier on the yellow and some heavier on the brown. The blue used around the collar or as rank insignia indicates that the soldier was in the infantry. Surviving Confederate uniforms are considered rather rare and command quite a healthy price in the collecting market. For an in-depth study of how Confederate jacke
Read more

The Wizard of Oz and the Civil War

Image
T he 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has delighted viewers for 85 years and ranks as a personal favorite, especially during the Halloween season. While watching it with the family the other night, I wondered if there were any connections between the film and the Civil War. Not surprisingly, the answer is yes and those connections touch both the blue and the gray.           Interestingly both “witches” in the film not only had Civil War ancestors but had connections with Civil War soldiers from Ohio. Margaret Hamilton, the “Wicked Witch of the West,” was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 9, 1902, to attorney Walter Jones Hamilton and his wife Mary Jane Adams; Margaret’s grandfather was Judge Edwin Timothy Hamilton. Judge Hamilton had served as a private in Co. D of the 84 th Ohio Infantry during the summer of 1862. The 84 th Ohio, a three months’ regiment, served nearly the whole of its service attached to the Railroad District in western Maryland, performing provost duty at Cumberlan
Read more

The Vaunted Enfield Rifle Musket

Image
     The English-made Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket was widely regarded as the best infantry arm in the world at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Favorable international press describing its efficiency in the Crimean War and in suppressing the Indian rebellion led to the widespread desire of American infantrymen (both Federal and Confederate) to be armed with these accurate and well-made arms. The lock plate of this well-worn P1853 Enfield rifle musket produced in 1862 shows the typical markings of a British-made weapon that made it through the Federal blockade.  ( Army of Tennessee Relics ) Enfield-pattern weapons were imported into the states by the tens and hundreds of thousands during the war years; one estimate stated that the Federal government purchased 500,000 while the Confederates purchased another 400,000. The Confederate government dispatched Captain Caleb Huse to Europe in April 1861 to purchase weapons and Huse focused on securing all the Enfi
Read more

In front of Atlanta with the 68th Ohio

Image
  The arrow corps badge of the 17th Army Corps was worn by many members of the 68th Ohio in the latter days of the war.       Private Edward A. Bigelow of Co. F of the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote this brief account of the Battle of Atlanta just two days afterwards to his father back home in Henry County, Ohio. The regiment formed a part of Colonel Robert K. Scott's three regiment all-Ohio brigade consisting of the 20th, 68th, and 78th regiments, being designated the Second Brigade of the Third Division of Frank Blair's 17th Army Corps. Bigelow's letter originally appeared in the Napoleon Press newspaper and was copied in the Toledo Daily Commercial which was providential as no known copies exist today of the wartime Napoleon Press.  
Read more

Charging Battery Robinett: An Alabama Soldier Recalls the Vicious Fighting at Corinth

Image
W riting 30 years after the Battle of Corinth, James A. McKinstry of the 42 nd Alabama recalled his experiences storming Battery Robinett with Colonel William P. Rogers of the 2 nd Texas and expressed guilt that it was perhaps his action that brought about the colonel’s demise. “On seeing a line of Federals approaching, and before giving the situation a thought, I immediately raised my gun and fired full into the breast of a Federal sergeant, who was in front of the column, and only a short distance from us.  'Twas then that Captain George Foster shouted, "Cease firing, men! cease firing!" and waved his handkerchief, then I realized the true situation. 'Twas too late! That fatal volley had been turned on our little band from the muzzles of 1,500 muskets. I was still standing just as I was when I fired my last shot, and within a few feet of Colonel Rogers, when a Minie ball went crashing through my left hip and turned me half round; another went tearing through my
Read more

Federal Arms in the Stones River Campaign

Image
  T he following list, constructed after many years of research, lists unit by unit which type of weapons were carried by the Army of the Cumberland during the Stones River campaign. A number of sources were consulted including state ordnance reports, Federal quarterly ordnance reports (thank you Research Arsenal ), Ken Baumann’s Arming the Suckers, regimental histories and memoirs, captured ordnance reports, and consultation with knowledgeable experts in the field of firearms. Some of this information has been shared on the blog before in “ Rosy’s Heavy Metal: Artillery of the Army of the Cumberland ” or “ Shoulder Arms: How Sheridan’s and Davis’s Divisions Were Armed at Stones River ” but this is the first time the army as a whole has been presented. The overall conclusion I drew from looking at this data is that the Army of the Cumberland in December 1862 was an organization in the midst of transformation as far as arms. Many of the regiments still retained their original issue
Read more

Cook & Brother of New Orleans

Image
    The lockplate of a New Orleans-made Cook & Brother Enfield rifle produced in 1862 shows the fine craftsmanship that became the hallmark of the maker throughout the Civil War. Note the stars and bars flag at left, an emblem used on C&B's production throughout the war and the Cook & Brother, N.O. 1862 markings. Earlier production weapons at New Orleans had the flag located just above the maker's name while later weapons produced in Athens, Georgia would have a modified flag and Athens on the plate followed by the serial number.        In the spring of 1861, two English-born businessmen, Ferdinand and Francis Cook of New Orleans, perceived the need for the South to have its own domestic production of firearms and  set out to prove "that rifles could made here as well as in Yankee land or in Europe." The brothers  elected to produce copies of the British Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield rifle as this was considered the benchmark longarm at the outset of the
Read more

Revisiting Snodgrass Hill: Memories of a 21st Ohio Officer

Image
Captain Isaac Cusac, Co. G, 21st Ohio Volunteer Infantry proudly displaying his rank as captain in an image likely dating from early 1863. One of his shoulder straps was shot off in the final stages of the 21st Ohio's fight atop Snodgrass Hill on September 20, 1863. Cusac brought it back to Chickamauga 50 years later.  I n September 1913, 83-year-old Isaac Cusac, a retired Presbyterian minister from the little town of McComb, Ohio, returned to Chattanooga to attend the national G.A.R. encampment. The former captain of the 21 st Ohio returned to Snodgrass Hill on the old Chickamauga battlefield on the 50 th anniversary of the battle carrying with him a precious relic of his wartime experiences. “He carried with him there an epaulet that was shot from his shoulder at the battle,” it was reported. “The bullet clipped off the epaulet and then struck him on the left hand, injuring two fingers.”           The flood of memories as he walked the grounds must have been overwhelming. The f
Read more