Reminiscences of the Civil War, William and Adelia Lyon

Colonel Lyon’s Letters.

Huntsville, Ala., Jan. 2, 1865.—Company G, Lieut. Wagener commanding, was surprised and captured at Paintrock bridge on Saturday morning at about four o’clock, and the bridge was burned. Some of the men escaped. I think there are thirty to thirty-five missing. One man was wounded. The bridge will be rebuilt in a few days. The routine of duty here keeps both the Adjutant and myself quite busy all the time.

The rebels are across the river, and the campaign virtually over. There will now be a reorganization of the army, and where it will place us is more than I can tell. I presume when the next campaign opens we shall be in the field. I think we ought to be.

Colonel Lyon’s Letters.

Dec. 29, 1864.—We have finally got a mail through up to the 15th. Huntsville is rapidly resuming its old appearance, and the citizens generally profess to be pleased with our return. The rebels did but little mischief during our absence.

We know but little of army movements except those that pass under our immediate notice. I suppose Sherman is in Savannah, and I think the rebels are right when they say that the loss of that city is of but little consequence to them; but the destruction of their railroads on his march, and the capture of their cannon and locomotives by Sherman, is a serious disaster, almost irreparable.

Hood will lose half of his army, and the balance is powerless for mischief for many months. This is the worst blow the Confederacy has had, but it all avails but little towards closing the war so long as Lee sits defiantly in the gates of Richmond. When that army is routed and destroyed, and not till then, can we begin to look for the war to close.

I am glad to see a call for 300,000 more men. They will be needed, for the term of enlistment of half the army expires next summer and fall.

Colonel Lyon’s Letters.

Huntsville, Ala., Dec. 25, 1864.—I write now with some little expectation that you will receive the letter within a reasonable time, for I hear that they have at last got a mail through to Stevenson for us, which should reach us tomorrow.

Monday morning General Granger ordered me to take the 13th, the cavalry and a battery and go to Huntsville and assume my old command. I commenced the movement Monday afternoon, the infantry and artillery moving by rail. We knew nothing about the situation of things here, so we advanced cautiously, the cavalry reconnoitering ahead of the train. We reoccupied the place on the 21st, the few Confederates here fleeing at our approach. It has not been strongly occupied during our absence, and we find things much as we left them. The people profess to be glad to see us back here, although I think the most of them lie about that.

We have taken a comfortable sort of a house for headquarters, partly furnished; and when you hear that Hood’s army, including Forrest, is across the Tennessee river and everything gives promise of a season of quiet on this side, if the winter is not too far advanced you may expect marching orders for this place, but not until the tide of war has rolled farther off.

The next day after we got here my cavalry had a severe fight just a few miles out of town with a part of Roddey’s command, and we were victorious. The rebel loss was at least 100 in killed, wounded and prisoners. Our loss is quite light. We have now some 80 prisoners of war captured since we arrived in this vicinity, several of whom are from here. We smashed a new company raised here during our absence.

General Granger moved down the river with the balance of his command to Decatur, but found the place so strongly occupied that he did not deem it prudent to attack. He returned with his fleet to Whitesburg, came up here and waited for General Steadman, who passed here on Saturday with a large force in that direction. General Granger left me in addition to the 13th, the 73d Indiana, and took the rest of his force down the river again to co-operate with Steadman in taking Decatur. Our force is so large there that the rebels will probably evacuate without a fight. We know nothing of Hood’s army except that it was badly defeated before Nashville and is retreating towards the Tennessee river. He will get across badly damaged; retreat as long as he is pursued; and then halt, reorganize, and in sixty or ninety days will have a force that will require another hard campaign to disperse.

Colonel Lyon’s Letters.

Dec. 18, 1864.—Some time or other you will get a batch of letters from me which I have written during our blockade. In them you will find a history of our movements for a month.

Well, tonight we got orders from General Thomas to go back and reoccupy the railroad to Decatur; and tomorrow we expect to leave here for Huntsville. We do not anticipate any resistance, and shall probably get there on Tuesday, as we go by railroad.

The rebels occupy Decatur in some force and we may have to go down and clean them out before we settle down anywhere. We get with the orders to move the news of the glorious victory over Hood, telegraphed to General Granger by General Whipple (Mrs. Sandford’s brother), who is General Thomas’ chief of staff. Hood is badly damaged and will probably be ruined before he can get his army off—but you already know all about this. You probably will not hear from me again for a week, as communications will be rather unsettled for awhile longer.

Dec. 15, 1864.—It seems like folly to keep writing letters to you when they accumulate on my hands, yet they may be of some interest to you when you get them. When that will be I can not even guess. The blockade still continues, and except a very few vague and unreliable rumors we know nothing of what is transpiring north of us.

Our life here is almost perfect stagnation now— nothing of interest going on. I have moved the regiment to better ground and nearer my headquarters, and I spend part of each day there. Then I ride around and look at the fortifications, and visit the regiments of the brigade when the weather is pleasant, and thus manage to get through the day. Our fortifications are nearly complete, and Stevenson is very strong now. I apprehend no attack, however. This uncertainty is wearing.

Colonel Lyon’s Letters.

Stevenson, Ala., Dec. 11, 1864.—We are progressing well with our fortifications. The weather is unusually cold and there is considerable suffering amongst the refugees, and even the soldiers are none too comfortable. Whether we are to have any trouble here with the enemy is uncertain, but I am not looking for an attack. Yet it may come, and we are rapidly getting in that frame of mind that we do not care much if it comes or not. It costs a man weary days and weeks of anxiety, toil, and almost suffering, to do his duty to his country in these times. I have nothing of interest to write about and if I had this letter will probably be a month old before you get it.

Colonel Lyon’s Letters.

Stevenson, Dec. 8, 1864.—I write to you at the usual time, although I am as completely isolated from you as I would be were I in the Fiji Islands. Communication with Nashville is entirely cut off and we have no idea what is going on up there. You, I suppose, know all about it. The last we heard from there was that Hood was near Nashville. I expect to hear next that he has crossed the Cumberland and gone to Kentucky.

I am still in command of the brigade, but as soon as the road is open Colonel Doolittle will return and take command, when I shall go to the regiment once more I hope. We are hard at work building fortifications and getting ready for any rebel force that may stray off in this direction.

Colonel Lyon’s Letters.

Stevenson, Ala., Dec. 4. 1864.—Here we are, safe and sound. We evacuated Huntsville last Sunday morning, went to Brownsboro that night, to Paintrock bridge Monday, to Larkinsville Tuesday, to Bellefonte Wednesday, to this vicinity on Thursday, and came in on Friday. We had pleasant weather for our trip, but we had an immense wagon train, the roads were very bad a part of the way, and I found myself overworked. We were not pursued by any considerable force, but were bush-whacked considerably.

An immense crowd of refugees and contrabands followed us, not less, I think, than three thousand; and there is much suffering amongst them, as they are all very destitute indeed. General Granger, who marched with us, did everything in his power to alleviate their sufferings, which act raised him in my estimation very much. This refugee crowd was bushwhacked the third day out and a terrible panic resulted. It is reported that a great many young children and infants were abandoned by their mothers. This occurred amongst the contrabands.

Colonel Given is sick, Colonel Doolittle is North, and I am commanding the brigade until one or the other returns to duty; then I go back to the regiment. There is now no communication with Nashville, and we have but little idea what is going on up there.

It will not do for you to come here now at all. The whole situation is too precarious and uncertain. Besides, we can get no accommodations. I have a little office for brigade headquarters, in which four of us sleep, and we mess along any way we can. I shall live in my tent when I return to the regiment. Our regiment can be very comfortable here, but a whole brigade can have but little accommodation.

Colonel Lyon’s Letters.

Nov. 25, 1864.—I sit down this morning to write you the last letter I expect to write from Huntsville for some time. We are evacuating this line. Decatur is already abandoned, and when the troops from that place arrive here we shall take up our line of march for Stevenson. We expect to leave about Sunday. I have been very hard at work ever since we got the order on Wednesday.

This course is rendered necessary by Hood’s movement north, concerning which you are no doubt better posted than we are here. There is no enemy near us, and none is expected; and the evacuation is purely on the ground of military policy.

We march to Stevenson, and as we shall have no mail facilities until we get there you will not hear from me again as soon as usual. I send some money, $400, by Colonel Towne, a reliable man. Eighty dollars of this money belongs to ——. I got it from him because he is rather worthless and has a family of motherless children at Allen’s Grove which he has neglected. The enclosed letters from the oldest girl explain their situation. This girl is only fourteen years old. The family must have the full benefit of this money, even though you have to go out there yourself to look after them. At any rate, send the girl some money. In this way you will help soften the sorrows caused by the war, and you thus help the cause for which we are fighting, a cause that grows dearer to me and more sacred every day.

The citizens here, loyal and disloyal, express much regret that we are to leave. Many of the loyal people, including hundreds of colored folks, are leaving or will leave with us. This evacuating is a terrible job. Fort Henry is not to be compared with it, and that you know was quite a task.

Business has been lively here today. There are several stores here, and this morning I removed all restrictions from sales and dealers are selling at cost. I bought a pair of boots for ten dollars which would have cost $18 or $20 yesterday; and everything else is going in proportion. The reason for this reduction is that it is doubtful whether they can get cars to take their goods away, and they would be cleaned out in two hours after we leave. A great many men are compelled to go and leave destitute families behind them. There will be none left who are liable to conscription, and but few who ever professed loyalty. I have seen a great deal of anguish and almost despair in the last two days, I assure you, and can do but little to alleviate it. I have often thought of you and our dear babes, and thanked God devoutly that you have not been called to these bitter experiences. I issue rations freely to these people, without authority and regardless of personal consequences; but they are liable to be robbed of them as soon as we are gone.

There will be stirring times in Tennessee for a few weeks and our communications may be cut off, so if you do not get letters you will know the reason. Our brigade is ordered to garrison Stevenson, and whether the tide of battle is to surge that way time will determine. Direct your letters hereafter to Stevenson. We are all well. Minty is cooking for our march. Jerry says to tell Minerva that he is ‘just tollable.’ We will postpone for the present talking of your coming South this winter.