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Posted on 10/1/14 at 9:15 pm to BadLeroyDawg
Sunday, 2 October 1864
Confederates from the Army of Tennessee reached Federal Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s supply line and skirmishes ensued at Big Shanty and Kennesaw Water Tank, Georgia, where Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s men broke the Western & Atlantic Railroad and interrupted the Federal link between Atlanta and Chattanooga. The Southerners did quite a number on the tracks, ripping them up and in some cases turning them into “Lincoln bow ties.” The method for this procedure was to build a roaring fire and lay the rails on top of it until the metal began to melt and soften. Then the rails would be taken to the nearest tree and hastily wrapped around it and left to cool. The resulting product could not be simply spiked back into place and a new rail would have to be obtained. Other action in the area occurred near Fairburn at Shadna Church and Westbrook's, at the crossing of Flat Rock and McDonough Roads, Sand Mountain and around Powder Springs at the Sweet Water and Noyes' Creeks.
The Battle of Peebles’ Farm ended as Confederates withdrew to their entrenchments and Federals seized control of the contested ground. This enabled the Federal Army of the Potomac to extend its siege lines another three miles west toward the Appomattox River.
Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederates skirmished near Columbia, Tennessee.
Major General Sterling Price’s Confederates occupied Washington on the Missouri River, some 50 miles west of St. Louis.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis met with General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, the hero of Fort Sumter and First Manassas, and gave him command of the Military Division of the West. This encompassed the Department of Tennessee under John Bell Hood and the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana under General Richard Taylor. Beauregard was only permitted to direct field operations if he was personally present.
Southwestern Virginia was important to the Confederacy though few battles were fought there. The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad ran through the region, connecting the eastern and western theaters of operation. Additionally, salt and lead mines located in the area were vital to the Southern war effort. In September 1864, Union General Alvan Gillem planned a raid from his base in eastern Tennessee. He requested the assistance of General Stephen Burbridge, head of the District of Kentucky. Burbridge thwarted Gillem's plan by requesting permission from Union army Chief of Staff General Henry Halleck to launch an expedition toward Saltville from Kentucky while Gillem threatened the area from the southeast.
With nearly 8,000 soldiers, the two Union forces converged on the area; the Confederates had barely 1,000 men to stop them. Some of those were used to slow Gillem's advance, but only a few hundred men under the command of Colonel Henry Giltner were available to face Burbridge. On October 1, Giltner had delayed the Yankees at Clinch Mountain, but by this morning the Yankees had reached the outskirts of Saltville. Confederate General John Williams arrived just in time with cavalry reinforcements, and Burbridge suddenly faced more than 2,500 Rebels. The determined Confederates dug in and repulsed a series of attacks. By nightfall, Burbridge's men were running low on ammunition. The Yankees withdrew during the night, and the Confederates pursued them to the Kentucky border. The glory of the victory was tarnished, however, when the Confederates massacred Union soldiers from the 5th and 6th Colored Cavalry.
The Union suffered 329 men killed, wounded, or missing at Saltville, while the Confederates lost 190 men. It was a stunning victory for the Confederates, since they were vastly outnumbered. Winning the Battle of Saltville, however, did little to delay the collapse of the Confederacy, which was complete just over six months later.
Confederates from the Army of Tennessee reached Federal Major General William Tecumseh Sherman’s supply line and skirmishes ensued at Big Shanty and Kennesaw Water Tank, Georgia, where Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s men broke the Western & Atlantic Railroad and interrupted the Federal link between Atlanta and Chattanooga. The Southerners did quite a number on the tracks, ripping them up and in some cases turning them into “Lincoln bow ties.” The method for this procedure was to build a roaring fire and lay the rails on top of it until the metal began to melt and soften. Then the rails would be taken to the nearest tree and hastily wrapped around it and left to cool. The resulting product could not be simply spiked back into place and a new rail would have to be obtained. Other action in the area occurred near Fairburn at Shadna Church and Westbrook's, at the crossing of Flat Rock and McDonough Roads, Sand Mountain and around Powder Springs at the Sweet Water and Noyes' Creeks.
The Battle of Peebles’ Farm ended as Confederates withdrew to their entrenchments and Federals seized control of the contested ground. This enabled the Federal Army of the Potomac to extend its siege lines another three miles west toward the Appomattox River.
Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Confederates skirmished near Columbia, Tennessee.
Major General Sterling Price’s Confederates occupied Washington on the Missouri River, some 50 miles west of St. Louis.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis met with General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, the hero of Fort Sumter and First Manassas, and gave him command of the Military Division of the West. This encompassed the Department of Tennessee under John Bell Hood and the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana under General Richard Taylor. Beauregard was only permitted to direct field operations if he was personally present.
Southwestern Virginia was important to the Confederacy though few battles were fought there. The Virginia and Tennessee Railroad ran through the region, connecting the eastern and western theaters of operation. Additionally, salt and lead mines located in the area were vital to the Southern war effort. In September 1864, Union General Alvan Gillem planned a raid from his base in eastern Tennessee. He requested the assistance of General Stephen Burbridge, head of the District of Kentucky. Burbridge thwarted Gillem's plan by requesting permission from Union army Chief of Staff General Henry Halleck to launch an expedition toward Saltville from Kentucky while Gillem threatened the area from the southeast.
With nearly 8,000 soldiers, the two Union forces converged on the area; the Confederates had barely 1,000 men to stop them. Some of those were used to slow Gillem's advance, but only a few hundred men under the command of Colonel Henry Giltner were available to face Burbridge. On October 1, Giltner had delayed the Yankees at Clinch Mountain, but by this morning the Yankees had reached the outskirts of Saltville. Confederate General John Williams arrived just in time with cavalry reinforcements, and Burbridge suddenly faced more than 2,500 Rebels. The determined Confederates dug in and repulsed a series of attacks. By nightfall, Burbridge's men were running low on ammunition. The Yankees withdrew during the night, and the Confederates pursued them to the Kentucky border. The glory of the victory was tarnished, however, when the Confederates massacred Union soldiers from the 5th and 6th Colored Cavalry.
The Union suffered 329 men killed, wounded, or missing at Saltville, while the Confederates lost 190 men. It was a stunning victory for the Confederates, since they were vastly outnumbered. Winning the Battle of Saltville, however, did little to delay the collapse of the Confederacy, which was complete just over six months later.
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