Today in History:

469 Series I Volume XLIX-I Serial 103 - Mobile Bay Campaign Part I

Page 469 WILSON'S RAID - ALABAMA AND GEORGIA.

leading to Frankfort, as directed by the orders of the commanding general, marching this day about twenty-two miles over roads naturally very bad, but rendered much worse by the recent rain and the passage of the wagon train in advance of us. On the 23rd continued the march, camping with the division, at Frankfort, Ala. Thus the march was continued in close connection with the division until 1 p.m. of March 27, when I received orders to move my battery off the road and wait for the pontoon train to pass. This I did, the First Brigade being in the immediate vicinity, and as I learned from its commander, was also waiting for the passage of the pontoon train. The rear of this train had hardly passed my command when it found itself with nearly the entire train stuck in the mud, and as it was now getting dark and raining hard, the road being completely blockaded by the pontoon train, in absence of orders from the division commander, I put my command into camp and waited until the morning of the 28th, when, marching at 5 o'clock, I attempted to rejoin the division, but found the road still blockaded by the pontoon train, and the soil of such a quicksand nature as to render it almost impossible to move out of the beaten road, but by using my entire force of cannoneers as a pioneer party, and taking a circuitous route through the woods, I was enabled, after about two hours' labor, by this means to repass the pontoon train and secure the road, and reaching headquarters of the division at 11 o'clock, I received orders from the brigadier-general commanding to move on and join the First Brigade beyond Jasper; but upon reaching Jasper I was unable to ascertain the direct road taken by the First Brigade, and I therefore moved my battery on the direct road leading to the ford by which it was expected the command would cross the Black Warrior River. I arrived with my battery at this ford about 5 o'clock that evening and encamped learning that the Second Brigade would be there also that evening. On the morning of the 29th I moved my battery across the Black Warrior River, complying with the orders of the division commander, and moving in connection with the division, camped about a mile south of Cane Creek and eighteen miles from Elyton. On the morning of the 30th, after marching some four miles on the road leading to Elyton, the stream were found to be so much swollen by the rain of the night previous as to make it impracticable to ford them with my battery, and I was ordered by the division commander to move back on this road, recross Cane Creek, and take the road leading to the left, by which I was compelled to make a circuitous march of thirty-six miles to reach Elyton, where I arrived at 8 p.m.; but not finding the division at that point, and in the absence of orders, my horses being very much fatigued by the excessive march over bad roads, I encamped soon after which I learned from Colonel Minty, commanding Second Brigade, that he was then with his command about two miles from me, and would move at 4 a.m. on the 31st. I called on Colonel Minty in person that night and decided to move in connection with him until I could rejoin the division, which I did at 10 p.m. of April 1, at Plantersville, having marched that day forty-nine miles. Up to this time the only obstacle encountered by my command was the very bad roads, the nature and condition of which is of course so well known to the division commander as to make any description of them unnecessary in this report.

On the morning of April 2, at 7.30 o'clock, I again moved my battery in connection with the division, as per order of the division commander, on the road to Selma, Ala., in front of which I arrived about 3 p.m., and took up a position about two miles from the city on the Summerfield road and awaited further orders from the division commander. My


Page 469 WILSON'S RAID - ALABAMA AND GEORGIA.