Wilson's Raid by Russell W. Blount Jr

Author:Russell W. Blount Jr. [Blount, Russell W. Jr.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877), State & Local, South (AL; AR; FL; GA; KY; LA; MS; NC; SC; TN; VA; WV), Photography, Subjects & Themes, Regional
ISBN: 9781467139038
Google: KehDDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: History Press
Published: 2018-01-15T03:04:46+00:00

At some point in the early evening, Bedford Forrest makes his escape from the city. Riding with him is Frank Armstrong, whose troops have covered the retreat, and a considerable number of cavalrymen from various units, including Forrest’s escort. Their getaway route is east of town, along the Burnsville Road, a roadway that they hope is unguarded and still open. But as they begin turning northward, galloping toward Plantersville, they collide with a detachment of Union horsemen, and Old Bedford, true to his promise to Taylor, is compelled to “cut his way through.” It’s here that another impulsive Yankee horseman makes the reckless decision to attack Forrest. And it’s here, in hand-to-hand combat, that Forrest kills his thirtieth and last man of the war. The number of horses shot from under him, however, will remain at twenty-nine, as his favorite charger, King Phillip, survives the attack and the war.133

After the attack, Forrest and his escort continue picking their way along the dark highway until they hear cries of women coming from a house a short distance off the road. Forrest halts the escort and sends a detachment of men to investigate the disturbance. The troops surround the house and discover four Union soldiers, who are apparently either stragglers or deserters, rifling through their valuables and then attacking the women. Surprised, the intruders begin running from the house, loaded with plunder, but they’re all killed or captured by the gray riders.

By some accounts, the outrage committed against these women excites the men of the escort into such a frenzy that they crave to punish other Union troops who might be engaging in such behavior. And that finally leads to another controversial incident in Forrest’s career. Later in the evening, the Rebels capture a Union sentry from a nearby outpost. From their prisoner, they learn that a scouting detachment of Federal troops, about fifty strong from Wilson’s escort, is now camping a short distance away at the farm of a man named Godwin. Whether or not Forrest believes the intentions of these Union men to be nefarious is unclear, but he orders an attack. What is clear, however, is that Lieutenant George Cowan and the escort, believing a night attack to be too hazardous to risk the general’s life, refuse to make the attack unless Forrest remains a quarter-mile in the rear with the horse holders. And surprisingly, the man who is always eager for a fight agrees to stay out of it.

From this point, the facts surrounding the attack become contentious. In the aftermath of the incident, Union accounts maintain that Forrest and his men “charged on them in their sleep, and refusing to listen to their cries of surrender killed or wounded the entire party.” Wilson, upon hearing the stories of what his soldiers are now proclaiming as a slaughter, attributes the cruel affair to Forrest’s “ruthless temper” and feels that such incidents are becoming “far too frequent.” Biographers of George Thomas even argue that Forrest himself was not only

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