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III.

ROSECRANS'S WINTER CAMPAIGN.

GEN. ROSECRANS, on assuming' | Tennessee our army was clustered command of Buell's Army of the around Bowling Green, whence it Ohio, found it seriously depleted could advance only so fast as the re

and demoralized by the exhaustive marches and indecisive conflicts of the last six months. With a strength fully adequate to the rout and destruction of all the forces led into Kentucky by Bragg and Kirby Smith, it had seen that State ravaged throughout by that locust horde, which had in due time rëcrossed the Cumberland Mountains unassailed, returning to East Tennessee as if in triumph. Of the 100,000 men formerly borne on its muster-rolls, he found, on examination, no less than 26,482 " absent by authority" -most, but not nearly all of them, doubtless, in hospitals-sick or wounded; while 6,484 more were "absent without authority"-in other words, had deserted. IIis effective force was thus reduced to about 65,000 men; while his cavalry was so inferior in numbers and efficiency that the troopers of Forrest and John Morgan rode around us at will, striking at posts and supply trains, and compelling enormous and constantly increasing, exhausting details to keep open our communications and preserve our army from starvation.

The railroad from Louisville to Nashville had been reopened to and across Green river; so that, though there was no considerable force of the enemy in its front-Bragg's army being still on its tedious, toilsome, circuitous retreat through East

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pair of its sole line of supply should be perfected. Its designation had been changed to "Fourteenth Army Corps;" the Department having been curtailed, and rëchristened that of the Cumberland. It was now organized into three grand divisions: the Right, under Maj.-Gen. McCook, with Brig.-Gens. J. W. Sill, Phil. H. Sheridan, and Col. W. E. Woodruff at the head of its subordinate divisions respectively; the Center, under Maj.-Gen. Geo. IH. Thomas, with its subordinate divisions led by Maj.Gen. L. H. Rousseau, Brig.-Gens. Negley, Palmer, Dumont, and Fry; whereof Dumont and Fry were soon relieved, and Palmer transferred to the Left Wing, of which Maj.-Gen. T. L. Crittenden had command, and which consisted of the sub-divisions of Brig.-Gens. T. J. Wood, H. P. Van Cleve, and W. S. Smith. Rosecrans assigned the chief command of his dilapidated cavalry to Maj.-Gen. D. S. Stanley; while Lt.-Col. Julius P. Garesché-an officer of rare capacity and merit was placed at the head of his staff, with Capt. J. St. Clair Morton as Chief Engineer, and Col. Wm. Truesdail as Chief of Army Police.

The railroad having been rendered serviceable, Rosecrans left Bowling Green by special train for Mitchellsville; where he took horse and proceeded to Nashville, whose garrison,

MOORE'S DISGRACE AT HARTSVILLE.

commanded by Gen. Negley, he re- | prised and captured Capt. Portch viewed next day. His divisions, as and a small squad of Morgan's men; they arrived, were thrown out in bringing in their arms and horses.

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of his men; the residue escaping and | having been accumulated at Nash

giving the alarm at the Springs; whence Col. Harlan's brigade arrived just in time to throw a few shells after the escaping Rebels, scaring them from some of their plunder and taking a few prisoners. Moore's men were first hurried to Murfreesboro', stripped by the way of their blankets and over-coats, and thence marched directly up to our lines to be there exchanged--contrary to the cartel agreed on by the military chiefs of the belligerents. Gen. Rosecrans exchanged them; but gave notice that he would do so no more. In the Hartsville disgrace, some 150 on either side were killed or wounded.

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Two days later, Wheeler, with a large force of mounted infantry and cavalry, attacked a brigade of our infantry, under Col. Stanley Matthews, which was foraging between the two armies; but was received with determined spirit, and driven off, with a loss of 100 to our 40. Matthews returned in triumph, bringing in his train; and was publicly thanked by Rosecrans.

Gen. Stanley, having received and distributed among his best horsemen some 2,000 revolving rifles, resolved to test their efficiency. Pushing down the turnpike leading to Franklin, he rode into that town, driving the Rebel vedettes before him, taking a few prisoners, gaining important intelligence, and returning to his camp in triumph.

At length-two months' provisions

ville, and a good part of the Rebel cavalry having been dispatched to West Tennessee and to Kentucky, to operate on our lines of supplyRosecrans determined to advance.

His disposable force had been reduced by details and by casualties to 46,910 men: of whom 41,421 were infantry, 2,223 artillery, and 3,266 cavalry-much of the cavalry very raw. The Right Wing, under McCook, numbered 15,933; the Center, under Thomas, 13,395; the Left, under Crittenden, 13,288; beside Morton's brigade of Engineers, numbering 1,700. This army was essentially weakened by its division-or rather dispersion-into no less than 110 infantry and 10 cavalry regiments; its artillerymen serving no less than 24 batteries, or 150 guns.

Our army, now well concentrated in front of Nashville, commenced its advance at daylight, Dec. 26; Rosecrans and staff riding out of Nashville to join it, several hours afterward. The three grand divisions covered all the roads leading south and south-west from that city. Of course, it rained heavily, as usual when our Generals attempted an important movement in Winter; and McCook, on our right, was soon enveloped in a fog so dense as to bring him to a halt. Within two miles after passing our picket-line, our advance was resisted by heavy bodies of cavalry, well backed by infantry and artillery; who skirmished sharply told, our forces were about 1,300." Moore says the Rebel loss in killed and wounded was "about 400:" Bragg says their loss in killed and wounded was 125, and ours 500. Moore lays his defeat at the door of the 106th Ohio, Col. Taffle, whom he charges with intense cowardice.

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