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Continued...Part 12
A near disaster
On
August 10th, General Wheeler was ordered to leave Hood’s
Army of Tennessee on orders from Hood and to raid the Yankee
supply trains. This left the remainder of Hood’s Cavalry
forces to be the eyes and ears of the army and supplement
his fighting forces in a kind of double duty. While on picket
duty of August 10, 1864. Union Cavalry General Kilpatrick
hit Ross’s Texas Brigade in force. They crashed through
the pickets of the 6th Texas Cavalry near Camp creek. The
3rd was hit further down by early morning as they crossed
the tracks at Fairborn. Here Ferguson’s brigade near
the Flint River joined the Texans. The brigade was beaten
back and by days end was only 18 miles south of the city of
Atlanta, Georgia.
On
the morning of the 20th, Union General Kilpatrick’s cavalry
was now facing an Arkansas infantry brigade that had dug itself
in to defend the railroad at Love Joy station. Pursuing them
and now behind them were the four hundred horsemen of Ross’s
Cavalry Brigade. Caught between the Arkansas and the Texans,
three regiments of Kilpatricks Cavalry drew sabers and charged
the cavalry hitting the 3rd Texas Cavalry Regiment. The 3rd
Texas quickly dismounted and formed a firing line. They fired
volley’s hoping to halt them and then with drew to their
horses. The failed to make to their horses before the Union
Cavalry rode over Ross’s brigade and scattered men and
horses. Thought to have decimated Ross’s brigade Kilpatrick
soon learned that though it appeared to be a rout, which it
was not. The Union troops following up on the charge were
to be hampered by a huge deluge of rain. The skies opened
up and visibility was reduced to almost zero. This caused
a total victory for the Federal Cavalry to be lost. Unfortunately
the 3rd Texas was hit the hardest and lost three company commanders,
four lieutenants, two sergeants, three corporals and eleven
privates killed or captured.The
captured officers were sent to Johnson’s Island on Lake
Erie and the enlisted men were sent to Camp Chase near Columbus
Ohio. A number of the 3rd Texas Cavalry failed to survive
the Camp Chase interment. Several died from chronic diarrhea
and bronchitis. The remainder of the captured officers and
men of the 3rd Texas were furrowed and allowed to go home
in May and June of 1865.
Atlanta
Falls
On
the night of September 1st the 3rd Texas Cavalry watched from
east of Jonesbourogh as Atlanta was put to flames and Hood’s
Army of Tennessee burned all they could to keep it from falling
to the Yankees and then withdrew from the city. As the Yankee
army occupied the city of Atlanta on September 2nd, the 3rd
Texas Cavalry was ordered to assemble at Lovejoy’s station
with the remainder of the Army of Tennessee. The
3rd Texas as well as the whole of Ross’s brigade was
now down sufficiently enough to have to be reorganized and
adjusted according to their numbers. The four regiments of
Cavalry that were once organized with ten companies each were
now to see their companies consolidated to five companies
per a regiment. This left a surplus of a dozen or so officers
who were assigned as scouts until their duties were needed
again within the structure of the regiments. This seems to
please all concerned.
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