At these two places he captured 130 wagons, with large quantities of Government stores, of which he loaded as much into wagons for the use of his command as he wanted, and burned the rest.From Somerset he marched to Stagall's Ferry on the Cumberland River, and there crossed, reaching Monticello, twenty-one miles from the river, that night, when all pursuit ended.
Morgan's object in making this raid was to obtain recruits and horses, to equip and arm his men, and to prepare for his fall raiding trip.In his official report he says: "I left Knoxville on the 4th day of this month with about nine hundred men, and returned to Livingston on the 28th inst.with nearly twelve hundred, having been absent just twenty-four days, during which time I have traveled over a thousand miles, captured seventeen towns, destroyed all the Government supplies and arms in them, dispersed about fifteen hundred Home Guards, and paroled nearly twelve hundred regular troops.I lost in killed, wounded, and missing of the number that I carried into Kentucky, about ninety."When Buell received his orders to open the campaign in East Tennessee, the key to that part of the State was Chattanooga, and this was the objective point of his campaign.With the concentration of the Southern forces in Mississippi, both Halleck and Buell thought that a favorable time had arrived for this movement, anticipating that no advance of the enemy's forces would be made to dispute the occupancy of those portions of Kentucky and Tennessee already held by the Federal forces.The great problem with Buell was to furnish supplies to his army, now some three hundred miles away from its base at Louisville, dependent during the greater part of the year on one line of road, which was subject to being raided at any time, bridges burned, the roadbed destroyed, and the entire road rendered useless for months.To continue this line the many miles through the enemy's country, subject to increased risks before Chattanooga could be reached, was a matter that required a great amount of careful thought and deliberation.Buell had tried infantry in stockades at bridges, and was satisfied that this was not the proper solution to the problem.He then made earnest and repeated application for more cavalry, to protect his communications and to meet and repulse the enemy's raiding parties before they could reach his line of communication.If he was to move with his command into East Tennessee, he regarded the line from Nashville to Chattanooga as the proper road on which he should depend for his supplies, and to which he should give his care and attention for this purpose.
Halleck considered the line from Memphis to Chattanooga the one over which the supplies for Buell's army should pass.The latter objected to this, by reason of that road crossing the Tennessee River twice, thus giving two long bridges to rebuild and protect, instead of one, and for the additional reason that this road ran for a considerable distance parallel with the front of the enemy, and thus invited raiding parties.While the risks attending the other road were great enough, Buell regarded the Memphis and Charleston road far the more objectionable.Besides, he wished to move through Middle Tennessee to McMinnville, and thence to Chattanooga, with Nashville as his depot of supplies.In this Halleck overruled him and directed that he march his command on the line of the Memphis road, repairing the track as he advanced.
While this matter was under consideration by the Federal commanders, Bragg, who had been appointed to the position of General made vacant by the death of General Johnston, and who had succeeded Beauregard in the command in the West, put his columns in motion eastward to occupy Chattanooga.Johnston, on the retreat from Nashville, sent all surplus army stores to Chattanooga, and Bragg now regarded that point as the proper place to refit his command, and from which to assume the offensive, and open the campaign he had planned to free, for a time at least, Tennessee from the control of the Federal forces.
With the start thus made by both commands for Chattanooga, everything was in favor of Bragg, whose movements were unimpeded, as his route was south of the Tennessee, through his own territory, with his lines of communication open when he arrived at that place.
With Buell, the repairs of the railroad retarded his progress, and the advance weakened his command by the increased number of detachments required to guard his line as it lengthened.
McCook's and Crittenden's commands were started eastward, the first from Corinth, and the latter from Booneville.McCook reached Florence on the 15th of June, where ferryboats had been provided by Mitchel for the crossing of his division.A delay was occasioned here by the report that Nelson had been attacked, but this was found to be false; and, on the 26th, the divisions of McCook, Crittenden, and Nelson crossed, and started at once for Athens, which place they reached on the 29th.On the same day Buell established his headquarters at Huntsville, Ala., and gave personal supervision to the repair of the railroads, now extremely urgent.He placed his troops by division upon the different sections of the line, under orders to push repairs with all possible expedition.These troops, as repairs were made, advanced from time to time, concentrating on the line of the Nashville and Chattanooga road.The repairs to this railroad were completed on July 28th, and on the Nashville and Decatur road on August 3d.During the latter part of July the last division of Buell's army, under Thomas, crossed the Tennessee River, being relieved--on the line of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad--by troops from Grant's army.Thomas established his headquarters at Dechard.It was on this march with his brigade that General Robert L.McCook was murdered by guerillas.He was riding in an ambulance, ill at the time, and unarmed.
