The Famous Terry Rangers (Part 2) The next general engagement was Murphresboro--another hard fight, one I'll never forget. The Yankee army moved down on us on Christmas day. We were doing picket duty 25 miles west of Murpresboro, and we fought them all the way from Tryune to the main battle ground, which was fought on Jan. 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and you may know there was many a man gave up his life here. I think there must have been 10,000 killed, wounded and mussing from our side, and many more on the Yankee side--perhaps 5,000 more than we lost. Both armies were whipped. Buell, who was commanding the U.S. Army, and Bragg, who was commanding us, were both retreating--Buell to Nashville and Bragg to Chattanooga, where we rested for awhile. We (I mean the Rangers) were in a skirmish sometimes as many as half a dozen a day, but that was not called fighting, although a great many men were killed. The next big fight was Chickamauga. Here we fought three or four days and dead men could be seen six weeks after the battle with just a little dirt thrown on them with a spade. You could see the end of a man's nose sticking out through the ground or his hands lying out. It was a horrible sight to look at. During the fight the woods were set on fire and a great many men, who were wounded and could not walk, were burned up. I say cows, sheep, hogs, dogs and chickens that were killed in this fight. After the fight was over my command was sent to Knoxville with Gen. Longstreet and we spent a miserable cold winter and did a lot of unnecessary fighting and work trying to take Knoxville and Burnside's army, but we failed. Mr. A.D. Rhea of Groesbeck was shut up in this garrison, so he tells me, and said he was very glad when Longstreet took a notion to leave. It was a very cold wither--sleet and snow on the ground nearly all the time. The meanest people I ever had anything to do with live in East Tennessee. When we went back to the Tennessee Army we found them at Dalton, and from there we fought all the way to Atlanta. The principal fights were Resacca, Newhope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, and I could not recall half of the small engagements, for we were in it nearly all the time until we reached Peach Tree Creek. Here our army stopped and gave them battle, but they had so many more men than we did that they flanked us. While they were fighting near Atlanta they sent 15,000 men to Jonesboro, 12 or 14 miles below Atlanta, and Gen. Cleburne with about 6,000 men and Wheeler with 3,000 men were sent to drive them back, and did so after some very hard fighting. Wheeler was sent after Gen. McCook, who, with 8,000 or 10,000 men, was on a raid through the state, but was driven out through Alabama and made his escape by swimming the Tallapoosa river, but threw their guns and pistols in the River. When General Hood moved out to Tennessee, Capt. A.M. Shannon was left with a scout of 15 picked men to watch the Yankees around Atlanta and keep him posted, but Sherman left but a short time after Hood, so this gave us all the work we could do for quite a while. I was one of the scouts who followed Sherman to the sea. We killed and captured 175 men and captured about 100 horses and mules and 250 head of beef cattle, which we gave to the people who had been robbed of everything they owned, even to their clothing and false teeth, if they were on a gold plate. We caught several Yankees who had taken false teeth out of ladies' mouths. We recovered a fine lot of silver spoons and forks and other valuables, such as watches, mugs, goblets, etc. They would take feather beds, quilts, blankets, chickens, hogs, turkeys, preserves--anything that they could get their hands on that would do to eat or wear. After they took Savannah, Sherman started up through South Carolina. He took Charleston and still traveled north through North Carolina. There was a good deal of fighting in this state. Joe Johnston was in command at this time and was trying to concentrate his troops so that he could give battle, but we heard that Lee had surrendered. Then I began to make preparation to leave there, having heard that Johnston was going to surrender in a few days. I went to General Wheeler and asked him if these reports were true, but he would not say whether it was so or not. I had seen some of Lee's men the day before and they said we were gone up and I told Gen. Wheeler that we were going to leave for home. He said he could not keep us from it, but would rather we would stay and surrender with the army. We didn't like the idea and the boys in my crowd started home. We had not gone but a few miles before we rode up on an ambulance with our Brigadier-General, Tom Harrison, who went out with us from Waco. He was a gallant old man, but was some times mean to his men in camp. He was our Major for a long time, and then Colonel, and then Brig-Gen. So you might say we made him from private to general, and he is not the only one, for Wharton, Wheeler and several others were promoted by commanding the Rangers. I fought under Morgan around Nashville, but did not stay with him long. I also fought under Forrest, Wheeler and Hampton at different times. I can't now remember how many different men I was commanded by. It has been a long time ago and I can not recall all that happened, but I stopped in Georgia, not a great way from Atlanta, and spent about 2 months with my father's people--right where he was raised, and met lots of people who knew him, and some of his old school mates, and I was always glad to meet those old school mates for they told me some funny thins that occurred in those days. I had not been there but a short while until the place was guarded by a company of U.S. troops and I either had to surrender or leave, so I went up the court house and was paroled, and didn't belong to the army any more. Well, Lucy, I have given you a very incomplete history of my experience in the army. Of course, I cannot think of all that happened. I have named the principal engagements, but as to the skirmishes, I could never think of all of them for they would come off every hour, and sometimes we would skirmish all day and night, especially on retreats or advances. There was a great deal of difference in cavalry and infantry fighting. As a general thing when infantry fought it was called a battle, or general engagement, but cavalry did not do much of that kind of fighting. Ours was generally called skirmishes, and the cavalry did nearly all the picketing for the whole army. Gen. Sidney Johnson said the Texas Rangers were the eyes and ears of his army; that he always slept soundly when they were in front. Well, I could sit and write about army times always, but I will quit after giving you my experience, or as much as I could think of at the time. I could write five times as much on the same subject. Now, I think of something I left out all along, but it is too late to insert it now. So if this little history will do you any good, you are more that welcome to it, and I am glad you took so much interest in my life as to inquire into it. Hoping you will be pleased, I am your own pa, Tom Burney Groesbeck, Texas. These are the names of the boys who left Springfield with me September 8, 1861: G.W. Archer J.M. Rodgers Tom Burney John E. Thornton W.R. Brooks Walter Wood G.B. Kennedy Sol K. Scruggs P.L. Kendall Terry Wiley Cyrus Love Felix G. Kennedy Joe M. Lynch W.L. Moore W.H. Owens Wm. A. Lynch Bulger Peeples N.W. Grant George Posey M. McGuyre Wm. Slaughter Nathan Holt Uriah Posey T.J. Oliver