All of this time we could hear the boom of canon at Knoxville, but got very little news as to how things were going down there. Just a week after my visit to the gap, on sunday morning, about daylight, there was an uncomon roar of artillary in the direction of Knoxville, which was kept up for over an hour, and then gradualy died away. We could not even guess what the result had been, but bets were made in favor, and agains both armies. We were left in suspence for 24 hours, when a dispatch reached us by the way of Louisville, giving us the news of Burnsids victory over Longstreet and with it an order to march, but where, not through the gap, certainley. As we had little preparations to make we were ready to go the next morning, and were off promptly in the direction of Knoxville. And the KY scout was no longer a possibility. The energy with which the march was conducted indicated to us that there would be something doing in a short time. Our line of March lay throgh Tazwell, and along a part of the road over which we had marched when we entered the mountains, but finaly changed to a dirct course to Knoxville. We crossed the Clinch river, and on south to the town of Maynardsville, where we went into camp. The weather was butifull, and forage for our horses plenty, and we felt like we would like to stay there indefinitely. But those of us who were called to headquarters for duty, soon discovered that there was a degree of uncertainty about headquarters that indicated a feeling of insecurey. The old soldier learns to diagnose conditions with commendable acuracy, which was realize in this case with a suddenness that took us almost off our feet with a single bound. I remember that the day was balmy, and spring like, and evrything semed to be in repose. In the afternoon a seargent and seven men were called for from my company, and were ordered to patrol the road in the direction of Knoxville. While evrything appeared peacefull and serene, it was evident that our officers were aware of, to us unsene danger. When night came on we were ordered to make many camp fires, but shortly after this oder we were odered to get ready to march at any moment, and to move without making unnecessary noise. This kind of an order we had learned to obey implisitly. Self preservation, even with soldiers is a law of nature that is ever respected, and obeyed. By ten oclock the entire column was in motion, and going, and there was nothing slow about our going, and we did not need any vigerous command to do so. That our situation was dangerous was in the air, and we did not have to be told about it. All night we marched. About daylight we passed thourgh a deep gap in the mountains, in three miles of the ford across Clinch river. Our position was considered impregnable as agains any ordinary force, and our officers felt secure enough to halt, and get breckfast, while our wagon traine was fording the river. We had just drawn our rations of beef, which the men were preparing to cook, when a messinger informed us that our picket in the gap had been driven in, and were falling back on us. Officers and men now realized that our situation was grave, and further preparations for breckfast were abandoned, and the entire command ordered into line of battle. Our command consisted of about 1,400 men, while Joe Wheeler, it was claimed had about 4,000. All that saved us from defeat and capture was the narrowness of the valley. Wheeler could not use more men in his front than we had in ours. All day long we fought the enimy, graduly falling back towards the river. I was ordered to stay close to the battery, and report to the commander when it should fall back, but my oders were changed, and I was ordered to take charge of the horses of the regiment, and keep them safely in the rear of our line of battle, which I succeeded in doing, when the Qartermaster of the 5{th} Ind calv stampeded them by riding along a full gallup to the rear, declaring that the riders of those horses would never mount them again. I succeeded in controlling my own company and held them on that side of the river till night, when my company came in from the mountain side, and mounted them, and was able to cross the river dry shod, while the balance of the regiment had to wade the cold river stream wast deep. When I saw my tired boys fording that cold stream, I felt very proud of what I had done for them, especially when I heard the men in the other companies lamenting that they hadent officers that would look after their welfare in emergencies like this. It is possible that there might have been a different story to relate if we had not been reinforced by a battery planted on the north side of the river, which did effective work, as soon as the enimy came within its range. Late in the evening a regiment of six months Ind troops crossed the river and had some fighting with the enimy. Earley in the fight Wheeler made a calvery charge on our center, seeking to brake our line, which was anticipated and prevented by co A of my regiment being placed in ambush in some buildings on each side of the road. This company was armed with Henry rifles --sixteen shooters-- the charging battalion came up in splendid order, but the formation was distroyed when those shooters turned loose on it, and blocked the road with men and horses. The citizens told us the next day that the rebels said that the yanks had the damdest gunns that was ever made, that they stuck their guns through a crack of the fence, and turned a crank and there was no end to the stream of led that was hurled at their column. The entire command crossed the river, and went into camp, but recrossed the river the next day and followed slowley the retreating enimy. The secret of the whole matter was that Longstreet was retreating up the valley, and wanted to clear his flank from attack by us, and Wheeler was ordered to do this. If he could have captured us, it would have been some compensation for the losses sustained at Knoxville. Our side of the battle was well managed, and by officers that had had little experience in the management of battle lines. In this battle the rebels got the worst of it. I know that our losses were very small. We had several cases of cowardice in this fight, that proved very troublsom in after years when the victems applied for pensions. We did not go back to Menardsville, but turned asside, and sought to get to powderspring gap, to "Beanstation", from which we had marched a few weeks before. the rebels had posession of this gap, and the narrow valley on the west side. Throgh the connivence of the first Lieut who was in command, I came very nearley being captured. My horse had been so baddly skinned in both shoulders, that I had walked much of the time to save her, which the Liut knew. There was a call for 75 men to make a rade across a low range of hills, into the gap, and hold it. The whole sceme was so impractical that the capt detailed to command the column refused to do so, saying that he would not lead the men into such a trap, but he would go with any other officer that was placed in command, which he did under the command of a Lieut of the 5{th} Cave. My Lieut Admire insisted that I should go, and when I remonstrated on the ground of the disability of my mount, he said that I could fall in with the column, and then fall out by the way. I laughed in his face, and said "you will then prefer charges against me". It was known that there would be a promotion soon, and I was in line the plum would come to me, unless I could be disposed of in some way, and Admire having a friend that he wished to fill the position, adopted this plan to get me out of the way, by capture, or otherwise. It is hard to think a soldier would do such a thing. Of course I fell into line, and took up the line of march with the detail. Being the orderly seargent of the company I was not subject to detail, unless a majority of the company was included. We crossed the mountain over what had once been a road, but it had not been used for years, and had partially grown up with undergrowth so that it was dificult to get along, even on horseback. Just before reaching the valley, we found that we were in close proximity to a rebel camp, but as they had not videtts {pickets} next to the mountain, we were able to pass around the camp unnoticed by them. When we reached the main road, we left a picket and moved on up the valley, but I was confused, and thought that we had moved down the valley. We passed on without molestation, but found on our return that we had passed a rebel picket, at a church where the road forked. Whether they knew of our presence, and kept quiet, in order that they might bag us later on, we of course could not tell. We moved on cautiously till we reached the gap, and after a short pause moved into it, which was as dark as it could be. A little way in there was a pile of rock, or mound, with a road on each side of it, and our files divided untill we had passed it, when we were halted in a loud voice that sounded like it had come from the clouds. The sentry fired his gunn, which sounded like a six pounder. there was no command given, the column simply about faced and got out of there as quietly as possible. Our horses semed to sents trouble, and of their own motion aboutfaced. when we had gotten some two hundred yards from the gap, a halt was called, and consultation had, which was that two videts were to be sent back into the gap to reconnortur, but realy to delay a pesuing squad till our column could get back to our pickets. Admire had the impudence to come back and ask me to be one of the men to be sacrifided. I came right out and told him what the object was, and said to him if he would furnish me with a good mount I would go anywhere in the bounds of reason. He finaly selected two men with good horses, whom before going, I posted them so that they did not go into the gap, but waited out of sight for the column to move, which it did, and there was nothing slow about its going. At first my little mare fell behind, but warmed up to the work, so that I was quite up with the column when it reached our pickets, and turned up the mountain. The two soldiers that was sent back, followed quickly, and being well mounted were on hands when we got to a safe position, but they found the rebel picket at the church, but was able to dodge them. The rebels sent a squad from the gap, and one from down the valey and met close to where we assended the mountain, and indulge in a little fusilade, before they recognized each other, to which we listened attentivly from our safe position. To be continued next week. Sandi SCKY Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=south-central-kentucky Barren Co Archives: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=kybarren Sandi's Genealogical Puzzlers: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gensoup/gorin/puz.html GGP: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/