A monument honoring Emma Sansom recently was placed on the Black Creek Trail near Black Creek by the Alabama Flaggers.
Words chiseled on the boulder note that Sansom guided Gen. Nathan
Bedford Forrest across Black Creek on May 2, 1863, and call her a
“heroine of the Confederacy.”Sansom was 15 when she volunteered to show Forrest a shallow portion of Black Creek where his men could cross, so Forrest could pursue and capture Union Col. Abel Streight, who was headed to Rome, Ga., to burn Confederate supplies.
More @ The Gadsden Times
I have seen the dress that sixteen year old Emma was wearing that fateful day when three yankee bullets fired from the the other side of the river passed through it. It was then the General tried to shelter her, but she defiantly stood and raised her fist. To this the enemy troop stopped firing and cheered her. In the same display were the deerskin gauntlets that N.B.F. gave Ms. Samson as a token of appreciation for her bravery under fire as she led the General and his men to a ford where they could cross. I'm not sure how many bridges Abel Streight burned behind him attempting to allude the pursuing Confederates, but there were several. The "raid" as it was known, was pretty much a cake walk through pro-union north Alabama (about 60/40) . The raid was spearheaded by men of the 1st Ala. Cav. U.S. Most of the members of this outfit were recruited from northwest Alabama. The 1st also held the distinction of being Wm. T. Sherman's advance guard (some of the first troops into Atlanta after the fall and known as a tough bunch......see "Marching Through Georgia"). However, Col. Streigh'ts forces were captured by Forrest using a ruse where he had his cavalry ride in a circle sky-lighting the crest of a hill above Streight's bivouac. Streight thought his men were outnumbered by a ratio of four to one. In fact Forrest was outnumbered three to one. Fearing the worst, Streight had his men stack arms and Forrest rode into camp with the remainder of his forces to accept the surrender, Iit was then Streight realized he had been duped. He demanded his sword back. Forrest had a big laugh and told he would give it back, but he would have to kill him. Yes, Emma played a huge part in the capture of the raiders, but nearly all was in vain as the prisoners, along, with Streight, were soon exchanged. It didn't take long for the north to catch on that they had an endless supply of immigrants and could lure in new recruits with bounties and the promise of being fed and clothed. The exchanges would stop and the numbers game along with poor logistics would win the war. Parts of this running three day battle passed to within ten miles of where I was raised at the "Battle of Hog Mountain". Here Gen. Forrest, also known as the "Wizard of the Saddle" had four horses shot from underneath him.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Thanks. Very interesting.
DeleteIt is all true! You can look it up yourself! LOL Maybe it will spark some interest.
ReplyDeleteDeo Vindici
Oh, certainly, as I am familiar with her.
Delete