Formed out of the
Eighth Texas Cavalry in mid-1864 by General John Bell Hood, Captain
Alexander Shannon’s “Scouts” was one of the most colorful and effective
cavalry units during the war. The thirty-man force regularly attacked
Sherman’s foraging parties that terrorized Southern civilians, often
thrashing units four times their number.
Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"
Punishing Sherman’s Vandals
“A
passage from a letter written by Enoch John, one of Shannon’s Scouts,
on December 18, 1864, reveals the hard nature of the war
waged by these men.
“I
have enjoyed myself on this trip but think, sometimes, I am getting
hard-hearted,” he wrote. “But I notice the tears of a lady always
bring
tears to me eyes and the smoke and flames of a dwelling prevents the
prayers of the Yankees for their lives, even when on their
knees, being heard, and steadies my nerves to kill them all . . . I have a brace of pistols that never snap.”
[Shannon’s]
Scouts often employed hit-and-run tactics. “Witnesses stated that
Shannon’s rule was immediately to attack any enemy force encountered and
if it proved too strong to withdraw,” wrote one historian of the unit.
If endangered, the Scouts remained concealed, waiting for a chance to
pounce on stragglers.
“[Crossing
into North Carolina the Scouts] . . . hardly had time to feed their
horses before the picket reported Yankees just down the road robbing a
house.” [General Joe Wheeler led] twenty of Shannon’s men in a small
ambush against some [enemy] troopers pillaging a residence near
Rockingham.
The Confederates routed the stunned Yankees and killed or captured thirty-five in a spirited skirmish. Two troopers from the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry were killed, as were two of the 8th
Indiana Cavalry. Mathew S. Ross of Company G surrendered, but one of
Shannon’s men shot him in the back of the head nonetheless, the ball
lodging between his skull and the skin of his forehead. “He lived until
after dark that night when he died . . . [recalled a captured comrade]”
(The Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads, Eric J. Wittenberg, Savas Beatie, 2006, pp. 87-89)
Thank God for Texas. Too bad it just wasn't enough. Should every SOB in Sherman's army have died, it wouldn't have been half enough. The entire North should be razed someday for the penance never received.
ReplyDeleteYou'd get no complaints here, that's for sure.
DeleteWhen the Liberty Games commence - this time it WILL come to their cities/towns/neighborhoods as well. Payback is a bitch - even 150 years later.
ReplyDeleteStill a lot of hard feelings, that's for sure.
Delete