In 1864, Governor Zebulon Vance wrote that "the condition of Western North Carolina is deplorable." He was referring to the bushwhackers and outlaws, and because there was no food many were starving.
While at his home in Cherokee County during sick leave on January 3, 1864, Lt. Colonel William C. Walker was awakened and murdered by outlaws. The murder of the unit's battalion
commander vividly reflected Western North Carolina's anarchy during the Civil War (unharmed, Mrs. Walker died on November 4, 1898). Furthermore, Walker's murder is
stated to have greatly altered Colonel Thomas's view of the war and underscored his initial position and pleas to protect
North Carolina's western counties. Thomas retained the Cherokee Life Guard, in part, because of Walker's
death. During the winter of 1863-64, Thomas and the Cherokee Battalion operated against raiders and bushwhackers in the North Carolina mountains, while the Legion fought bushwhackers in East TN
(O.R., Series 1, Volume 32, part II, p 611). Also see hellish conditions in Western North Carolina:
O.R., IV, pt. 2, pp. 732-734, O.R., 1, 53, pp. 324-336, O.R., 1, 32, pt. II, pp. 610-611, and Shelton Laurel Massacre.
Cherokees Skirmish Union Cavalry at Deep Creek N.C. - February 2, 1864
In early February 1864, Union General Samuel D. Sturgis,
a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in 1846 and a veteran of the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg, ordered Major Francis M. Davidson and 600 of
the 14th Illinois Cavalry (with three pieces of artillery) to pursue and destroy Colonel Thomas' Legion. Chief Thomas
and three companies (Cherokee companies with some whites) of the legion had returned to Cherokee County for Home
Guard and recruitment duties. The 600 advancing horsemen totally surprised Thomas and his men. Ten miles west of Quallatown, at
Deep Creek (Bryson City area), the Cherokees swiftly formed a skirmish line and for one hour held-at-bay the advancing
Union cavalry. Once the soldiers exhausted their ammunition they retreated into the "rugged mountainous country."
In one report Thomas reported their losses as two Indians killed and 18 prisoners. He added, the Yankees suffered the
loss of one captain, one lieutenant, 6 killed, several wounded, and 1 captured. On the other hand, Davidson exclaimed
to General Sturgis that the "nest of Indians may be considered as entirely destroyed, nearly 200 of them having
been killed." He also reported that the Confederates suffered several wounded, and that they captured 54. The Union
report, to have finally wiped out the Cherokees is, at best, an exaggeration. Although Colonel Thomas mourned the
death of his men, he found humor in the Union boasters. (Union Report, O.R., 32, i, pp. 137-138; Thomas's Preliminary Report, O.R., 1, 53, p. 314; and Colonel Palmer's Report, O.R., 1, 32, pt. II, p. 749).
On Feb. 22, 1864, Major (later Lt. Colonel) James A. McKamy wrote to Samuel Cooper (A&IGO). He stated that on Feb. 14, 1864, Captain Garner N. Loudermilk of Company H, Walker's Battalion deserted to the Federals, and McKamy further stated
that on Feb.
14, 1864, Loudermilk also signed the United States' Oath of Allegiance. In the same correspondence, McKamy stated that Captain William
B. Nelson of Company B, Walker's Battalion deserted and refused to return to the command. They
were the highest ranking officers to desert from Thomas' Legion.
Quallatown, N.C., February 28, 1864.
TO THE GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL OF SOUTH CAROLINA:
SIRS: At the commencement of the present war I urged the Carolinians to make preparations
for defending the passes in the Smoky Mountain for their common protection, and to aid as far as I could in keeping back the
Northern vandals, by the express permission of President Davis, I raised a Legion of Indians and Highlanders. Last fall when
East Tennessee was unfortunately surrendered to the enemy, I, with the Indians, was ordered to fall back on the Smoky Mountains
to check the progress of the enemy.
[In the same letter, Thomas also emphasized that the Indians were starving and he further pleaded with South
Carolina’s officials to immediately send the Cherokees provisions of corn, flour, rice, beans, grain, and cotton for
clothes. He further offered to pay for these provisions at his own expense. Should food fail to arrive the Indians will certainly
die and Thomas’ Legion will lack sufficient force to protect South Carolina’s northwestern region. Hence, the
Legion will retreat across the “Blue Ridge Line” and Lincoln will have access to subjugate South Carolina. Subsequently,
the South Carolinians met his requests, thus postponing the Indians’ starvation.]
Your obedient servant,
WM. H. Thomas
Colonel Thomas’ Legion Indians and Highlanders
Battle at Carter's Depot Tennessee - April
25, 1864
The Cherokee Battalion was with Thomas,
while the regiment and battalion were currently assigned to Jackson's Brigade (O.R., 1, 32, pt. III, p. 802), and located in East Tennessee.
Abstract from return of the District of Western
North Carolina, Col. John B. Palmer, C. S. Army, commanding, for the month of April, 1864; headquarters Asheville, N.C.
[Included in the command]
Mouth of Tuckaseegee, Col. William
H. Thomas, commanding Thomas’ Legion*
Present for duty: 7 officers,
196 men; Aggregate present, 206; Aggregate present and absent 283.
* [O.R. offers a footnote]
The larger portion of Thomas’ Legion is in Brigadier-General Jackson’s Brigade in East Tennessee.
The three companies reported here are composed of Indians principally (O.R., 1, Volume 32, pt. III,
p. 865).
On April 1, 1864, General Longstreet's army returned to Richmond, while several of General
Burnside's regiments marched toward Carter's Depot, Tenn.
On April 26, William Stringfield recorded in his diary*: "Carter's Depot, Tenn—Yesterday & today are noted ones for this place
& people. The Yankees came & attacked us 700 strong [The Legion's surgeon, John Lawing, recorded
enemy strength at 2000] yesterday morning about 11 am—The 3rd Indiana & 9th Michigan Cavalry [and 2 pieces of artillery].
This first demonstration was at Deavault’s Ford below this—the river being too deep to ford—they returned
to this point & “pitched in” to us. They were han[d]somely repulsed at all points. I ran some narrow risks—but
a Kind Providence shielded me through all, our loss 5 captured—11 Killed. Theirs 3 captured 3 killed & 17 wounded.
One report[ed] their loss at 19 Killed and 27 wounded besides several drowned at the ford [Ninth Michigan fatalities included
one major and one lieutenant]. Ed Gammond’s Co is said to have acted gallantly. Our men all did their duty well. The
fight lasted till dark last Evening & from day light till 9 am to day, after which the Enemy retired towards Jonesboro
[The enemy had charged Thomas' Legion and hand-to-hand combat ensued, with the Yankees ultimately being forced to retreat].
I was ordered by Gen Jackson to follow them a few miles which I did to Johnson’s Depot & learned that they had finally
left. So much for standing [and defending] ones ground & fighting when the occasion presents like this. Levi’s Battery
& the 44th Tenn Volunteers reinforced us this evening. So let the Yankees come." In the Western Democrat in Charlotte,
North Carolina, on May 10, 1864, the Thomas Legion's Surgeon John Lawing declared that "Thomas' Legion met them [the enemy] heroically and repulsed them in a crippled condition." *For authenticity, original spelling is intact.
To: Headquarters Armies Confederate States
May 2, 1864.
There is great difficulty in sparing any
regular force from our main points of operation. Several hundred men, now in the Department of East Tennessee, belonging to
what is known as Thomas’ Legion now called a brigade, under Brigadier General Jackson might well be spared and sent to Colonel Thomas in Western North Carolina.
It had been reported that General Longstreet’s
army having left East Tennessee opened all of Western North Carolina, Northeastern Georgia, Northwestern South Carolina, to
incursions of the enemy. I know of no troops or even local organization to oppose them. Wahalla, Pendleton, Anderson, Greenville,
and Spartanburg, with their powder and paper mills, factories and work-shops, are all at their mercy without some effort is
made at once to effect some organization.
Braxton Bragg, General
"The weather was very cold and we were thinly clad in the clothes we had worn
all summer. We had no underwear or socks and our shoes were badly worn." Private John H. Stewart, Infantry Regiment, Thomas'
Legion (while campaigning in the Shenandoah Valley)
On May 5, 1864, the War Department issued Special Order 105 (O.R., 36, ii, pp. 958-959 and O.R., Series 1, Vol. 39, pt. II, p. 579) ordering Thomas' Legion to Western North Carolina; this action was in response to the deplorable acts of the
bushwhackers and outlaws. It was also designed to defend the region against a Union attack. However, Federal movements in
the Shenandoah Valley postponed the order. Subsequently, Thomas' Legion would return to Western North
Carolina with Special Order 267 (O.R., 1, 43, pt. II, p. 919). During the 1864 Valley Campaign, General Early's Army of the Valley absorbed
the majority of the Department of East Tennessee and Western District of North Carolina. By transferring the bulk of both
commands into the Valley (O.R., IV, III, 520), it allowed bushwhackers to plunder, at will, East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. One incident,
the Shelton Laurel Massacre, epitomized the region's lawlessness and anarchy.
Saltworks Campaign - Virginia
Thomas' Legion departed Tennessee (O.R., 1, 39, pt. II, p. 582) and on May 9th arrived in Saltville, Virginia, to defend the precious Saltworks (O.R., 39, ii, 576). The legion remained in the Saltville area until June 1,
1864, and remained in a defensive position, and, although it didn't engage the enemy, the unit suffered losses. On May
23rd, while in Saltville, Fifer Charles Burris of the regiment's Company E died of disease. Burris faithfully enlisted
in May 1861, or three years earlier, and "Miss Bell Pierce, a niece of Major General Stuart, sent a wreath of flowers
to be placed upon Charles Burris's coffin." Meanwhile, the Union army conducted numerous
incursions with the objective to destroy the Virginia Saltworks: Battle of Cloyd's Mountain - May 9, 1864; Battle of Cove Mountain - May 10, 1864; First Battle of Saltville - October 2, 1864; Battle of Marion - December 17-18, 1864; and the final destruction of the Saltworks during the Second Battle of Saltville - December 20-21, 1864.
On June 5, 1864, General David Hunter crushed the smaller Confederate army at Piedmont, killing the
Confederate commander, General "Grumble'' Jones, and capturing nearly 1,000 prisoners. Piedmont was an unmitigated disaster
for Confederates in the Valley. Confederate Generals Imboden, Vaughn, and William "Grumble" Jones left a gap greater than
a 1/4 mile wide in their center. Intentional or not, it was their Achilles heel. This breach caused Thomas' Legion
to receive the Union’s massive frontal assault while leaving Imboden and Vaughn's brigades as bewildered spectators.
During the battle the Virginians broke in confusion and rapidly retreated through the ranks of Thomas’ Legion; the fighting
Highlanders fought valiantly until orderly retreating before the advancing Union army. Love ordered Stringfield to “Rally
as many troops as you can and drive off the enemy!” Confederate General Imboden wrote in his diary, “I asked Stringfield, will your men fight again?” Stringfield replied, “We will fight like hell if you give us the chance!”
Will and about 80 Tennesseans
rushed to the fence and hastily pulled down the rails for cover and, immediately, 2,200 cavalry of General Julius Stahel’s First New York Cavalry
Division rapidly advanced upon Stringfield’s position (O.R., 1, 37, pt. I, p. 77). While Thomas’ Legion fired several volleys into the advancing cavalry, an artillery battery with great accuracy began
pounding the First New York Cavalry. The cavalry retreated, regrouped, and once
more advanced into welcoming metal from Thomas’ Legion. General Stahel had served in the Austrian army
and emigrated to the U.S. in 1859. He was
wounded during the Battle of Piedmont and as a result was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1893 (O.R., 1, 37, pt. 1, pp. 613-614). During the battle, Commanding General "Grumble" Jones shouted to Love's fighting infantry, "Brave Carolinians I will bring you help!" He soon returned with the Thirty-sixth and Sixtieth Virginia
Regiments; but it was too late. While riding his horse and rallying the Highlanders and Virginians, General Jones was shot
in the head and fell dead (O.R., 1, 37, pt. 1, p. 606, O.R., 37, i, pp. 94-95 and O.R., 37, i, pp. 150-151). Among the legion's killed were Captain Julius M. Welch, Company E; Lieutenant James Conley, Company F; Lieutenant Adam Peck, Company D; and Sergeant Welch, Company F.
The battlefield
was littered with countless dead horses and men. “I was surrounded by two cavalrymen and with sabers drawn the Federals
yelled, surrender, you damn rebel! I answered them with pistol shots and struck the second one with my sword! He fell to the
ground and then he surrendered,” recalled Stringfield. He further recorded that their "loss in prisoners was great because of the loss of our leaders and guides who knew
the country and our men were picked up by the enemy's cavalry. Finally, Brigadier-General J. C. Vaughn, of the Tennessee troops, succeeded in taking our men off of the field with little confusion and no loss of guns or wagons. This halted
their pursuit. Our forces slowly and sullenly retreated towards Staunton."
The Thomas Legion's Stringfield was quite accurate in his diary account on June 5, 1864: "Battle of New Hope [the main engagement occurred at Piedmont, however, Stringfield was referring to New Hope, which is
located about 1 mile from Piedmont. The Confederate flank extended to New Hope, and this is one reason why
some battles have many names]. Gen W. E. Jones commanded our army & placed us before the Enemy who attacked us vigorously
at 9am. We repulsed every assault gloriously till 3 P.M. when our right wing held by the 60th Va Regt. gave way & threw
the line into confusion—giving the field to the Enemy. My men did well. Our loss will reach 100 Killed—250 wounded
& 955 prisoners. [The] Enemy’s loss [was] very great in Killed & wounded. We lost no wagons or artillery. [The]
Loss in my Regt.—15 Killed, 24 wounded & 21 missing." His revised report in 1901 for Clark's Regiments recorded the "loss of the Sixty-ninth
was 20 killed, 30 wounded, and 21 missing, and the loss of a small battery of four guns."
On the afternoon of June 17, Hunter's army reached the outskirts
of Lynchburg, even as General Early's vanguard began to arrive by rail from Charlottesville. After a brief, but fierce engagement,
General Hunter retreated into West Virginia. Early pursued for two days, returned to the Valley, and then advanced his
troops north to the Potomac River. Stringfield stated that they "fell
back to Rockfish Gap, awaiting another battle with the enemy; but the enemy preferred burning houses and desolating
the country, which they did at Staunton, Lexington, and Lynchburg." Then, General Breckinridge resumed command of the Confederates and they advanced through Rockfish
River, Amherst Court House and to Lynch-burg. At Lynchburg, the legion took position in breastworks, was reinforced by
General Early, and then the Confederates took the offensive. Stringfield stated that they rapidly followed "Hunter,
who being greatly pressed and, as he [Hunter] says, out of ammunition, dodged off into and went down the Kanawha Valley,
leaving our forces in the undisputed possession of the Shenandoah Valley."
Attached to Smith's Brigade, Breckenridge's Division, the Thomas Legion passed through Staunton, New
Market, Harrisonburg, Strasburg, and Winchester. Stringfield exclaimed that, while, "Here we met an ovation indeed.
The entire populace crowded the streets and nearly wild with joy; mothers, wives and sisters embraced sons, husbands and brothers."
And, "On to Washington was the army's cry!" The legion dined at Martinsburg on July 4; crossed the Potomac and camped
on the ole Antietam battlefield on July 5; arrived on the outskirts of Harper's Ferry on July 6-7; passed Middletown
on July 8; and to Frederick City on July 9. On July 9, Early defeated a hastily organized Union force under Maj. Gen. Lew
Wallace at the Monocacy River (General Wallace is author of the 1880 epic classic Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ).
Wallace retreated toward Baltimore, leaving "open the road to Washington." Although Thomas'
Legion is listed in the Monocacy Order of Battle, it was held in reserve and didn't engage in the fight. After Monacacy, Gen. Early continued to Washington.
On
the afternoon of July 11, Early's command, numbering no more than 12,000 infantry, demonstrated before Washington's fortifications, which were weakly manned by garrison troops, and demanded its surrender. Although Early captured the defenses outer
lines, veteran reinforcements (VI and XIX Corps), diverted from Grant's army to meet the threat on the capital, began arriving
at mid- day, and by July 12, fully manned the Washington entrenchments. After a brief demonstration at Fort Stevens, Early
called off an attack on the capital. The Confederate army withdrew that night, recrossed the Potomac River at White's Ford
and entered the Valley by Snickers Gap. Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright, commanding the pursuing Union army, attempted to engage
Early. "We burned
the palatial mansion of Postmaster-General Blair, in retaliation for the burning, by Hunter, of Governor Letcher's residence
at Lexington, Va., one month before," Stringfield recalled. Many in Early's army were "anxious to enter Washington, but
feared for its citizens because so much misery had been brought on the South by the vile mis-creants of Washington."
“We didn’t take Washington,” Early told his staff officers, “but we scared Abe Lincoln like Hell!”
Battle of Cool Spring Virginia - July 17-18, 1864
When General Jubal Early aborted the campaign to sack Washington, Union cavalry approached the
rear of the Confederate army. "Old Jube" ordered sharpshooters from Thomas' Legion to engage the cavalry. Lt. Robert T. Conley
and twenty-five marksmen from Company "F" of Love's Regiment were instrumental in forcing the enemy across the river. Union
Colonel Thoburn, 1st West Virginia, thought that they were unobserved by the Confederates and then a "sharp musketry
fire from the opposite bank was opened upon the head of the column as it approached the river" (O.R., Vol. 37, pt. 1, pp. 290-292). The Battle of Cool Spring is also referred to as Snicker's Ferry, Snicker's Gap, Island Ford, & Parkers Ford. Lt. Conley and Thomas' Legion were complimented for their "coolness and bravery in the fight,"
stated General Gabriel C. Wharton to James R. Love, December 8, 1864. Meanwhile, Confederate General Ramseur engaged
the Union army at Rutherford's Farm.
Under a directive to prevent Union reinforcements from
reaching Grant, Early was quick to take advantage of Wright's departure. He attacked and routed Crook's command at Second
Kernstown on July 24, and pressed the retreating Union forces closely. When Crook retreated toward Harpers Ferry, Early sent
his cavalry to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, to exact tribute or burn the city. The citizens refused to comply, and McCausland's
cavalry burned the center of the town in retaliation for Hunter's excesses in the Valley. The Thomas Legion was attached to General Wharton's division, and it attacked the Union's right flank. Stringfield proclaimed, we
were "advancing upon the enemy–touching elbows with the "Old Stonewall Brigade" on our left–and when known to our men, a shout rent the air. The fruit of this victory was the capturing of 1,200
to 1,500 prisoners, and several stands of arms, wagons, cannon, etc. Generals Breckinridge, Wharton and Col. Tom Smith, our
Corps, division and brigade leaders; and Colonel Love, Major McKamy, and all
company officers and men, did well and were conspicuous for gallantry" (Clark:
Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions From North Carolina in the Great War 1861-65, Vol. III, p. 751.)
Early's
cavalry assisted in the Battle of Folck's Mill (Cumberland) Maryland on August
1 and at the Battle of Moorefield (Oldfields) West Virginia on August 7. Stringfield reported that the
enemy's "cavalry was daring, but their infantry were not of much force, made up of city scum and foreign mercenaries." On
August 18 the Confederates gave the enemy battle at Kernstown and forced their retreat to two miles north of Winchester;
the Thomas Legion's "regiment led in this assault upon and capture of the fort, northwest of the town." General John C. Breckinridge was corps commander; he wore a linen duster and, while on foot, led the charge
which continued till after dark. In this charge a cannon ball passed under Stringfield, "tearing a great hole in the
ground." The Thomas Legion captured thirty Dutch or Hessian pickets and then halted on the north side of the fort.
Subsequently, the Thomas Legion adjusted their line and reformed to a half mile of Breckenridge's Corp. While the Thomas
Legion infantry's sharpshooters skirmished with the enemy near historic Charles
Town at the Battle of Summit Point, West Virginia on August 21, Generals Early and Anderson launched a converging attack against Sheridan. As Early
struck the main body of Union infantry at Cameron's Depot, Anderson moved north from Berryville against Sheridan's cavalry
at Summit Point. Results of the fighting were inconclusive, but Sheridan continued to withdraw. The next day, Early advanced boldly on Charles Town, panicking a portion of the retreating Union army but, by late afternoon,
Sheridan had retreated into formidable entrenchments at Halltown, south of Harpers Ferry, where he was beyond attack. On August 25, two divisions of Sheridan's cavalry intercepted
Early's advance, but the Confederate infantry forced them back to the Potomac River in a series of actions along Kearneysville-
Shepherdstown Road. Early's intentions were revealed, however, and on August 26, Sheridan's infantry attacked and overran
a portion of the Confederate entrenchments at Halltown, forcing Anderson and Kershaw to withdraw to Stephen-son's Depot. Early
abandoned his raid and returned south, establishing a defensive line on the west bank of Opequon Creek from Bunker Hill to
Stephenson's Depot. On August 28 the legion engaged Sheridan's cavalry and also lost 25 men to an ambush. Early, "expecting only a small
skirmish, was leisurely riding along with his staff." The legion's sharpshooters, being severely pressed, were reinforced
by the entire Fifty-first Virginia Regiment, which was brigaded with the legion. Generals Breckinridge and Wharton, corps and division commanders, respectively, were with their staff, "when suddenly
a battery of several guns was unmasked close upon them. Several men and horses were killed and wounded in the rapid flight
down the half mile lane." General Breckinridge, mounted on a splendid Kentucky thoroughbred, never lost his bearing. He said to Stringfield: "Major, look out
for yourself and tell General Wharton to bring up his division and post it behind that hill, pointing to a gently rolling
hill in the front, and hurl those fellows back over there, pointing to a brigade of Sheridan's cavalry led by Custer." "Neck
and neck advanced Custer's cavalry through the fields north, and only a few hundred yards off." Colonels Smith, Love and others,
however, were on the alert and at the proper moment rose to their feet and delivered a "well directed and destructive fire
and sent them whirling back through the field, leaving numbers of horses and men behind them." On August 29, Union cavalry forded the Opequon at Smithfield Crossing (Middleway) but were
swiftly driven back across the creek and beyond the hamlet by Confederate infantry. Union infantry of the VI Corps then advanced
and regained the line of the Opequon.
On
September 2-3, Averell's cavalry division rode south from Martinsburg and struck the Confederate left flank at Bunker Hill,
defeating the Confederate cavalry but being driven back by infantry. Meanwhile, Sheridan concentrated his infantry near Berryville.
On the afternoon of September 3, Anderson's command encountered and attacked elements of Crook's corps (Army of West Virginia)
at Berryville but was repulsed. On September
3rd Stringfield stated that "Sheridan's cavalry ran over ours on the pike in the forenoon, but they were soon hurled back."
Early brought his entire army, including Thomas' Legion, up to Berryville on the 4th, but found Sheridan's position at
Berryville too strongly entrenched to attack. Early again withdrew to the Opequon line. On September 5, the Confederates fell back to
Bunker Hill, the enemy following rather closely, but the "gallant Rodes whirled upon and scattered them." Private
E. C. Conner, of Company F, Swain County, "a bright and brave lad of 17 years" was killed, and, carried back a half mile and
buried in an open grave, all within a half an hour and during the retreat.
Opequon or Third Winchester was the largest and most desperately contested battle of the Civil War in the Shenandoah
Valley, resulting in more than 8,000 casualties. Because of its size, intensity, and result, many historians consider
this the most important conflict of the Shenandoah Valley. Sheridan defeated the Confederate army
again three days later at Fisher's Hill (September 22), forcing it to retreat up the Valley to near Waynesboro. Lt. Gen.
Jubal Early suffered about 23 percent casualties. Casualties for the larger Union army under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan exceeded
5,000, nearly 20 percent. The Union XIX Corps sustained 40 percent casualties (2,074 men) and lost every regimental commander
during its assaults on the Middle Field and Second Woods. The Middle Field ranks with some of the most sanguinary fields
of the Civil War, witnessing more than 3,000 casualties. Union General Russell was killed, McIntosh, Upton, and Chapman wounded.
Confederate Generals Rodes and Goodwin
were killed, Fitzhugh Lee, Terry, Johnson, and Wharton wounded.
On September 19th, one-third of Early's
army was detached and had joined Lee's Army, and Vaughn's Tennessee Cavalry had left. Sheridan rapidly advanced and attacked all along the line from Berryville to
Winchester. At Opequon, with heavy fire, the legion assisted in repelling every
assault and even forced the enemy across the river but, because of the superior numbers, was forced to retreat to the hills around Winchester. In the afternoon,
on the left wing, the Sixty-ninth had been holding a large force in check, while most of the division had been sent to repel
the final assault upon the center. Stringfield wrote that we "were again assaulted in great force and finally surrounded
by Custer's and Averill's Cavalry, and driven back losing, however, no wagons and only two cannon." "Our men fought like heroes, deploying and fighting as
in squad drill and holding the enemy in check till Early could bring back his infantry line; but for this dare-devil spirit
shown by our men, and their utter refusal to surrender, great damage would have resulted." The Confederates made a hasty retreat
up the Valley for two days, followed by the enemy who took most of its wagons. "They attempted to run over us again on the
21st and the 22nd but, with the loss of only our sick and wounded, we beat them back," recalled Stringfield.
In a brigade numbering only a few hundred,
the legion was in a position on the extreme left where
it had to repel an assault of several thousand cavalry. It suffered many casualties; killed, wounded, and captured, 75 total. Lt. Col. McKamy and Captains Singleton and Young were captured. Lieutenants Welch (Company
F), Jones (Company D), and George (Company K) were all killed. The Sixty-ninth suffered, perhaps, one of the highest losses.
During the battle there was also inclement weather, and "the brigade didn't have tents, and many officers
and enlisted men became sick." They were compelled to often camp upon the battle ground of the previous days, and where corpses of horses
and men were often exposed and unburied, making horrid the atmosphere and water. On October 15, 1864, Colonel Love proclaimed that "we have 600 wounded at Winchester, the enemy has 6,000. Our army fell back to near Staunton and, after resting there for several days, again turned down the
Valley. At this time Major Stringfield was ordered to Western North Carolina." At best, Love's account of 600 Confederate
wounded is referring to its Division (not its Corps), and 6000 Federal casualties is considered a
preliminary report. The estimated casualties for Third Winchester are generally reported as 8,630 total (US 5,020; CS
3,610). Stringfield had been ordered to the mountains to command the legion's elements in Western North
Carolina and East Tennessee.
Governor Zebulon Vance to David L. Swain, September 22, 1864
I have never before been so gloomy about the condition of
affairs. Early’s defeat in the Valley I regard as the Turning point of the campaign & confidentially, I fear seals
the fate of Richmond though not immed-iately. It will require our utmost exertions to retain our footing in Va. until 1865
comes in. McLellan's [presidential election] defeat is placed among the facts & abolitionism is rampant for
four years more. The army in Georgia is getting demoralized. John
C. Inscoe, The Heart of Confederate Appalachia, 232.
We must fight this
fight out--there must be no turning back now--too much precious blood has been shed. —Major General Stephen
Dodson Ramseur to his wife, September 17, 1864
The Battle of Cedar Creek dealt the crushing
blow to the Confederacy in the Shenandoah Valley and, with William T. Sherman's successes in the Atlanta Campaign, spurred
the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln.
The Sixty-ninth was now reduced to only
150 men (excluding several companies that didn't participate in the Valley Campaigns and were in Western North Carolina and
East Tennessee) and it participated in all the movements of Early's army, including Cedar Creek. The legion, supporting Early's left wing–confronting the Unions right wing–was ordered to "carry the enemy's works."
The Legion was initially unsuccessful and had "left a number of men, killed and wounded, between the lines." Soon,
however, the attack was renewed. The flank movement was a success. "Our troops bearing down upon the enemy like a western
tornado carried everything before them," recalled Stringfield. This was "followed up for several miles down the valley towards
Middleton in the early forenoon," thus gaining one of the most conclusive victories. Stringfield exclaimed that they
assisted in the capture of "sixteen or eighteen hundred prisoners, five or six hundred wagons, and thirty-six cannon,
with lots of small arms and supplies." "All together we only had ten or twelve thousand men, the enemy had thirty thousand."
His troop strength estimates were very accurate. The Confederate army fielded
five infantry divisions (Gordon, Wharton, Ramseur, Pegram, Kershaw) and two cavalry divisions, mustering about 15,265 soldiers. The Union army had a two-to-one advantage with its
three infantry corps (Wright, Emory, Crook) and two cavalry divisions (Merritt and Custer) for a total of 31,944.
Meanwhile,
Captain Matthew H. Love commanded several companies of Thomas' Legion (which didn't participate in General Early's Valley Campaigns) in
the skirmish with the Federals at Russellville, Tennessee. General Martin, however, refused to allow the Cherokees
to leave North Carolina and participate (O.R., 1, 39, pt. III, p. 834). Union General Alvan C. Gillem (a Tennessean
and West Point graduate) launched a thunderous frontal attack against General Vaughn’s Confederates. “General
Vaughn’s retreating cavalry swept by my men in the wildest disorder. My men were hastily thrown across the road and
an ineffectual attempt was made to stop the fleeing cavalry and induce them to form a line,” stated Confederate Colonel
Palmer. While the Federals advanced, Thomas’ Legion rushed forward in a brave attempt to check them, and Captain
Jeter’s Artillery Battery hurled direct and devastating fire into the Union columns and forced their
retreat. The Asheville News on November 3, 1864, stated that "the Legion’s
cool and well directed fire checked the enemy’s advance.”
Return to North Carolina: "Earned and Granted"
"Many of them [Thomas' Legion] joined with the promise that they were not to be taken out of the State
except in the North Carolina mountain of defense." Captain Robert A. Akin, Company H, Walker's Battalion, Thomas' Legion
On
November 9, 1864, Thomas' Legion of Cherokee Indians and Highlanders was finally granted its priceless orders (O.R., 1, 43, pt. II, p. 919) to return, guard, and defend their beloved Western North Carolina. The Valley Campaign was extremely costly for Thomas' Legion. Those bloody five months in 1864 caused 80% attrition in their
ranks. The unit had entered the Valley with over 700 effectives and returned to the Tar Heel State with about 100. They had
died for their beliefs and rights. The combat fatalities, diseases, wounds, prisoners of war, grueling marches,
poorly armed, no pay or shoes, harsh winters, heat stroke receptive summers, and very little food and water were
a definite reflection of the war's arduous toll in the legion.
And to imagine each of the five human-senses taxed beyond the worst imaginable nightmare would only begin to allow one to
identify and depict the soldier's life. Although the Cherokees didn't participate in Early's Valley Campaigns, they were devastated by mumps and measles; after
the war, smallpox killed hundreds.
General Wharton's farewell
to Thomas' Legion: "The patience and cheerful endurance of the toilsome march, brief rests and hard fighting which you and
your gallant band ever exhibited has won my hearty commendation and leaves each of your patriotic command a record bright
and unsullied."
In December 1864 the traditional Christmas
joy was overshadowed by the tearful reunion with the elements of the Thomas Legion. These respected Highlanders
had fought in numerous battles and in various campaigns, and, now, as a greatly reduced fighting force they were a band-of-brothers
with unbreakable "Esprit de Corps." Providence soon whispered that this wasn't the respite they often dreamed about. Private William Cathey,
Company A, Love's Regiment, Thomas' Legion states on December 1, 1864, that they "recently caught 17 Yankees and 1 deserter and sent
them to Asheville."
Skirmishes at Soco Gap and Soco Creek North Carolina - March 6, 1865
Throughout 1864, skirmishing continued in East Tennessee,
and Confederate troops continued to guard the mountain passes against incursions into Western North Carolina. Then, during the winter of 1864-65, Union scouting parties began to make hit-and-run
raids across the mountains. President Jefferson
Davis was also concerned about the Union army's mountain raids and he wrote an official letter of confidence in Thomas' Legion on Jan. 4, 1865. But, by
1865, the Confederacy had failed, and Colonel George W. Kirk and the Union's 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry Regiment believed it would encounter minimal opposition and resistance as they continued sacking Western North Carolina communities.
Although the Confederacy was doomed, the Thomas Legion's
highest calling was protecting North Carolina's mountain citizens. In late February and early March of 1865, Federal
Col. George Kirk continued his raids into North Carolina's most western counties. The Union's 3rd North
Carolina Mounted Infantry Regiment was commonly referred to as Kirk's Raiders, because they often pillaged
and plundered the region. On February 4th Kirk and a small army of 400 cavalry and 200 infantry left Newport, Tenn., and crossed
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