REMINISCENCES
OF A MISSISSIPPIAN IN
PEACE AND WAR

BY

FRANK A. MONTGOMERY

Lieutenant-Colonel First Mississippi Cavalry, Armstrong's
Mississippi Brigade; Member of Legislature, 1880, 1882, 1884, 1896,
and one term Judge of Fourth Circuit Court District of Miss.

Battle of Selma

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CHAPTER XXI.

Last letter to my wife, very gloomy--Cross Warrior river, move to
Marion--New York recruit sees his aunt--Thrown in Wilson's front--Night
march, fall back on Selma--Enemy attack Selma--How General Taylor
escaped--Description of battle--Regiment nearly all killed, wounded or
captured--Brave Federal sergeant saves my life--Took my pistol and hat,
but didn't want Confederate money--Sorrowful night--Federal band plays
"Dixie," insult to injury.

General Taylor estimated the force Forrest had now at eight
thousand men, but unless he had some other commands besides Chalmers'
Mississippi division, and Jackson's Tennessee division, it could not
have been so large, for I am confident these two divisions did not have
more than five thousand effective men in them. But they were veterans
who had remained steadfast throughout the war, and who were not yet
ready to say, "hold, enough." As long as they had a government to fight
for, the men of these two divisions, and now with them, would fight to
the end. Chalmers' division moved first, Armstrong in front, to meet the
enemy where he could found, with little thought that this was to be
their last march, and to Armstrong's brigade its last fight, for he
alone, without the whole of his brigade, was to meet the shock of the
last battle of the war so far as I know in this department, or indeed
anywhere else.

In this I think we were more fortunate than our comrades of the
other divisions, and one brigade, which by some mistake or by some one's
fault, whose name I know not, never reached Selma. If they had been able
to do so, the result would have been far different, but regrets now, as
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well as then, are vain and useless. We halted a day at Pickensville on
our march, but were suddenly ordered from that place, and soon reached
Eutaw, near the Warrior river. Here I wrote for the last time during the
war to my wife, and from this letter I will quote to show the situation
as it then was, or as I viewed it.

EUTAW, ALABAMA, March 27th, 1865.

. . ."While we are halted here, waiting for a pontoon to be
laid across the Warrior river, I thought I would write to you, though I
am afraid it may be some time before you get the letter, as I understand
the bottom is overflowed. We are now on the march to Selma, Alabama,
about sixty miles from here. I don't know where we will go from there,
but as the enemy are reported advancing on Selma from Pensacola, I
suppose we will go to meet them. . . . Our prospects for a successful
and honorable ending of the war are gloomy, and unless the God of
nations and of battles interposes His Almighty power, or raises up
friends for us abroad, I see no hope for us. This you know was what I
thought when I was at home a few weeks ago, yet I do not wish my opinion
made public, as I do not want to increase the demoralization and
discouragement. We have rumors now that General Johnston has routed
Sherman in North Carolina, and if this be true it will enable us to hold
on for some time yet, and in the providence of God may bring about a
better state of things.

"I am sorry to say a great many have deserted, not so many, I
think, from our cavalry, though some from it. I saw a poor fellow shot
for desertion a short time ago. He belonged to the brigade, and was shot
in presence of it, but I fear it has failed to check the evil. There are
men enough at home to-day, who belong to the army, to drive the Yankees
from the south, and gain our
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independence, without help from any quarter, but they will not come out
and cannot be driven out. They basely prefer to dodge about the swamps
like runaway negroes, and try to save their miserable lives, to coming
manfully to the assistance of their comrades in the field, who may be
ultimately overborne by numbers and forced to yield."

. . . All the men in the field felt very bitterly towards the
skulkers at home, whose numbers had been for some time increasing,
though all at home or absent from the army were not skulkers, but many
true soldiers, debilitated from disease or wounds, were, at the time I
wrote, absent from our brigade, and this was no doubt true of all the
other commands in the army, infantry, artillery and cavalry alike.

But if we could have had them all, we could not have defeated
the overwhelming force our enemy had; no, not if we could have had every
man in the south would we have been able now to cope with this force.

It is also true that on various pretexts men stayed at home who
ought to have been in the army, not deserters in the legal sense, for
they had never been in the army, or had at an early day got out. There
were a good many of this class, and these were worse than the real
deserters, and were to a great extent responsible for desertions from
the army. There were a good many "fire eaters," who went out at first,
expecting to win fame and glory in a little time, but who were like the
seed in the parable, which was sown on stony ground, which "forthwith
sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth; and when the sun was
up they were scorched; and because they had no root they withered away."
Some of this class were loud in their blame of our generals for
surrendering, and said the fight ought to have gone on while a man was
left to hold a gun. Later I will give an instance.
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But it seems to me I am taking up too much time with this
digression, but to be perfectly candid I hesitate about proceeding with
my story, and would be glad if I could leave out what I have yet to say
of our brigade in the war, for though thirty-five years have passed, it
is painful to think of, and though as I view it through the lapse of
years, glorious in its ending, painful to tell.

We crossed the Warrior river, and moved directly to Marion. We
now knew that the enemy we had to meet was not from Pensacola, but was a
strong cavalry force under General Wilson, who was rapidly nearing Selma
from north Alabama.

Selma was one of the few places of importance in the interior,
which was left in our possession, and which had so far escaped the
ravages of the war. An arsenal was located at the place, and many guns
had been cast there, as I now recall, from iron gotten at the mines near
Monte Vallo, and there was a large supply of ammunition also stored
there. This was Wilson's objective point, and events proved him to be an
able soldier. When we reached Marion, the young recruit from New York,
Henry Elliot, sought and obtained permission to visit his aunt, who
lived near the place. He found her, but I suspect was rather coldly
received, as I gathered from him when he returned next morning to camp,
though she had, he told me, given him a little money. She did not share
his enthusiasm, and I have no doubt told him he had much better have
stayed in the north, for I noticed he seemed depressed.

The romance of the war was indeed gone, only a sense of duty
sustaining the cause, both in the army and among those citizens who had
not yet yielded to the spirit of submission, which was spreading abroad
and casting its baleful influence over the army like a dark shadow
presaging our coming doom.
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From Marion we moved on the last day of March, leaving our wagon
trains behind us, and which we were not to see again, and going not
directly to Selma, but to some point on a road leading directly north
from that place, by which road it was now understood Wilson was
advancing with no one in his front to oppose him.

On the morning of the 1st of April we reached this road, at a
point some fifteen or twenty miles north of Selma. Forrest, with his
usual impetuosity, had reached it before us with his body guard and a
few other men, and had received the charge of Wilson's advance guard,
literally cutting it to pieces. This affair, I think, delayed a little
the advance of Wilson, or made him more cautious, for he did not come in
sight of the brigade, and late in the afternoon we were ordered to fall
back to Selma. We marched till late in the night, it being very dark,
and at one place I remember we were much delayed in crossing a bridge
over a narrow stream with steep banks, a bridge in such bad fix that it
was necessary the men should lead their horses over it. This took a long
time, and Colonel Pinson, having crossed, went on some distance, to stop
and get the men in order as they came up in the darkness, leaving me to
hurry them forward. I went across the bridge myself, and then dismounted
and waited: Once, becoming impatient, I went over the bridge to where I
had left our adjutant, Johnson, to hurry up the men, and it seeming to
me that he was getting along too slow, I spoke rather sharply to him,
which before the dark of next day I would have given anything if I had
not done. He was a brave soldier and a good officer, and a great
favorite with me as with all the command, and never before had I done
so.

Finally all had crossed, and we all got together again, going
into camp till daylight. Later in the day, the 2nd of April, we moved on
into Selma, crossing, I remember,
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some five or six miles north of that place a deep stream with steep
banks and a good bridge, which struck me as a good place to make a
stand; but we moved on and through the breastworks which had long before
been thrown up for the defense of the place, though it had never been
garrisoned, halting near the bank of the Alabama river in a beautiful
grove just east of the town but inside the works. These works extended
in a semi-circle around the town, and at some little distance from the
main part of the town, going, as I remember, to the river on each side;
and to have been properly garrisoned would, I think, have taken twenty
thousand men, perhaps more. Here, at our bivouac, forage was procured
for the horses and rations for the men, and here we rested till three or
four in the afternoon. We had not seen a soldier; we did not know where
Chalmers was with the other brigade of the division and a part of ours.
Jackson with his division was way off towards Tuscaloosa. Before I
proceed with my own account of what befell us on this fateful day, I
will give General Taylor's account of the command Forrest had with him
and where the other part was, and the supposed reasons why it was not on
hand to aid in the defense of Selma, and his dramatic account of his own
escape, for he was in Selma, though we did not see him.

"Our information of the enemy had proved extremely accurate, but
in this instance the federal commander moved with unusual rapidity, and
threw out false signals. Forrest with one weak brigade (this was
Armstrong's), was in the path, but two of his brigadiers permitted
themselves to be deceived by reports of the enemy's movements towards
Columbus, Mississippi, and turned west, while another went into camp
under some misconception of orders. Forrest fought as if the world
depended on his arm, and sent to advise me of the deceit practiced on
two of his brigades, but hoped to stop the enemy if he
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could get up the third, the absence of which he could not account for. I
directed such railway plant as we had to be moved out on the roads,
retaining a small yard engine to take me off at the last moment. There
was nothing more to be done. Forrest appeared, horse and man covered
with blood, and announced the enemy at his heels, and that I must move
at once to escape capture. I felt anxious for him, but he said he was
unhurt and would cut his way through, as most of the men had done, whom
he had ordered to meet him west of the Catawba. My engine started
towards Meridian and barely escaped. Before headway was attained, the
enemy was upon us, and capture seemed inevitable. Fortunately the group
of horsemen near prevented their comrades from firing, so we only had to
risk a fusilade from a dozen, who fired wild. The driver and stoker,
both negroes, were as game as possible, and, as we thundered across the
Catawba bridge all safe, raised a loud "Yah, Yah" of triumph, and smiled
like two sable angels."

Rested and refreshed we moved late in the afternoon towards the
works again, taking a road that led a little northeast, but did not pass
through the works on this road, but when we reached them, turned and
moved west along them. I remember where the works crossed the road I
speak of, there was a small force, some two or three hundred Alabama
state troops, posted. We marched perhaps a mile inside the works, till
we came to the road by which we had entered. The First Mississippi was
at the head of our column, and I was with Pinson at the head of the
regiment. Just in front of us Generals Forrest and Armstrong, with some
members of their respective staffs, were riding. In front of the works
at this place, was an open field for half or three quarters of a mile,
and the road ran through this, gradually ascending to a ridge beyond
which we could not see. On the brow
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of this ridge several horsemen were seen, there may have been
twenty-five or thirty. Naturally, we supposed they were our picket, they
were too far off to distinguish uniforms, but soon a good many more
appeared, and it was evident it was the enemy. Twenty minutes sooner and
they would have been in the works without firing a shot. Whose business
it was to look after a picket on the road I don't know, but I do know
that there ought to have been one there. It is a fact moreover, that no
troops were in the works at this point when we reached this road. Our
regiment was dismounted (I don't remember whether Ballentine's was or
not just then) and deployed in front of the works on the left of the
road, the horses, except field officers', being sent with usual
horseholders to a clump of woods a quarter of a mile in the rear.

We advanced a little ways, perhaps a hundred and fifty yards,
when about an equal force of the enemy appeared, dismounted; their
horses had been withdrawn beyond the ridge and where not in sight, and
shots were exchanged at long range, without damage to us or, I presume,
to them. I never understood the purpose of deploying us in front of the
works, but we were soon recalled, and our regiment occupied the works to
the left, extending from the road to a deep but narrow ravine, which the
works crossed, and which ran for a little ways in front of the works on
our extreme left. Near the road was a special fortification or fort, in
which a few hundred men could find shelter, and embrasures for guns
through the main works. Here one, I believe two guns were now placed.
Ballentine's regiment was in the works on the right of the road, and I
believe this is all of Armstrong's brigade that was present, though
there may have been another regiment still farther to the right; if so,
I have forgotten it.

About half way to the extreme left of the First Mississippi,
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which rested on the ravine spoken of, there was a high earthworks
projecting at right angles from the breastworks, perhaps thirty feet, as
well as I now recall the scene. This was, I suppose, intended to prevent
an enfilading fire if an enemy should gain possession of the works on
either side of it. This has a technical name; I believe it is salient.
Near this work I had my horse tied; he was a very fine one I had lately
been able to buy from a citizen of Greenboro, Mississippi. I walked up
then to the fort, and it was agreed between Colonel Pinson and myself
that if an assault was made on the works I should take charge of the
left, as the line was a long one, and because of these works mentioned
the left could not be seen from the fort, and Major Simmons should
remain near the right and near him. Forrest, Armstrong, Pinson and
myself, with some other officers, were at the fort, and an occasional
shell was fired at the ridge which hid the enemy from us. They presently
brought up a gun and returned our fire, and we all supposed this would
be about the extent of the fight that day, for none of us thought the
enemy would assault the works, exposed as they would be in an open field
for some hundreds of yards. I make no doubt Forrest was either cursing
Chalmers for not coming up, or praying that he might come in the night.
While we were all looking--the sun was nearly down--long, dark line of
men appeared on the brow of the ridge; they moved slowly forward for a
while, and then broke into a cheer and charged, full three thousand men,
as I was afterwards told by an officer in the charge. We could not have
had more than one thousand men in a line at least four hundred yards
long; the First Mississippi having, I know, about four hundred. I
hastened to my place in line, and was barely in time to caution the men
not to fire till I gave the word, as they were as yet too far away for
our fire to be effectual.
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Behind the dismounted men now rapidly approaching could be seen
in the distance, on the brow of the ridge, a strong column of mounted
men, waiting the favorable moment when one should come, to charge. I
could not restrain the men near me; they began firing too soon. But as
the enemy came nearer I could plainly see the deadly effects of our
fire, though it did not check the enemy, who by this time had gotten so
near that they were in equal danger in advancing or retreating. I could
not see what was going on at the right, because of this salient I have
mentioned; but in my immediate front the enemy had gotten to the ravine
and were crowding into it for protection from our fire. At the
particular point spoken of they were, many of them, within twenty feet
of the breastworks. Stepping on the banquette at the base of the
parapet, I fired my Tranter five times into the struggling mass, and had
commenced to reload when I heard wild cheering to the right. There were
four companies with me (two I remember, Captain Cravens' and Captain
Montgomery's); and knowing the enemy in my immediate front were in fact
repulsed, and that two companies would be able to hold the works, I
ordered the two nearest me to follow to the right. As I came round the
salient I saw Forrest, Armstrong, their staffs, and some other mounted
men, with one or two caissons, going at headlong speed towards the city.
Then it was that "bloody with spurring, fiery red with haste" he burst
into the presence of General Taylor, where he was seated on his engine
as stated by him.

I knew that all was lost. The right of the regiment was rapidly
retreating, Pinson with them, and calling halt at every step. There was
no time to speak to him, and hastily calling to the men near me,
unhitching my horse at the same time, we fell back to the ravine, in our
rear, my horse falling dead before we got to it, though
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only a little way, perhaps a hundred feet, to the point where I wanted
to enter it. I could see the enemy pouring over the works to the right,
not a hundred yards away, and the mounted column fast approaching. By
the time I reached the ravine, with the men who were near me, the enemy
was on its brink and firing down upon us. Seeing it impossible to get
away, I gave the last order I ever gave during the war, and that was to
the men to throw down their arms. In a moment a crowd of blue coats was
around us. I suppose I had fifty men with me under Captain Cravens.
Captain Montgomery had got across the ravine, and he was one of the few
men of the regiment who escaped either death, wounds or capture.

I saw at the time no commissioned officer with our captors, the
first man getting to me being a sergeant, as I knew from his chevrons.
He demanded my pistol. After having fired it, I had commenced to reload
it, but only got two cartridges in, without capping those. I handed it
to him, and he asked for my pocketbook. I took it out, and said to him,
"I have a locket with a portrait of my wife, which I would like to
keep." He said, "Certainly," and I opened the book to take it out. As I
did so he saw confederate money in it, and said if this was all the kind
of money I had, he did not want it. This was the "unkindest cut of all."
Replying I had no other money, I put the book back in my pocket. He
looked up and said, "Give me your hat." Now my hat was a new one which
had been smuggled from Memphis into Bolivar county, and my wife had
looped it on one side and embroidered a star on it. I prized it highly,
and hated to give it up. The sergeant himself was bareheaded, having
lost his hat in the charge, and would take no denial, so I gave it to
him with as good a grace as possible. All this took much less time to do
than to tell. He ordered us all to the rear, guarded by the men with
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him. As we went back the sergeant kept by my side, for he knew my rank
and was proud of his capture. Firing still continued towards the city,
as our fleeing men were pursued.

As we went back towards our fort, spoken of at the works, we met
some stragglers of the federal army, and one of these stepped to me, and
putting his gun, a Spencer carbine, at my breast, with an oath, was
about to shoot me, when the brave sergeant at my side threw his gun up,
and standing between us cursed him for a cowardly scoundrel, who had
shirked the fight, and now wanted to murder prisoners. For one brief
moment, helpless and unarmed, I thought I was gone.

We were soon at the fort and we could hear this incident
discussed by our captors, and some thought no prisoners ought to be
taken in retaliation, it was said, for the killing of federals the day
before, in the charge on General Forrest's small command, which I have
related, for it was a rumor, as I found afterwards, that some of their
men had offered to surrender and had been refused quarter. It was of
course not true, but I make no doubt it cost some of our men their lives
that day.

There were brutal men in both armies, like the coward who wanted
to kill me in cold blood, but they were the exception and not the rule.
I had to this time looked anxiously for a commissioned officer, for
while my little sergeant, he was a small man, was I was sure too brave
to be cruel, yet I much preferred to see some officer of rank. The sun
was down and a major belonging, as I was told, to General Wilson's
staff, came up, and to him I introduced myself and related what had
happened and what we heard, and he at once called the sergeant to him
and gave him stringent orders to see that we were protected. I knew at
the time the name of this sergeant
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and of this major also, but have long since forgotten them. As the dusk
came on, Colonel Pinson, who to that time I hoped had escaped, Major
Simmons, Captain Taylor, Lester and other officers, and men of the
regiment and of Ballentine's regiment were brought to us until the work
around the embrasures would not hold them all. In fact, the first
Mississippi cavalry had fought its last fight and almost to a man had
been killed wounded or captured. A fate to be preferred I thought to
that of our comrades in the division and brigade who by some blunder had
failed to be with us, and who yet in a few weeks were compelled to
yield. I will never forget the horrors of that night, as we talked over
the fights, took note of who was with us, and wondered who were gone,
for while nearly every one had some tale to tell of who he had seen
fall, yet we did not know all. The federal loss in front of our regiment
had been very heavy, and all night long ambulances were running
gathering up their wounded and even some of their dead. We knew that our
dead and wounded were lying on the field the whole night long, and we
were powerless. For the dead they were at rest, "no sound could awaken
them to glory again," but for the wounded in that chilly night, the
second of April, 1865, we thought of their sufferings and it intensified
our own sorrows. All at once, with a sudden crash of sound, the air of
"Dixie" broke upon our ears from a band just far enough away to mellow
its tone. It seemed like adding insult to injury. There was no sleep for
us that night, and I longed yet dreaded to see the daylight come.

I have never seen the report which General Wilson made of this
battle, neither Forrest nor Armstrong ever made a report, and its story
is now written for the first time. The sole reference to it is the brief
statement of
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General Taylor, which I have quoted, but there are men yet living, how
many I do not know, the gallant Armstrong among others, who when they
read this story, as I hope some will do, will again share with me the
fierce excitement of the fight and the sorrows of that night of defeat.

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CHAPTER XXII.

Walk over battle-field under guard--Dead and wounded--Henry Elliott,
tribute to him--Adjutant Johnson mortally wounded--Put in stockade--Kind
treatment by federal officers and men--March to Columbus,
Georgia--Lieutenant-Colonel White, of Indiana--Conversation with
him--Colonel Pinson and myself paroled at Columbus--Make our way back to
Mississippi--The war over--Death of Mr. Lincoln, sorrow at the
South--Meridian, Ragsdale House, cost of coffee at meals--Trip home and
incidents--Home again, negroes free--Doubts as to future--Determined to
stand by the state to the end.

The long night came to an end at last, and the morning dawned
upon as woebegone a lot of cavalrymen as was ever seen during the war.
Tired, hungry, sleepy and dirty, we were a hard looking set I imagine if
we looked as bad as we felt. It was not long before the sergeant, who
had taken me prisoner and then saved my life, came to see how I was
getting along, for he seemed to have taken a fancy to me. He was wearing
my hat, and I have no doubt took it home with him, if he lived to get
home, as I hope he did. As long as I was with the federals, this man was
always, when he could, trying to do something for me. His, according to
my recollection, was an Iowa regiment. For a hat I had picked up on the
field before we got to the fort a coarse hat, such as was worn by the
federal soldiers, which must have been the one he dropped, as I had seen
no other one bareheaded except him. One of the Bolivar troops, L. M.
Hunter, who but recently died an honored citizen of the county, had a
good hat, which fitted me, and kindly exchanged with me.
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In the course of the morning Colonel Pinson, Captain Taylor and
myself requested permission to go over the field and see our dead and
wounded. This was promptly granted, and a guard went with us. From the
works to as far as some of our men had gone trying to escape, nearly
half a mile, we found them lying, though some of our wounded had been
picked up and were in hospital under the care of our surgeons.

As we went over the ground we found that the pockets of the dead
had been turned, but little repaid the trouble of the vandals. One brave
fellow, I knew him well, who had gotten farther than any other of those
who were dead, had his pockets also turned out, and by his side lay a
small Bible. He had been noted for his piety as well as for his courage,
and his influence for good was marked. He belonged, I think, to Captain
Lester's company, but this matters little, he was a good man, a brave
soldier, and went to his reward.

As we passed along we came to Henry Elliot, lying upon his back
helpless with both legs and one arm broken. There he had lain the long
night through, with no one to aid him or even give him a drink of water.
Pale, but composed, the seal of death was on his face, but he was fully
conscious, and he told me when he first was hit he stopped and tried to
surrender, but the man who first got to him shot him again and again and
left him for dead. The guard who was with us said it was because he had
on a federal uniform, but this was not true, though he did have on a
pair of sky blue pants. Even if it had been true it was a cruel,
cowardly act, for to look at him was to see he was only a young boy. I
recall that on the day before, in the midst of the fight, I noticed him
and spoke to him and he had answered with a bright smile.

Poor boy, we could do nothing for him, but in a little
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time he was taken to the hospital, where before another day his brave
and cheerful spirit went to its home, and he sleeps in the soil of the
state he loved so well, and within a few miles of the place of his
birth.

Years ago I wrote his romantic story for the "Memphis Appeal,"
and in that letter applied to him those beautiful lines of Moore, when
the Peri, a child of air, seeking a gift which would give her entrance
to the gates of Eden, caught from a dying hero and patriot the

"Last glorious drop his heart had shed,
Before his free-born spirit fled."

And--

"Be this," she cried, as she winged her flight,
"My welcome gift at the gates of light,
Though foul are the drops that oft distil
On the field of warfare, blood like this
For liberty shed, so holy is
It would not stain the purest rill
That sparkles among the bowers of bliss;
Oh, if there be on this earthly sphere
A boon, an offering heaven holds dear,
'Tis the last libation Liberty draws
From the heart that bleeds and breaks in her
cause."

A kind lady in Bolivar county who knew his story and had the
address of his father wrote him an account of Henry's tragic but
glorious death; but whether his relatives at Marion ever knew I do not
know.

Passing on, our guards took us to the hospital hastily prepared
for our wounded, and there we found among others our Adjutant Johnson,
and were shocked to learn from the surgeon in charge, Doctor Montgomery,
that his hours were numbered. We saw him, and all that we could say to
cheer him we did, but at last had to bid him a final adieu, for that
night he died. Many others of the regiment and the brigade were there,
and we saw them all; some lived and some died, but I do not recall the
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names of others. Altogether, about one hundred in the regiment were
killed and wounded, a heavy loss for the number engaged, and about as
many more in Ballentine's regiment. Having seen all that we could see,
we were returned to our place of confinement in the fort. As we had
walked over the field a fellow had taken a fancy to Colonel Pinson's
hat, and would have taken it away from him, but our guards proved to be
as kind-hearted as no doubt they were brave, and would not permit it.

In Selma there was a stockade capable of holding several
thousand men, and with rude barracks, provided long before for federal
prisoners, and it seemed like the very irony of fate that we should be
placed in them, but late that afternoon we were all marched to the
stockade. Many were already there, and the place was well filled. It had
the usual dead-line, beyond which no man could step and live. But while
these precautions were taken, we were kindly treated; rations, which
were much needed, were provided in abundance, and all prepared to make
the best of the situation. Colonel Pinson and myself were invited to eat
with the officer in command of the regiment guarding us
(Lieutenant-Colonel White, of Indiana, I think, for I know later we were
placed in his charge), and, of course, were taken out of the stockade
for that purpose and returned to it when we had eaten. Nothing could
have been in better taste than the courtesy shown us; and though we
talked of the fight and of the war, not a word was ever said which could
have made us feel that we were prisoners. Other officers of this
regiment extended the same hospitalities to other of our officers, and
everything, in fact, was done which could be done to make us
comfortable. I am glad to say this.

The next day I succeeded in getting one of the boys to shave me,
all but a mustache, and cut my hair as close as possible, for
"graybacks" were plentiful in this stockade,
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and this was a necessary precaution. I don't know where the razor and
scissors were found; I suppose we must have gotten some kind-hearted
enemy to get them for us in town. For myself, I was quite unwell at the
time, and sought and obtained without trouble a parole which would
enable me to spend the time in the city, only being required to report
every morning at the barracks. There was a lady living in the city, a
Mrs. Marye, whom I had known at home, and I went to her house and was
gladly received, and by her kindly cared for while we stayed in Selma.
Her husband was not at home, having run away from the enemy, so she
said; but I had reason to believe he was secreted in the house, as he
was not a soldier, and he had no reason to run that I knew of. She had
sought and obtained a federal guard--two, I believe--who remained in the
house, and had not been molested.

General Wilson remained in Selma about a week, and then crossed
the Alabama river, taking all his unwounded prisoners with him. It was
late of an afternoon before we, the prisoners, got over, and we were
marched till late in the night. The prisoners, except the officers, were
not closely guarded, and hundreds escaped, which, I think, was part of
his plan, to scatter them. Others, the next day on the march, were
paroled and scattered all along the road. At our halt the next day about
noon, horses were taken from citizens, and before long all the officers
were mounted, on all sorts of nags, mules, ponies and old plow-horses,
with every variety of saddles and bridles. My friendly enemy the
sergeant brought me a pretty roan pony, with a better saddle and bridle
than most had, but the pony had one drawback--he was blind. However,
with the business I had before me it did not make much difference, only
requiring a little extra care in his management.
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We were, all told, about fifty officers mounted, some had
escaped in the darkness of the night before, and we were now turned over
to the exclusive control of Lieutenant-Colonel White, commanding the
Indiana regiment spoken of. He was kind but vigilant. General Wilson was
moving, as events proved, to Columbus, Georgia, and met with no
opposition on the way except a slight skirmish at Montgomery, Alabama.
Colonel White always invited Colonel Pinson and myself to mess with him
on our halts, and often invited one or the other of us to ride with him
at the head of his column on the march.

We were the officers highest in rank among his prisoners. By
some means, after we had passed Montgomery, he had news that General Lee
had surrendered...
 

From Reid’s Ohio in the War
History Of Fourth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry

"On the 12th of January, 1865, the Fourth left Nashville and moved to Gravelly Springs, procuring its forage off the country, after leaving Columbia. At Gravelly Springs it received the necessary outfit for a long campaign, and the time was spent in drilling and in building quarters and stables. The regiment marched down the river to Waterloo, crossed in transports, and moved to Chickasaw. From this point the baggage was sent to Nashville for storage; the only wagons allowed being those necessary for carrying the ammunition, a small quantity of forage, and sixty days' rations of coffee, thirty of sugar; and fifteen of salt; in addition to this each man carried five days rations on his person. On the 22nd of March General Wilson's cavalry command, of which the Fourth was a part, advanced via Frankfort, Russellville, Jasper, Elyria, and Montevallo to Selma. At Montevella there was a slight skirmish, and on the 1st of April, at Ebenezer Church, fifteen miles from Selma, the enemy was encountered and routed, losing three pieces of artillery and between two and three hundred prisoners. On arriving within six hundred yards of the works at Selma, April 2nd, the troops dismounted and established a skirmish line. Wilder's brigade occupied the right and Fourth was on their left. The entire charging force only amounted to fifteen hundred men, as one-fourth of the original number were holding the horses. When the word "Forward" was given, the Rebels had already opened with shell; and when the attacking party appeared in full view, it was met with a shower of grape and canister, while small arms poured in their still more destructive fire. Five hundred yards of open ground were passed over and the works were reached. The men pulled up or pushed aside the palisades, jumped into the ditch, and mounted the works. The Rebels fled and our men pursued, crossing a swamp, and capturing a two-gun lunette; pressing forward they advanced across a cotton field as level as a floor, and captured another lunette mounting five guns. Here the line halted, all opposition having ceased. Fifty men of the Fourth, killed and wounded, lay near the enemy's works, with scores of bleeding, dying heroes of other regiments. The dead were buried with military honors. The arsenal and navy-yard were destroyed, and on April 6th the column took up the line of march, capturing Montgomery and Columbus, and reached Macon on the 20th of April."
"Here it remained, performing guard and patrol duty, until May 23rd, when it proceeded via Atlanta and Chattanooga, to Nashville, where it arrived June 25th, and was mustered out in the latter part of July, 1865."