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Regiment: 4th Michigan Cavalry
Battles Mentioned: Shelbyville, Tennessee; Tullahoma Campaign, Tennessee
Historical Figures: David S. Stanley, George Crook, Gordon Granger, Horatio P. Van Cleve, Robert H. Minty, Robert B. Mitchell
Camp at McMinnville Tenn Aug 14 1863
My dear Davidson
Yours of 29th ult with post-
script of the 30th I received several days
ago. I have been looking for another from
you in answer to one I sent by Porter enclosing
$250. I suppose the money safely reached you.
You will see by the heading above that we
have again dropped back into Tennesee. We are
now cooperating with Genl Van Cleve’s Division which
is stationed here. I have met Otis his A.A.G. sev-
eral times. We are now watching the left
flank of our army and East Tennesee. We
shall not probably stay here very long. We have
been on a couple of scouts since our arrival and
in one of them the 4th Mich had three men
killed. Our Brigade now consists of
4th Regulars. 4th Michigan. 7th Penna and 3d In-
Diana. 1st Brigade 2d Cavalry Division. Genl
Turchin was removed from the command about
two weeks ago, and Genl Croaks commands
the Division. We however are detached from
the Division for the present. Genl Stanley still
commands the total cavalry and Col Minty the Brig-
ade. I am yet A.A.A.G. in spite of the above heat
ing. I have been very well, and am so
now, tho’ not quite as tough for the last two
weeks. I am beginning to be troubled with
head aches from which I never suffered be-
fore, and ten days ago was threatened with
a fever, that however I drove off. I am
one to the toughest of them. I am very
sorry you did not receive my letter of the 28th
June as in it I described as well as I could
what I saw in the battle at Shelbyville. The
thing was warm then and to give a descript
tion of it now when it is old and cold is
not as easy as it was then. I send you
with this fine Southern papers in two packages
and Col Minty’s official report of our actions
since Caving Murfreesboro. I wish you
would have it published in one of the Kalamazoo
papers. We have sent it to the Detroit Free
Press and advertiser and it will probably appear
in a few days. I wish you would keep a
copy for me and also send me one. You
see my name is mentioned in it. I will de-
scribe it to you as well as I can. When
we started from Christiana in the morning
our Brigade which had not acted with our Divis-
ion (that being about 15 miles to our left) for
several days was in the rear. Genl Mitchell
and the 1st Division having the advance. Genl
Stanley and Genl Granger having command of
the movement. After marching a few miles
and some time before reaching Guys Gap Genl
Stanley sent back word to Col Minty to “take
the lead with his Brigade the 1st Div be-
ing too I [ ? ] slow” So we filed by Genl
Mitchell and his Div and took the advance.
I will show you how we were situated, thus
[hand drawn map takes up rest of page]
If you can make much out of that you are swart.
Guys Gap is about nine or ten miles from Shelbyville
tho’ on the sketch it looks like a short half. Allow for
fore shortening. As we approached the Gap the
1st Mid Tenn as you will see by the report were ahead
We were right behind saw the chase and hall[ ? ]
ed them on. We followed them through the Gap
they by that time having disappeared in the distance
After calling in the other regiments which were out
as flankers we followed them at a swart trot
4 or 5 miles. About a mile from the house marked
at the bottom of the page, the column was halted, We
the Field + Staff rode up to the house from which
we could see the enemy’s works. The house was on
one hill and the entrenchments on another about a
mile or more apart. The rebel rifle pits and en-
trenchments were twelve miles long extending from
a place called Horse Mt to the Duck river in
the form of a curve and completely protecting Shelbyville
where we entered them it was three miles in front of
the town. For about a half mile in front of the
pits the ground was perfectly clear every tree cut
down and almost every stump uprooted a dangerous
place to go over when a reb was squinting over a rifle bar-
rel. In front of the cleared place about an abbtis of
felled trees was place about ¼ of a mile wide and
2
reaching the full length of the entrenchments. There
were trees tumbled down and mixed in the most wonderful
confusion, a scientific slashing which was almost
impossible for a very small short tailed dog. This
slashing was not in the road. The house was
about half a mile back of that. As soon as
we appeared at the house the rebels opened on us with ar-
tillery from their guns in the entrenchments (I have
marked where they stood. They were afterwards moved
into the town as soon as the 4th Michigan struck
them on the night) Their shots were all thrown
over our heads, and we did not mind them much.
You may think that strange but it is actually so. The
family were in the house and were well frightened, ev-
ery time a shell would go over us the darkies
would throw themselves on the floor and “halle-
lujah” They fired some 15 or 20 shells at us
without doing any damage. We were there about an
hour. Col Minty sent back for the different
regiments to come up. As they came up my
darkey appeared leading a fresh horse for me. The
one I was on was pretty badly used up. I shifted
saddles and remounted. The 7th Penna (one
battalion or 1/3 of them) under Capt Davis were dismounted and sent
forward on foot to feel the way directly in
front and drive any of the rebels out of the a-
battis if any were there. The 4th Michigan
was sent to the right mounted about ¾ of a mile with orders to
enter the rebel works at all or any cost. Off
they started keeping hidden behind trees as much
as they could. The 3d Indiana was sent
to the left with the same orders. The other
two battalions of the 7th Pa. the 4th Regulars +
what we could gather to gether of the 1st Mid Tenn
remained with us at the house. We stayed
there about a half hour watching Capt Davis
and his dismounted men creep and dodge to-
wards the entrenchments. The rebels were blazing
away at them when they could get a chance but
our men kept themselves so well covered that
nobody was hurt” The artillery too was thun-
dering at us. We had no artillery as nothing
but our Brigade was within 7 miles of us.
In about half an hour we heard the Michi-
gan Rifles (Colts Revolvers) backing away to
the right and the rebels in front of us
appeared to be inwardly disturbed. Their artil-
lery immediately became “demoralized” and “chang-
ed into bare” back into town. At this mo-
ment Col Minty ordered Thompson of the 7th
Penna to charge up the hill and over the
entrenchments. I went with them. Couldn’t
hold in any longer. Away we went with sabres
drawn and our horses doing their prettiest. As
we entered the works we passed the dismounted
men of the 7TH Penna who cheered and
threw up their hats in right loyal style. I can
hear them now even above ours which were
none of the weakest. After entering we
met the 4th Michigan driving the rebels from
the right and it was one grand scene of con-
fusion. Every body dashing frantically ahead
and seeing who could be in at the death first.
Terrified butternurts and exultant blue coats.
We kept on down the road about two miles
when we saw a perfect stream of butternuts
who had been driven from the left and who
were running across the Fairfield Road through
the lots for Skull Camp Bridge. About twenty
of us turned up the Fairfield Road to the
left to cut them off. Where the Fairfield and
Main Roads joined there was a lot surrounded
by a very high staked board fence (slabs driven
endways into the ground) The rebels were pour
int through this and across Fairfield Road when
we struck them. Just before I reached the
stream of them I saw a rebel in the lot dismounted
aiming through the force at me. He was not more
than 25 feet off, half way across the road, at the
same moment I was firing at a rebel who was
escaping through the fence at my right. I missed
mine though I fired twice at him. My friend
on the left fired at me and struck my horse
on the fore leg, but did not wound him enough
to disable him immediately. At the moment
the reb fired he was cut down by two Penn-
sylvanians. Just then I sat upon something
sharp, or at least felt a severe pain in the place
where the body fits the saddle, I supposed that
I was shot there and about the only feeling I
had about it was mortification that I should
be struck in the back. I was very much bored
about it for a moment in two, and the place
where troubled me more than the wound. So you
see about what a little thing one will be thinking
of in a fight. I was neither hurt nor scratched
All this time my horse was on the jump approach
ing the place where the rebels were escaping from
the lot. I had emptied my pistol and put it in the
holster. At them we went with sabres, to cut in-
two the stream. They out numbered us at least
five to one, but they were terribly frightened. I knock-
ed two from their horses and we at last managed
to turn them back into the lot. For a few minutes
it was clubbed musket, and sabre cutting. I never
was in such a tight place before. Men were knocked
from their horses without the slightest regard being
paid as to whether the place was a good one to dis-
mount or not. I was not hurt. As soon as
we had turned back the stream of rebels we com-
menced to take prisoners. We had so many that we could
take them in no formal way. We made them dismount
let their horses go throw their arms on the ground
3
and march into a corner. We took
about 80 or 100 which was fully 4 times our
number. We had so many that we began to
look anxiously for some more of our men to
help us guard them. In a few minutes a company
of 7th Pa appeared and relieved us. We rode
back to where Col Minty was a half mile
back from the corner and found that about
350 prisoners had been taken in all. All over the
field just such little quarrels had taken place
as I had seen. The rebels were in the
town at the four corners with their artillery. They
were going to make a stand there. Col Minty sent
back to Genl Mitchell for some artillery. In about
half an hour it came up and two pieces were
stationed in the road less then half a mile from
the rebel battery, one on each side of the road. A
shot was fired from each an dthe 7th Pa under
Capt Davis dashed forward on to the rebels between our guns I
went with them too. The rebels fired one round too
from their artillery and “skedaddle” One of their
shells burst about 15 feet from me killing one
man and two horses. My horse almost trod on
the man as he tumbled. Davis and his men
went in like fiends and cut down the drivers
of one of the c[ ? ] before it could be stirred
but a little ways. The main body of the
rebels turned first around the corner to the left
then the next to the right towards the bridge.
At the R.R. Depot they tried to make a stand and
gave us a volley from the buildings. Three or four
of our men fell close by me. One poor fellow was
pitched headlong from his horse into a mud pud-
dle a few inches deep and as I passed him his
eyes were setting and his mouth gasping being half
filled with mud and water. We drove the reb-
els into the river where they were drowned
by the dozens. As we reached skull camp
Bridge the 3d Indiana struck the Ford
near the mill on the left driving crowds of
frightend rebels before them into the water.
43 dead rebs have already been taken out from
the river at the ford and 75 near the bridge.
On the bridge the 3d piece of artillery was
taken from them. After the whole thing
was over Genl Mitchell rode up and about
two hours after him in came Genl Granger and
the next day it is telegraphed all over the
country that Genl Mitchell’s Division of Cavalry
had taken Shelbyville and that Genl Gran-
ger had entered the place a conqueror +c +c
All sheer humbug neither Genl Mitchell nor
Genl Granger were within four miles of the town
while there was any fighting going on and I
do not believe either of them was near enough
to bear the artillery firing. Not another
soul had anything to do with it excepting our
first Brigade. We felt very sore when we
saw the newspaper reports. All in the army here say
that it was the most brilliant Cavlary dark
of the war and had it happened in the
Potomac Army would have been heralded far
and wide. After arriving at the river
my horse became so lame I was compelled
to give him up. Col Minty mistakes my
horse was not wounded in the Battery charge but
in the first one. Send me a Free Press
with the Col’s report if you do not get it printed.
I have strung this out to a pretty good
length more than I intended when I started
Let me hear from you soon. I have received
nothing from Kalzoo since the 30th nor
“from any other man” or woman. We
are hoping to be pushed ahead and he in
at the death of the rebellion. I wish it
may not be far off. Give my love to
Mother. I did receive her letter by Mr.
Miller. Do not forget to send those boots
by Porter. Joe Huston has resigned and
expects to start for home in a few days.
Good bye. God bless you all.
This to Mother too, Your affect son + brother
Direct Murfreesboro R. Burns
[On Envelope:]
J. Davidson Burns Esq
Kalamazoo
Michigan
