Detachments of the Twelfth Indiana Volunteer Cavalry were also involved in Skirmishes near Decatur Alabama, December 27 to 28th. These detachments came down from Murfreesboro to Huntsville and joined with the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry under Colonel William Palmer's command. Reporting to Col. Palmer was also the cavalry under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Prosser and included men from the 2nd Tennessee, and the 10th, 12th, and 13th Indiana, numbering in all about 300 men. The following is from a report written by Colonel Wm. J. Palmer:
Because of high water the group had to take a circuitous route to Decatur, taking over four days and arriving on the north bank of the Tennessee opposite Decatur on December 28. Prosser and his cavalry were sent on the main Courtland road and first encountered the enemy at Hillsboro. After a running skirmish of five miles more they met General Roddey's main force drawn up in two lines at Pond Springs. Without hesitation Prosser's men charged the enemy and broke their lines, routing them so completely that they fled through Courtland and for eight miles beyond to Town Creek. Forty-five prisoners were captured in this affair, including three commissioned officers. The rebels lost 1 man killed and 2 wounded while Prosser's loss was 1 man wounded.
The history of the Twelfth Indiana in "Battle Flags and Organizations" lists the above as skirmishes of detachments near Decatur, at Hillsboro and Pond Springs Alabama from December 27 to the 29th. Additional skirmishes are listed at Leighton, Russellville, and Thorn Hill Alabama from December 30 through January 4. For these latter engagements the report of Colonel Palmer continues: He was aware that the whole of Forrest's cavalry had just crossed the river and it would be necessary to advance with caution. On Friday, December 30 they reached Leighton Alabama, 13 miles west of Courtland. They skirmished nearly all the way against parties of Roddey's cavalry, who attempted to delay them by burning the bridge over Town Creek. During this time Roddey's cavalry was attempting to protect General Hood's supply trains as the rebels headed toward Tupelo Mississippi. Colonel Palmer had learned that Hood finished crossing the Tennessee on Tuesday the 27th and had taken up his pontoon bridge by Wednesday morning. The entire pontoon train of 200 wagons had passed through Leighton on Thursday the day before Palmer's troops arrived. Leaving Leighton before daylight on Saturday the 31st, the Union force passed through Russellville about 1 p.m. and met up with a portion of Roddey's force. After a skirmish the Federals continued to pursue the train. The Reb's had burned the bridge over Cedar Creek but the Fed's found a ford and they caught up with the rear of the pontoon train ten miles beyond Russellville. Capturing a few prisoners, they burned the boats, wagons and anything they could not take back.
A negro servant of the Rebel Captain of engineers told Palmer that a large supply train of General Hood was ahead. Leaving in pursuit early the next morning (Sunday) they surprised it in camp a few miles into Mississippi. In Colonel Palmer's own words: "It consisted of 110 wagons and over 500 mules. We burned the wagons, shot or sabered all the mules we could not lead off or use to mount prisoners, and started back. In one of the wagons was Colonel McCrosky, of Hood's infantry, who had been badly wounded at Franklin. I left a tent with him, some stores, and one of the prisoners to take care of him. About twenty of the teamsters were colored U.S. soldiers of the garrison captured by Hood at Dalton; these came back with us."
Palmer estimated the enemy cavalry in the area at three times his own strength and attempted to evade them by a night march of twenty three miles. They unexpectedly came on a force commanded by Colonel Russell whom they attacked twelve miles east of Thorn Hill. Lieutenant Colonel Prosser led the advance which included the detachment of the Twelfth Indiana Cavalry. They routed him speedily and captured five wagons including his headquarters wagons containing official brigade papers. They freed a large number of conscripts along with eight Indiana soldiers who had been captured at Decatur.
Colonel Palmer summarizes the results from December 31 to January 6: " We took about 150 prisoners after leaving Leighton, including 2 colonels, 2 captains, and 6 lieutenants, and destroyed in all between 750 and 1000 stand of arms, and captured a considerable number of pistols. Our entire loss, 1 man killed and 2 wounded, all of Lieutenant Colonel Prosser's command, in the charge on Russell's force."
Early in January the Twelfth Indiana Cavalry went into winter quarters at Nashville. The exact date is not known and varied by company or detachment. Per Henderson Company E would have been in Nashville by January 5th. From the letters of Charles Harper we assume that he was in Paint Rock Alabama on December 30 on the day the "rebs" made a raid and partially burned the bridge there. His letter was written from Paint Rock Bridge January 10 1865 and his next letter on January 20 was from Nashville where they were in camp about two miles east. Judd Coomer, the bugler of Company C, 12th Ind. Cavalry, sent his reminiscences of January and February 1865 to the St. Joseph County Independent which were printed June 16 1888. Then living in Huron, Dakota, Coomer relates his experiences as follows: "Here we went into camp, it being very cold, with plenty of rain and snow and scanty rations, and scarcely half of us had clothes to cover ourselves. We camped at Edgefield, up the Cumberland river some two miles from the city of Nashville. Wood was very scarce except the white gum tree, which we had to get out of the log with a pick, as you could do nothing with an ax." After relating a story of a dunking in the river trying to get wood he continues: "O. P. Morton, the old war governor of Indiana, came to see us and make a speech. He notified the officers to call us out, and all went out that had clothes to cover their nakedness. The Governor mounted a big box to speak, and those of us who had no clothes stood in front of tents. This the Governor saw and he got down from the box and started down through the camp peeking into all the tents. When he called at mine I was in my bunk rolled up in a blanket somewhat under the weather from my cold bath the night before, but he asked me to come out, as he wanted to see the faces of all the Indiana soldiers. I told him that I had no clothes to wear. He said `Come out anyway,' in a trembly voice. My paraphernalia consisted of a hat with no crown, one pair of socks and another pair for boots, three-fourths of a blouse, as one sleeve was gone, and that just about completed my wearing apparel. While speaking tears rolled down the Governor's cheeks and he said, `Soldiers be of good cheer; you will get clothing soon.' We did, I think, the next day, about the 10th of February."
Most of the men had suffered from the hardships of sleeping on the ground and poor rations during the prior year. Charles Harper had a bout of ague in October, 1864 and Malachi Pool's pension papers tell of being on sick call that year. In the latter's file is an affidavit from Daniel P. Kelly who served with him in Company H. Writing February 14, 1887, Kelly says Malachi took sick in August, 1864 while hunting bushwackers around Huntsville, Alabama. He thought Malachi's heart and back trouble were due to the "hard service and hard fare" as they had been living on "hard tack fried in grease and old fat pork". (Kelly, who was probably less than 50 years old in 1887, had to have the letter written for him because of his blindness.)
While at Nashville, Harper wrote home in January of 1865 but did not complain too much of hardship. Possibly he did not want to worry his family though one can read between the lines. In his January 20th letter he relates that the Indiana Sanitary Commission had sent an agent to receive supplies and distribute them to the Indiana soldiers. The agent stopped on his way from the city and got all the potatoes and onions he could carry. On the morning of Jan. 20 he brought onions and kraut to the troops. In a letter on January 28 he tells of not enough clothing and he was just issued boots though the size 12 was too large. They also were issued carbines and sabers and spent time in drilling. On February 8th he writes that a furlough is impossible as they must be ready to march on short notice. He indicates it is snowing but things aren't so bad since they got new clothing.
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