Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 7.djvu/617

134 a grateful relief from Confederate attentions by this diversion, and moved on to Louisville, destroying some property at Starkville, and a shoe factory on the road. One company, under Captain Forbes, dashed to Enterprise and demanded its surrender, but the place was held by Generals Buford and Loring. The raiders then passed through Louisville and Philadelphia without resistance and, reaching Decatur April 24th, struck the Southern Mississippi railroad and destroyed a few locomotives and cars, and a considerable quantity of firearms and military stores in the vicinity of Newton Station. At Garlandville, according to Grierson's report, he "found the citizens, many of them venerable with age, armed with shotguns and organized to resist an approach. As the advance entered the town these citizens fired upon and wounded one of our men. We charged upon them and captured several." After passing this place Griersorn decided to cross the New Orleans railroad at Hazlehurst and join Grant at Grand Gulf. He destroyed military stores at Hazlehurst and Gallatin; but on advancing from the latter place was met at Union Church by Capt. S. B. Cleveland of Wirt Adams' regiment, and on the next day Colonel Adams appeared at his front. Thus foiled in his movement toward Grand Gulf, Grierson fell back through Brookhaven, burning some bridges on the railroad and appropriating horses along the road as he fled rapidly toward the Louisiana line, pursued by Adams as far as Greensburg, La.

During the same period General Chalmers was occupied in northwestern Mississippi with an infantry expedition from Memphis, under Col. George E. Bryant, Twelfth Wisconsin, supported by Gen. W. S. Smith. At Hernando, on the evening of April 18th, Col. W. C. Falkner attacked the enemy, and a severe engagement followed in which Falkner lost about 40 killed and a proportionate number wounded and captured, while the Federal loss was considerable. Bryant then advanced