"They Was In There Sure Enough"

[Draggingtree]

"They Was In There Sure Enough"

 

The Battle of Spring Hill

BY DOUGLAS R. CUBBISON

 

Spring Hill, Tennessee, saw periodic action throughout the Civil War. In November 1864 the small hamlet became a strategic target for two enemy armies engaged in a deadly race.

 

In 1861, Spring Hill was a small Tennessee town located halfway between Columbia and Franklin on the old National Road. The businesses and farms of the community were dominated by the imposing mansions of wealthy planters, places with romantic names like Ferguson Hall, White Hall, Rippavilla, and Oak Lawn.

 

In the winter of 1862 war came to Spring Hill when a jaunty, handsome general from Mississippi by the name of Earl Van Dorn led his mounted cavaliers into the region. They had just destroyed a Union supply depot at Holly Springs. Mississippi and the troopers were to spend the winter camped around Spring Hill.

 

On March 5, 1863, a Federal reconnaissance column left from Franklin in the direction of Spring Hill. The Union command unwisely marched beyond range of its supporting forces, and encountered Van Dorn's aggressive cavalry at Thompson's Station. After a rough fight, the Federals ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrender to the Confederate general. Van Dorn lost only 351 men while inflicting casualties of 48 killed. 247 wounded and 1,151 captured. It was his finest moment as an officer.

 

Allegedly, Van Dorn chose to celebrate this victory in the arms of "a young and handsome" woman named Jessie McKissick Peters. It was rumored that Jessie was "often seen with Gen. Van Dorn and other dashing young officers on their fine horses." On May 7, 1863, her husband, Dr. Peters, called on General Van Dorn at his headquarters at Ferguson Hall. The private interview terminated abruptly when Dr. Peters fatally shot Van Dorn. http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/springhill/spring-hill-history-articles/springhillhg.html