The Life and Adventures of Thomas L Fuller

Alabama Cavalry Company F | home Muster roll Contact Susette Cook

The Life and Adventures of Thomas L. Fuller,

During the Civil War Between the States

submitted by Robert Powell

This 10 legal page manuscript was recited

by Thomas Fuller to Robert Powell wife's granfather around 1921.

{are comments by Susette Cook}

I enlisted from what is called the Cotton Belt of the State of Alabama, consisting of Bibb, Perry, Dallas, Green and Marengo Counties. I was going to College at Summerville, Alabama, when hostilities began. My teacher volunteered and went among the first soldiers-- and was killed in one of the first battles. I received papers to go to Richmond and join the Infantry, but my father told me if I would go, he preferred that I join the Cavalry. This I did. Col. S. J. Murphy organized for Coast defense and we took shipping for Mobile, Alabama, at once, and spent a part of the winter there, drilling. Joe C Breckenridge was Commander of the post at that time.

Just prior to the battle of Shiloh we took shipping for Corrinth, Mississippi. We were not in the battle, but were kept for picket and scouting duty. After the battle we marched overland to North Alabama, where we were organized into regiments and brigades, consisting of the First Alabama, Third Alabama and the Fifth Alabama Regiments, which included Gen. John Wheeler’s Brigade. We were camped near a depot on the Selma, Rome and Dalton R.R. I saw a lot of soldiers on the platform and I went by to see what they were doing. I saw a man put the Jack of Hearts under the bottom of the deck-- and then wanted to bet any man $50.00 that the Jack of Hearts was not at the bottom of the deck-- and behold, it was not there. I looked at him and told him he had taught me a lesson I would never forget; he wanted to know what it was-- and I told him, “Betting on another man's tricks”. I was then a boy of 17 years. I am now 78 years, but I have kept the faith. The losing of the $50.00 was well spent as far as I was concerned.

Before I go any further with this War story-- I must go back to my childhood days in the wild and wooly cane-breaks of Eastern Louisiana. In 1843 my father, three brothers and four cousins (all of them had slaves) entered thousands of acres of Government land at $1.23 per acre. This land was divided among them and they drew lots for said land. Their first duty was to build houses and clear the land. They were the greatest cane breaks I have ever seen in any country, and every kind of wild beast and fowls of the air and fishes of the streams were to be had for the killing. It was all the white men could do to keep the varmints from catching the negros and white children, also the cows, hogs and calves-- and then they did not succeed. My Uncle, Lakin Calaway, who lived up and across the bayou, sent a negro woman to my father's after something and just after crossing the bayou on a foot log, she saw that something was following her. She did not realize what it was until she saw the panther creeping up on her; she began to run and the panther took out after her and she saw that he was going to catch her. She left the path and fell down and fell in some bushes and leaves and threw her apron over her head. The panther came up to her and smelt all over her and began to finish covering her up with leaves. After this was accomplished he would walk off and look back. Aunt Molly was waiting for the panther to holler for her mate-- and when he did so, Aunt Molly left her bed of leaves and broke for my father's house. She had about three-quarters of a mile to run. It was a life-and-death chase. Had it not been for the brave dogs and deer hounds lying under the house, they would have caught Aunt Molly. The dogs ran panthers off in the cane-breaks.

My father always had two or three guns, one double barrel shot gun and one homemade rifle, of long range, and large caliber for bear, panther and deer, and one or two smaller guns for we boys to keep the coons and squirrels from eating up the corn. My father had some summer shacks built at some sulfur springs, about six miles from the farm, for my mother and the smaller children. My father would go to the farm in the mornings and return to the camp late in the evening.

On one occasion he had the hounds with him; they got after something at a deer lick and ran it up a bended tree that leaned over the path or road. My father could not tell whether it was a panther or a bear. The moon was shining so he moved about until he got the varmint between him and the moon. At the crack of the rifle the thing made a leap and came near knocking him off his horse-- and behold, a big panther that measured ten feet from tip to tip. Father always carried a lariat so he fastened his to the panther and made his horse pull it into camp. My mother and we little chaps were terribly scared. I remember another incident of my father's marksmanship with old Sawyer (the name of the home-make rifle).

One morning there came a sprinkle of snow-- enough to track a deer. My father went afoot and in a short time found deer tracks, then the sun came out and he discovered three deer standing with their sides to him. They were about at quarter of a mile from him and he dropped all three in their tracks, and three other small ones he didn't see were also killed. That is some deer at one shot with a rifle, don't you think? Six in all.

Now I will give you a few bear stories if you are inclined to listen. My father, Uncle Green and J. Frank Fuller killed a tremendous bear near my father's house in the cane break. My Uncle Green lived north of the bayou and it fell to him to go over and get a wagon to haul the bear in. He went through the bottom, as it was much nearer. On his way he discovered a little cub bear playing in an open space, in the sunshine. He thought that he would kill it-- put it on his shoulder and take it home. He did not give the little cub a death shot, and he began to cry-- and the mother bear came tearing out of the can break. My uncle did not have time to reload his rifle and he had to take to a tree close by The mother bear latterly gnawed the stock off his rifle. Then began to look for Uncle Green. She discovered him up the tree and she went up after him. Fortunately for Uncle Green, there was a smaller tree about five or six feet from the larger tree. A good sized limb ran out from the larger tree-- but would not hold the weight of the bear-- but she would hold to the tree with one paw and reach out after Uncle Green on the other tree, with the other paw. My Uncle kept yelling for help until my father and J. Frank Fuller went to his aid and shot the bear. J. Frank Fuller told me that Uncle Green had all the bark worn off the little tree. Well, they had two big bears and one little one and no wagon.

I would like to give you one little story of Ike and his hatchet. Ike was a large heavyset man. He practiced with his hatchet throwing at trees until he became almost perfect and could hit the mark any time, any reasonable distance. My father sent him over to Uncle Green's. My Uncle had a sweet potato patch planted near the bottom. After crossing the bayou and approaching near the fence, Ike saw a mother bear and her cub grabbing potatoes. I don't know whether you know how a bear gets over a fence or not, but at any rate they climb up on top the fence and then turn around and climb down like a man would. When the bear had his head-up back to Ike, he let drive with his hatchet and split the back of the head open-- and Ike had a dead bear. He caught the cub bear and took it to my Uncle's house. They took a wagon and team, after the mother bear. Ike was some marksman with is little hatchet. He died in the prime of manhood.

I have one other matter to relate which proved to be the most important to me during the Civil War. That is Sniffing the Candle. About two acres was the playground for the white children and the negro children. The houses were in a half circle, and this plat of ground was kept clean. At night father would place a burning candle 130 or 200 feet away and have us practice in putting it out. He called it “sniffing the candle”. My brothers and I kept trying until we would hit the candle oftener than miss it.

In the latter part of 1856 my father and family went on a trip overland, to Alabama, to assist in settling his father's estate, which consisted largely of real-estate and negros. This business was not settled when the War began, in 1861.

I was then in my 17th year. In the spring of ‘61 I joined the Cavalry and took shipping for Mobile, Ala., Corinnth, Miss. Thence to North Alabama, there the brigade was organized. We were then full-fledged soldiers under the command of Joe Wheeler, subject to duty, any and everywhere. He loved his men and his soldiers loved him. We were in the battle of Murphysborough, which was a hard-fought battle. My company lost three men there. We were then sent down on the Columbia River to look after a couple of gun boats. We captured one of the boats and everything on it. Was then ordered back to the Army.

In the course of time Gen. Bragg started on his raid in Kentucky. Much preparation was made by Gen. Bragg before going into the State. The cavalry had to protect the rear of Bragg’s Army. They sure had a tough time of it. We had a pitched battle at Fort Pillar. Lieutenant Flippin was in command of our scout. Our cavalry was in line of battle in a lane. Flippin had his horse killed and he took to the corn field and the Yankee Lieutenant after him. Lieutenant Flippin killed the Yankee, caught his horse and rode him out and was not hurt.

We lost two men at Monmouth Cave. We crossed the river at Fort Pillar, where General Forrest captured the Fort and killed all the negroes. May I stop here and relate a matter that happened to General Forrest in Selma, Ala?

Two or three years after the War, (I think he was engaged in railroading) he was in Selma on business and wanted to get a shave and was directed to a good shop. The negro found out that it was General Forrest and asked if he was the General Forrest that took Fort Pillar. The General told him he was. The negro barber told him he had a brother killed in that battle. The barber had him about half-shaved. The General got out of the chair, paid his bill and went to some other place to have his shave finished. The General said the negro might cut his throat while shaving him, for revenge.

The Federal soldiers kept us on the march pretty nearly all the time and sometimes we would have to stop and give them battle. I remember at one time General Bragg changed his course to the northeast. Wheeler's cavalry had to form line to check them. I was on the skirmish line as usual. Behind a cross fence, behind us was level and in front of us was upgrade. They ran their battery just in the edge of the field in plain view.

In a short time here came a Yankee running down the hill between us and the battery stopped about 50 yards away. I says to myself “young Man, it is not a safe place for you”. I took the distance to be a quarter of a mile or more. I fixed my gun at ¼ mile and at the fire I saw the dust raise below him. He still stood there. I raised my sight just a little and at the fire of the gun he yelled and ran, got behind the battery. I am sure I gave him a flesh wound.

They began shelling. I did not like the sizzling of the shells but they were shelling our men behind us. I am of the opinion that when Bragg changed his course that what men were following him after the battle of Fort Pillar turned to the northwest to form a junction with General Bervell, because there was no fighting to amount to anything until we got to Berryville, Kentucky.

The day before the battle I had been suffering with nervous toothache. I got permission to go in town for something to ease my tooth. The name of the Doctor was Allen. He would not let me leave until the tooth was easy. I thanked him, got on my horse and rode away.

I had not eaten anything nor slept any for two days and nights. Out in the edge of town I saw some shocks of corn in a field. I laid the fence down, lead my horse inside, put up the fence and fed good, spread my blanket down by another shock of corn and was dead asleep in five minutes.

When I woke up next morning I was completely lost-- did not know where I came from and did not know where I wanted to go. I was hungry and nothing to eat. I did not want to punish the horse because I had nothing to eat, so gave Charley a good bite of corn for breakfast. While he was eating, I was trying to find somebody to find out something. Charley had finished his meal. I looked and saw a small bunch of soldiers over a mile away. I saddled up, led out, put up the fence, mounted, put out to where the soldiers were.

I found them to be my own company. After giving an account of myself, Captain Cathy pointed away in the distance in the valley, to a battery near a big white house. He said “We are going to charge that battery pretty soon. When the command “Fall in” was given, I fell in.

We charged the battery and could not get to it because of entanglements such as a horse could not get through. General Hogan told me to open a big gate just in front of a large white house. I opened the gate and ran on and opened another gate that led out into the woods. This gave a little check in the column and we lost Captain Cathy, Orderly Sergeant J. W. Deshazo, Private Cline and the Todd Brothers.

I discovered two men running to climb a tall fence. I ran up to them and made them throw down their arms and get back on my side of the fence. I looked over inside the field and saw a brigade of Yankees lying down, supporting the battery.

One man raised up on his knees to shoot. We shot about the same time. I saw him tumble over and at the same time felt the sting of his bullet in my shoulder. I looked down and not one of our men could I see. I wheeled my horse to get away and one of the Yanks picked up his gun and shot my horse before I could get out of reach. I stopped there. The command was passing through the fence. One of the men said, “Hello Uncle Fuller, your horse is shot, is he?” I replied that my horse was wounded in the hip, that I had two men prisoners and after the man shot me and I killed him, I thought it was time I was leaving and one of the men shot my horse before I could get away.

The Doctor examined my shoulder and said if it had been ½ inch lower it would have busted my shoulder all to pieces, but the ball tore the meat from the bone. I was ordered to the rear and had to go by Dr. Allen’s office, and there met my Captain in his last expiring moments, though he recognized me.

This Dr. Allen was the doctor that had eased my tooth the morning before. If I had known what was in wait for me, I believe I’d have played hooky and found another field of corn for myself and horse. I had to cross the river to an infantry hospital, where I was well cared for.

After my wound was dressed and I had had something to eat and my horse fed, I felt some better. The Doctor came back into the place where I was resting and asked me what county in Alabama did I enlist. I told him in the southern portion of Perry.

“What was your father's given name?” I told him they called him Berry for short. He told me that my father was one of the best friends he ever had anywhere.

He notified me that we would move the next morning. The next morning he came into my tent and asked me what about moving. I told him I thought I could make it, but what about the horse? He said that he was pretty sore and stiff. I asked him how far it was to my wagon train. He said some ten or fifteen miles. I said “Put me on my horse and put me in the road and I will try to make it.”

We started and the poor horse had to drag his left hind leg. If he tried to lift it up to step over anything he would stumble and almost fall. And do you know I was three days getting to my wagon train. The three nights I was out, I did bog a little-- something for my horse and self, and I could not get off nor on my horse without help. The second day I began to get weak, and so did the horse, because he stumbled more frequently and when he did, oh say! how it did hurt. It hurt him as well as me.

In the afternoon of the third day I arrived at the Doctor’s tent, awfully tired and sore. I told Dr. Amy I. Godden to get into that place and let the pus out, and when they were taking the bandage off I turned to see the place and the scent or smell on my empty stomach was more than I could stand and I tumbled over in a faint. A little sprinkle of water in my face brought me from the stupor. The first and only time that I ever remember having fainted.

In a very few days the wagon trains were ordered to cross the Cumberland Mountains by way of Dug Creek Gap. We had not gone far before I saw a man down sick, by the roadside, or said to be. I told him I was wounded and there was no room for him. He begged the teamster to haul him until he died and then throw him out. When his fever cooled he got better, got out and on his horse and I did not know what became of him. I may take up his case later.

The bushwhackers were plentiful. Our cavalry had to put out scouts on both sides of the road to keep off the Jay Hawkers. I remember seeing seven hung to one tree with ropes, close to the public road. When we got on top of the mountain and began the descent, the most dangerous place I ever saw was before us.

The mountain was steep and very rough. We had to lock all the wheels with chains and ropes. The mountain on our left was almost perpendicular, and the builders of the road had to cut a road way under the end of the mountain for quite a distance, and in driving a wagon you would have to make a half circle to keep from going over the bluffs.

The ambulance I had been riding in came within a foot of going over the bluff. It would have been a lonesome fall. You could see wagons and ambulance in the tops of trees. Of course anything like a horse or mule would brake the harness and fall on to the bottom. That was not the only rough place. Some fine scenery looking east, covering the East Tennessee valley.

Wheeler's cavalry kept on down the western slope of the mountain and captured some ordinance wagons, in or about Strawberry Plains. It was sure a valuable capture. A Lieutenant from Company G 3rd Alabama was killed. We also made a valuable capture of cattle about the same time.

We left East Tennessee and crossed over the Cumberland Mountains into middle Tennessee where we went into camp for a few days or until the bloody battle of Franklin was fought. I had not yet fully recovered from the effects of the wound received in the shoulder at the battle of Perryville, Kentucky.

The battle of Franklin was a bloody affair. After this Wheeler crossed the pike leading south and went into the foothills of the mountains running south, to watch the approach of any troops from the valley of East Tennessee or north of Bridgeport. Desperate efforts were made to keep the Federals from crossing.

When General Bragg went back into Tennessee, Wheeler's cavalry went with him, all but Co. F 3rd Alabama. Through mistakes or forgetfulness, my company was on duty on the east side of the river, and Federal company was on the west side of the river. In course of time we reported to the authorities at Chicaman, Georgia and they sent us into North Alabama to gather cattle. We never got with our Commander for quite a while. About this time the battle of Chickamauga was fought, which virtually terminated the War. The authorities sent Longstreet to help fight that battle. He was holding the left wing of the Infantry and General Wheeler's Cavalry was supporting his left wing.

I, or your Uncle Fuller, was behind a rail fence as high as my head, and my opponent behind an oak tree that did not quite cover him. He caught me off my guard and he cut down on me, stuck the rail center and down I came, rail and all. Some of the boys behind me asked if I was hurt and I told them no, but scared to death.

I put my gun through the crack of the fence, and I waited for him to show himself. I saw him look from side to side of the tree. I was down where he could not see me. He gave me a good chance, and I pulled down on him.

Just at that time the command was given “Forward skirmishers”. I had to go by the tree and there he lay, as dead as a beef. I did not have time to get anything he had.

I had not gone very far before I discovered a man in an ambulance covering up the skirmish line close by. When he got a little closer I hailed him. Instead of stopping, he began to put lash to his horse. I cut down on his lead horse and felled him. And a man by the name of Florence got the man out of the ambulance.

We went on toward the mountains and captured a battery and part of a wagon train that reached up on the mountain. It was dangerous to go any further up and we began burning the wagon and cutting down the battery and otherwise destroying the battery. We gathered up the prisoners, about forty of fifty, and returned to the place where we began the charge, at a big flouring mill on Chickamauga Creek. There were two or three prisoners that seemed to be spokesmen for the gang. They said that Sherman was doing the right thing to kill, burn and destroy everything as they came to it. I said to them “If I had the power I would take you out to a tree and hang, hang, hang you until you were dead, dead, dead and very dead.

I think the next stop we made was about Dalton, Georgia. The Infantry was building some breast works. I obtained permission to look up the 12th. Georgia Infantry. About half of that regiment was kin folks and school mates in Union Parish, in the days of ‘49. I came upon some men working and asked it they knew where the 12th Georgia Infantry was. They said they did not. They were trying to get a pine log up on top of the breast works, they said, for a bullet stopper. The log was about 12 inches in diameter and 12 feet long. They said they could not make it. I dismounted and felt of the butt end of it and found that I could lift it. I told one of the men to hold my horse. I lifted the end up against the bank and asked the man to hold it until I lifted up the other end. I did so and we rolled it up on the top for a bullet stopper. I got out of the ditch on my ready-to-leave and said “Now boys if you find anything you can't do yourselves, call on your Uncle Fuller”. They gave a yell and I rode off, but did not find the 12th Infantry. From that day to this I go by the name of Uncle Fuller.

When General Longstreet returned to Virginia via Knoxville, two or three of Wheeler's Brigades went with him to do his picket and scouting duty. Prior to this I got permission to go into the interior of the country to have the nail or gravel removed, if possible, from the foot of my horse. I stopped with a man by the name of Bingham. He had a family of girls and boys and we would go possum hunting every night or so. I was having a good time and was looking every day for a message to come in-- the command was on the move and my horse no better-- but I had to go, horse or no horse.

I did not overtake the command until they stopped on the south side of the Tennessee River for some scouts to report. The scouts reported and the command took the river route. I was lying down in the road when the command left and I did not know anything about it and when I woke, not a soldier did I see. I went to the crossroads at a stone mill. It looked to me that many had traveled the straight road, as those that had gone up the valley of the Tennessee, but I was mistaken as I had not gone far before I ran into a bunch of Yankees.

The officer asked me where Wheeler's cavalry was, I told him I did not know, I thought he was on this road otherwise I would not be there. They took my gun, my pistol, my clothes blanket and my saddle blanket. We got on a high place in the road and you could see Wheeler's cavalry stretched out for miles up and down the Tennessee River. It did me so much good that I said, “There goes Wheeler's Cavalry now”.

I saw he was excited and began to mend his gate, was very uneasy. I hollered to him and told him to leave a man to bring me on. He left a boy about my size to bring me on. I began to hold back until his company could not be seen or heard. We came to a cross road below the town, about one-fourth of a mile. I said to the man: “Look here young man, I don't want to be killed by my own men. We will run in to an ambush in less than ten minutes.”

He demanded my hat. I had a home-make hat that I had paid $10.00 for. I kept it tied to me. I told him I would make a trade with him. I told him that he could not possibly make his escape and if he would go down to that barn and change clothes and him be my recruit, at some opportune time I would see that he got away. He said he could not do that. I told him he had better do that than worse.

I saw he was scared and demanded my hat again. I was a little afraid the boy might act the fool and shoot me. About that time we heard a volley below and I said “There, they are into it now”. I was afraid to parley about the hat any longer. There are plenty of hats but not many like that one. I stood and watched him run through the woods with my hat, and I with his Yankee cap in my hand.

I did not know what to do. I looked down toward the west and thought I could see a cow, horse or maybe a mule. I thought that anything would do that could travel. She was in good shape but could see out of but one eye. I swapped saddles, got on the pony and rode up to town and my company said “Come down from under that Yankee cap, Uncle Fuller”. I must say I was a little teased. I looked up on top a large stoop in front of a drug store and saw about 50 Yankees and among them was the boy who had had me prisoner, bareheaded. I hollered “Where is my hat, you little son-of-a-gun?”. He said some Johnny took it away from him. I hunted all over my command but never did find my hat.

General Wheeler wanted to cross over the west side of the Tennessee River. The shoals or fords were very treacherous and in crossing we had to keep close behind the man ahead of us. The current was so swift that if we got too high up or too low down, under we would go, and we would have to shuffle to get back on the path we could not see. Fortunately we crossed all right.

We had picket and scouting duty to perform and lots of fighting to do. After the battle of Knoxville, General Longstreet decided that he could not dislodge the enemy and would purse his course toward Richmond, between the Holstem and the French broad Rivers. It was beginning to sleet and snow and the two rivers were frozen over. Sometimes the cavalry would occupy the camps abandoned by the Infantry and we would have trouble with grey-backs. Captain Norris would pick them off the outside of the shirt and then turn the shirt and then all would be on the outside. He said in that way they would soon all starve to death. It was a pretty good idea. The weather kept getting colder and lots of Longstreet’s men were like Wheeler's cavalry, just about naked.

We were about 100 miles above Knoxville, and on account of the severe weather, General Longstreet went into winter quarters, until the weather moderated. The Yankees came up in a reasonable distance and built little huts for the winter or as long as General Longstreet would let them stay. Provisions were hard to get for man and beast. There was a big island between the Holdstem and Frenchbroad Rivers, planted in corn. By agreement, by leaving their arms on either side, the soldiers could gather corn in sacks and carry it to their respective camps.

Your Uncle Fuller went over to gather two sacks of corn and was filling the sacks when a little Yankee boy walked upon me with “Hello Johnnie”. I said “Hello Yank”. He said he had permission to go over and see a friend in the 3rd Alabama Cavalry, so I told him to help me fill the sacks and I would take him over. I had a wicked thought in my mind, that when we got about mid-stream I would turn the boat over and throw him, but I could not betray the trust. The man he wanted to see was in my company, Frank Templeton. That evening the two of them went across to the Yankee camp but late in the night they had to send Templeton back across as they were on the move.

Then General Longstreet turned on the Federal forces I was on the skirmishing line, as usual. We played just inside the field and they were up on a hill in an old field. They could see us, but we could not see them. We got outside the fence and it was but a short time before here come General Longstreet. He got past me before I saw him. I hailed him and told him not to go out there for the Yankees would get him, sure. He turned halfway around and I heard a ball strike his horse in the hip. He was riding a large gray horse. He gave the command “Forward skirmishers”.

I told the boys I was not going out there in that open space for Longstreet or anybody else. I told the men belonging to my company, “Let us cross the road down by the mill and we will strike the same line of fence on the hill. We will hitch our horses under the hill and take the fence.”

We saw two or three Yankees burning a straw stack. We began to shoot at them and hollering at them “Run”. All at once a shot came from a bunch of small trees and struck the top rail that I was leaning against and knocked the rail and me winding. The force of the rail kept me rolling.

The hill was so steep that the boys asked if I was hurt. I said “No but scared to death”. It was getting late in the evening, almost sundown. We crawled back up to the fence, put our guns through the cracks of the fence and we moved that regiment away from their hiding. That was one time that four men moved a regiment of Yankees. I suppose they thought that General Longstreet’s infantry was behind that fence. We fought the Yankees all night long.

When they would shoot, we would be ready and shoot at the flash of their guns. When we would get too close, they would move back. On the next day General Longstreet got the Yankees on a rapid move back toward Knoxville.

After a couple of days of heavy marching and fighting, General Longstreet called for a dismounted scout, for a special purpose. Three men from Co. F. 3rd. Alabama were selected-- Charley Molett, Morrison and your Uncle Fuller.

I don't remember whether the other three men were from Co. F or not. At any rate we were under the command of Lieutenant Mims. We were ordered to the picket post and there dismounted-- left our horses and “go until we found the enemy, fire on them without halting”. It was so dark we could not see our hands before us. If we were in mud and water, we were in the road and otherwise we would be up against a fence of bushes.

We had traveled four or five miles when we came to a house where a bright light was burning. The Lieutenant told me to go in and see if the people could tell me how far it was to the picket post. The man said it could not be far, as they were getting water at the house.

Molett and I took the lead. We found the enemy and the outpost picket was fast asleep. I whispered to Charley Molett, saying “You stand here and don't move until I get back”. I showed Mims the man on his horse, asleep, also Charley Molett. Mims could have put his hand on Charley. I whispered to Mims to let the picket alone and get the other boys and kill all those reserve pickets as long as they stood around the fire. And the Son-of-a-Gun would not do it. Mims was standing close to Charley and he ordered me and Morris to shoot the man off his horse. In the meantime, Mims shot Molett. When Charley told me he was shot, I got to him as quick as I could and we had no time to tarry.

I called for Morris and we locked arms and put out to the house where we had stopped for information. I told the man I wanted to see how badly my friend was hurt. I found that the ball did not penetrate the hollow. I said “Jump up, Charley, you are not hurt much”. I asked the man if he had a horse, bridle and saddle. He said he did and we could have it. I told him the officers would return the horse in the morning.

We, Charley in the saddle and I got up behind him and it must have been 10 o'clock when we got back to camp. Dr. Allen met us and we took Charley to a private house and in a couple of weeks he was in camp, about well. But unfortunately, Charley was killed in the first battle afterwards. Johnny Molett was also killed in battle. {Thomas Fuller seems to be remembering wrongly here as Johnny Molett was discharged and went home.} Billy Molett, the oldest of the three, lived to get home. I knew their father. He was a fine doctor and a good man, immensely wealthy.

After General Longstreet had driven the Yankees almost back to Knoxville, he went back to the place where he stopped, on account of the severe weather. We did his scouting and picket duty for him until we got close to Bristol. We left him there and turned east in the mountains of West Virginia, thence south along the eastern slope of the Tennessee Mountains. We kept that course until we got back to Johnson's army, close to the Kennesaw Mountains, where Bishop Polk was killed. You perhaps recollect what history says about it. After a hard campaign in east Tennessee, we were permitted to take a week or ten days rest. The southern banks of Flint River was selected by General Wheeler.

While there, I learned that I had some kin folks about ten miles south, an uncle of my father's, Brown Fuller, and Billy McClendon, who married an own cousin of my father's. I had quite a nice time for eight or ten days. Uncle Brown was about 80 or 90 years old then. In a short time I was ordered back to camp on Flint River, was in Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and Atlanta, Georgia.

My father had sent me another negro after we got back off the East Tennessee campaign. The first one joined the Yankees at Dalton, Georgia. My negro got to gambling with a citizen's negro and they fell out over the cards and my negro cut the other negro pretty badly. They put him in and that was the last I ever heard of my negro.

After our rest-up we reported for duty at the foot of the Kennesaw Mountains. My second negro had gotten to me by this time and I made him do the work that was to be done and I had a pretty good time. After the battle of Kennesaw, we moved to Atlanta and there we had a big battle for two days.

The first day I was in the battle, the second day I was on special duty for our Doctor. Their position was on a little hill. We thought we were out of reach of their cannon but we were not. And one of the drivers was sitting on his seat with his back to the enemy's battery. They turned loose with one of their guns and the ball came and cut the team in two and bloodied his face pretty bad.

He yelled like a good fellow but was not hurt much. The doctor told him to shut up, he wasn't hurt much. “Well, Doctor, it hurts. Oh Doctor, say Doctor, can I get a furlough?”

I could not help from laughing. The doctor turned to me and asked me what I was laughing at. “It seems like Jones is H…L bent on getting a furlough”. The doctor said he would not get it, he was pretty bad hurt, but not dangerous. The enemy spied us, and we had to move.

Our next cavalry engagement was on the head waters of the Columbia River. After Longstreet went back to Virginia and Wheeler back to Johnson's army, the Yankees had no troops at Knoxville. They sent a part of their cavalry force across the mountains to join Sherman, while Wheeler's force joined Johnson's army.

In this little fight, we used cotton bales for our breastworks. One man would roll the bale of cotton along and two or three men would crawl along behind and shoot at the Yankees. It created a stampede among the Yankees and we captured the town and bridge, with the use of the cotton bales.

Wheeler's forces were fighting continually to try to check the devastation which Sherman’s army were making. They set out to lay waste and destroy everything possible. On one occasion Wheeler had to cross a very muddy swamp and sluggish stream. Wheeler's men went into him and was ready for action. Wheeler left the Texas Brigade back to guard a little bridge in the rear. In the meantime, the Federals sent a brigade of infantry clear around in our rear. The Texas rangers stampeded them and they came pell-mell in our rear. The lake was over 200 yards long and 100 yards wide and there they struck.

They tried to wade in places and they would sink and go down, down to rise no more. I never saw such a sight. At least 25 men were buried in that hole of water. After this tragic occurrence, Sherman made his way to Savannah without hindrance.

General Wheeler crossed the river near Columbia and from there down on the coast, opposite Savannah, were we did scouting and picket duty and kept the Yankees from breaking the levee on the river.

After Sherman had opened a way to his fleet, he went back and destroyed Columbia, S.C. General Sherman claimed that General Wade Hampton was the cause of the destruction of Columbia. While they were in the City Johnson’s Army was moving north, while Wheeler’s and other cavalry were doing his picketing and at times a lot of hard fighting.

I remember being on picket on the railroad a mile or so out of Columbia and after I had kept watch half an hour or more I saw, coming in the distance, a line footman. I waited for sometime for him to get close enough to me to determine who he was. I soon found out that he must be drunk.

He kept coming and now and then he would almost fall off the railroad, but he would rise and keep coming. When he got within proper hailing distance, I saluted him and called to him to halt but he kept coming.

I would have been justified in killing him, but I did not want to do so. He did not have a gun and I let come up to me. He could not speak a word of English. He would try to get up and I would hold him down the harder.

I must have had to tussle with him for an hour or so. When the sergeant of the guard came, he wanted to know what I was doing sitting down on that man. I told him it was the best way I could hold him down. He took the man back to camp. That was the last I saw of the drunken man. Next morning General Hampton’s cavalry was coming in and Wheeler’s cavalry was going out and for the cool judgment of the leaders, we would have had a clash of arms.

We were near the coast, moving north, sometimes trying to intercept Sherman’s base of supplies. When we got about midway the State of South Carolina, General Wheeler sent for Captain Brown of Company G 3rd Alabama and told him to go and bring him a Yankee, that he wanted some information and it might be he could get the information from a Yankee. He told him not to take more than three or four men and make no mistake.

Captain Brown came to me and asked if I wanted to go after a Yankee. I told him “Any old time”. He told me to be ready when he came back. We had to wait about one-half hour. We found the out-post picket. We dropped back and went east until we went far enough not to be heard. We came to a fence and from there we went a bit further down the fence for a good place to let the fence down.

We saw a cabin a short distance and five horses tied around the cabin. Captain Brown gave the command charge and we were around that little house in less time than it take me to write it. I jumped off my horse, untied the bay mare and went to looking for Yankees. We were short one and I began to look for the fifth Yankee. We looked and searched and were about to give up. I sized up the old dirt and stick chimney and how much it looked like the old stick and dirt chimneys in Louisiana in the days of “49.

I says to myself “I will just look up the chimney and see”, and to my surprise, there was the smoked Yankee up the chimney. He begged us to let him wash his face. Captain Brown told him there was no time for face-washing now, and we took the smoked Yankee and presented him to General Wheeler.

General Wheeler was amazed and wanted to know how we got him in that shape. Captain Brown told him he found him up a stick and dirt chimney, where the old negro woman was cooking for the bunch of them. We were not gone more than three hours when we had those Yankees in the presence of General Wheeler.

In this connection, it is generally known that all the cavalry in the Confederate service owned their own horses, and from any cause they become dismounted, they would have to go in the Infantry if they were not able to mount themselves. However some arrangement would usually be made to mount the men. Billy Mollet, Beth Mosely and your uncle Fuller got permission to go into the Yankee camp after horses for some of our men who were dismounted.

About 10 o’clock we mounted our horses and started east. We could see the reflection of the camp fires in the east. We perhaps had traveled a couple of miles east when we heard the command “Halt!” We did so and turned north for a couple of hundred yards, and then turned east to a thick skirt of timber near the enemy’s camp where we had consultation as to the division of our work.

Mosley was to go on the southern boundary, Mollet the central and Uncle Fuller the north boundary of the camp, and all to report back to our horses. Unfortunately for me, I was too far north to find any horses in corral.

I came across a battery all ready for action and how I did wish for rat-tail files to spike the cannon. I looked down north and saw a dim light. I went down to investigate and found one horse tied to a tree and his master’s head lying at the root of the tree. My first impulse was to put my pistol to the man’s head and hill him. This man was the officer of the guard and the man on the other side of the horse was the picket. I could have put my pistol to the man’s head and demanded his surrender but two to one he would have jumped up from his pallet and I would have had to kill him or be killed. I left the Sentry and went to our horses and found friends ready to go with a horse apiece.

The next morning Billy Mollet traded his horse for a furlough, to a fellow who got his killed in battle a day or so before this occurrence. Billy Mollet went into one of the stores and bought a bolt of domestic and put it on his saddle to make it more comfortable and gave it to his mother. At that time General Chetum’s command was on the train waiting for orders. He (General Chetum) saw Mollet with the bolt of domestic and began to cuss and abuse him. Mollet told him that if he were not an officer he would not talk to him that way. General Chetum jumped off the train and Billy gave him a good mauling.

Uncle Fuller’s Last Scout

Just prior to General Lee’s surrender, General Wheeler went for Captain Brown and told him to select twenty-five men, true and tried, and find out where Sherman’s army was located and report as soon as possible. “Be careful and make no mistake”. Captain Brown came to me and asked me about it and I told him I was at his service, at any time and under any circumstances. He told me to ride my pony, that we might have some fast running to do. When we got down in the lowlands near the Gulf, we found Sherman’s army near the mouth of a large river on the south bank.

After obtaining such information wanted, we had some fifteen or twenty prisoners and fine roads to travel. When we got out a few miles we discovered a lone sentinel standing across the pike. He let us up within 300 yards of him, then turned and began to leap off in a gallop.

Then Captain Brown says “Boys, couple of you on the fastest horses take that fellow in”. Clark and your Uncle Fuller put out after him and he turned west at the first section. We crowded him close the next section and ran him into his command. Clark and I, without pistols, held the 25 men at bay until Captain Brown came up and ran his men in the rear of a house and they broke for their escape and we captured and killed all of them except the Lieutenant in charge and one other non-commissioned officer. Captain Brown took after the Lieutenant and Clark and I killed the other fellow. Captain Brown returned to quarters and said the Lieutenant had kept on gaining on him and that left only the one to tell the tale.

We were about 60 miles from Raleigh, North Carolina and had about 60 prisoners. When we arrived at Raleigh, General Lee had been surrendered two days. Captain Tom Norris was the last man killed in Wheeler’s cavalry and he was Captain of Co. F 3rd Alabama. Next morning we began to make preparations to leave for home. All the cavalry horses were private property and all the Confederate cavalry were allowed to retain their horses and side-arms. Next morning we had a thought of going into Old Mexico and still fight for our country. General Wheeler told us we could not accomplish anything by such a course, and for our family’s sake to abandon such a move and go home and make good citizens. So we at last accepted his advice, went to our various wagon trains and surplus stock in charge of teamsters and negroes.

When we arrived at the wagon train, Austin came to me and told me he knew a man in Co. C that wanted to trade for my pony. I asked him what he had to trade. He then told me he would give me the big span of mules from the ordinance wagon and the grey mare for the pony. I told him it was a trade. He furnished halters and tie ropes. When we got down in Georgia, the grey mare got so she could not travel and I traded her to a man for a good buggy, as the man did not have any stock, as Sherman took all he had and he was glad to make the trade. We hitched one of the mules to the buggy and piled all our baggage in and Austin and I would take time about riding in the buggy.

We got along nicely until we got to Wetumka, Alabama, where the penitentiary is located. We did not know that Kilpatrick cavalry was ahead of us until we crossed the Coosy river. They were marching in column and did not see us, we dropped back in a skirt of timber, until they had gotten some distance ahead of us. It was only a short distance to Kingston and we were wondering what we could do to get ahead of them. It was about 50 miles to Selma and to Perryville.

We made arrangements with a man to keep the buggy until I could return for it. We hired a pilot and struck out for a man’s house, about ten miles due west, where we could get supper and have our horses fed. About the time we got in a good way waiting, we heard them coming and we got away I a hurry. We ate dinner with an old friend west of the Selma house and Roe and Dalton R.R. and about the middle of the evening we rode in home, least expected.

After Roden and I rested up for about two or three days we put in with three or four plows and cleared out the crop in good shape and much relief it was to my father. After Roden and I arrived home in the evening, we heard the next morning that Kilpatrick’s cavalry camped at my uncle’s the night before, only about 3 miles from my father’s house. If we had known it we could have made quite a number of Kilpatrick’s cavalry horses “not to be found”.

In the course of time I began to look around for something to do. Some of my boy friends wanted me to re-enter college with them and get ready for any business that we might be more capable of performing, however I did not accede to their pleadings and went my way, to my sorrow afterwards, not that I am afraid of work.

--By Thomas L Fuller

submitted by Robert Powell