L. P. Brockett, The camp, the battlefield, and the hospital: or, lights and shadows of the great rebellion

[132] the little stock of goods to the firm of James Carr & Co., of Nashville, who gave me eight hundred dollars for the lot, and then went to visit General Frank Cheatham, General Maney, and General Bates, whom I saw at the house where I stopped. At the headquarters of General Cheatham, Colonel A-- arrived from the front, and stated in my presence that the whole Federal line had fallen back; and I further understood from the generals present and Colonel A- that there would be no fight at Shelbyville. They said that probably there would be some skirmishing by the Federals, but that the battle would be fought at Tullahoma, and they had not more than one corps at Shelbyville, which was under General Polk.

Forage and provisions for man and beast it is utterly impossible to obtain in the vicinity of Shelbyville. The forage trains go as far as Lewisport, in Giles county, and the forage is then shipped to Tullahoma, and even farther back, for safe keeping — as far as Bridgeport. Confederate money is two for one of Georgia; Tennessee, two and one half for one.

I next went to Tullahoma; and there I met on the cars a major on Bragg's staff, and scraped an acquaintance through the introduction of a Nashville gentleman. When we arrived within a few miles of Tullahoma, he made a short statement to me, called me to the platform, and pointed out the rifle-pits and breastworks, which extended on each side of the railroad about a mile, in not quite a right angle. The whole force of Bragg's army is composed of fifty-five thousand men, well disciplined; twenty thousand of them are cavalry. When I left Tullahoma, I could not buy meat nor bread.