History of Athens, (Limestone County) Alabama United States of America

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Local History Notes:

Athens, Ala., May 1, 1862. 3rd Division, Army of the Ohio. Col. Stanley's regiment of Gen. Mitchell's Command, While guarding bridges on the Athens & Decatur Road, was attacked by 112 men of the 1st La. cavalry, with a mountain howitzer Battery, Under Col. Scott. An onslaught was made on guards at one or two bridges, then on pickets of the main body at Athens.

Two companies were sent out and skirmished with the Confederate cavalry for an hour or two when the latter retreated. Suddenly fire from the battery was opened on the Federals. Stanley ordered his wagon train to leave at once and followed with what force he had at Athens, abandoning his tents and camp equipage to the enemy. At this juncture Mitchell, who was approaching on a locomotive, learning of the attack, sent word to Stanley that he should be immediately reinforced. Running his engine to a telegraph station, he ordered a force to go at once to Stanley's Aid. Two trains were on the track at Athens, with steam up, ready to leave for Huntsville.

One of them was Under Stanley's control, the other had just come from Elk River bringing supplies that had been brought by a train of 50 wagons from Columbia. Both followed Mitchell's Engine, but were delayed an hour at Mooresville, 15 Miles from Athens. Mitchell's Engine and Stanley's Train passed safely on to Athens. The guard at a bridge 4 Miles from Mooresville had been driven off by Confederates and Confederate sympathizers, with a loss of 2 killed and 4 wounded.

Then the string-pieces of the bridge were nearly severed with saws. The supply train broke through the bridge and was wrecked. A Brakeman was killed, but fortunately Mitchell had ordered most of the men on the train to leave it at Mooresville and join the detachment sent to reinforce Stanley. The train was fired and plundered, but about 70 Federal soldiers from Mooresville, led by Capt. Crittenden, attacked the Confederates and drove them off. Meantime Stanley's reinforcements arrived, but the enemy had retreated and the coming of night rendered impossible further operations that Day.

Athens, Ala., Jan. 26, 1864. Detachment of the 9th Ill. Mounted Infantry. Capt. Emil Adam, with 75 men of the 9th Ill. mounted infantry, was attacked at Athens at 4 a. m. by Gen. Roddey, with a regiments and 2 pieces of artillery, his force estimated at 600 men. After 2 hours' hard fighting the Confederates were repulsed with heavy loss in killed and wounded. The Union loss was about 20 in killed, wounded and missing. Roddey opened on the town with his artillery without warning, his object evidently being to create a stampede and capture the train and stores at Athens, but the coolness and bravery of Adam and his men defeated his purpose.

Athens, Ala., Sept. 23-24, 1864. 106th, 110th, and 111th U. S. Colored Infantry, 2nd and 3rd Tennessee Cavalry. About 4 p. m. on the 23rd Col. Wallace Campbell of the 110th U. S. infantry commanding the post at Athens Learned that the enemy were destroying the railway track 5 Miles South of the Town. Maj. Pickens, of the 3rd Tenn. Cavalry, with 100 men, went by the Decatur Road, and Campbell, with 150 men, went by train to the scene of action. The combined forces drove off the Confederates and saved a trestle that they had set on fire. Returning to Athens Toward nightfall the Federals became involved in A Sharp skirmish. Their pickets on the Brown's Ferry and on the Buck Island road were driven in and just before dark their artillery at the fort fired a few rounds. The quartermaster's building was set on fire. Forrest's command, which had invested the town on all sides, consisted of Bell's and Lyon's brigades of Buford's division; Rucker's brigade, some of Roddey's troops, Biffle's brigade, the 4th Tenn., and Col. Nixon's regiment. The Confederates made several attempts to get possession of the town and were repulsed with considerable loss. About 11 p. m. they captured the railroad Depot. The 2nd Tenn. Cavalry, Just returned from a scouting expedition, drove them away, wounding and capturing several. At midnight the commissary building was burned and during the latter part of the night all Federal troops were removed to the fort, which was an earth work, 180 by 450 feet, 1,350 feet in circumference, surrounded by an abatis of felled trees a palisade 4 feet high and a ditch 12 feet wide with its bottom 17 feet below the parapet. The garrison consisted of about 450 men. About 7 a. m., on the 24th the enemy opened on the fort with 12-Pounder batteries on the north and West. During the ensuing 2 hours about 60 well directed shells were thrown and exploded in and about the fort, doing no damage to the works and killing only one man, a non-combatant. The fort, which inspecting officers considered the best between Nashville and Decatur, was strong enough to resist any field battery. The Federals answered with two 12-pound howitzers. About 9 o'clock an unsigned demand for surrender was sent in under a flag of truce and was returned unanswered. A second demand signed "Major General Forrest" was refused. Forrest asked for a personal interview with Campbell, showed him that the Confederate force numbered 8,000 to 10,000 men, and again demanded a surrender "in the interests of humanity." Campbell surrendered the fort and its garrison at noon. In the Morning, Gen. Granger, commanding at Decatur, Sent by railroad, detachments of the 18th Mich. and 102nd Ohio, 350 men in all, under command of Lieut-Col. Elliot of the 102nd, to reinforce the garrison at Athens. When they arrived at the break in the railroad they were attacked by the whole of Buford's division, but pressed on Toward Athens, bestrewing the Woods with the enemy's dead. They charged two or three heavy lines of battle, drove them back in disorder and advanced to within 300 yards of the fort, which had surrendered not more than half an hour before. The surrender allowed Forrest to interpose a portion of his force between the fort and the rescuing party thus compelling them to surrender after a hard fight of 3 hours, duration in which they had lost one-third of their Number in killed and wounded. Had Campbell Held out they might have saved the Day. The officers whom Campbell surrendered joined in a statement over their signatures that on the night of the 23rd and 24th, Campbell caused most of the commissary stores of the post to be moved into the fortifications and that they were ample for a ten days, siege; that a well in the fort afforded plenty of water, that there were 70,000 rounds elongated Ball cartridges, an ample supply of cavalry carbines, 12O rounds for each of the howitzers; and that the surrender was uncalled for by the circumstances, was against their wishes and ought not to have been made. The Federal loss was 106 killed and wounded; Confederate loss. equal to the Federal force engaged.

Athens, Ala., Oct. 1-2, 1864. Lieut.-Col. Wade of the 73rd Ind. with detachments from that regiment, and the 10th Ind. Cavalry (dismounted), and a section of Battery A, 1st Tenn. artillery, held the Federal works at Athens. About the time the engagement began he was reinforced by a portion of the 2nd Tenn. Cavalry, Making A total force of about 500 effective men. Opposed to the garrison was Gen. Buford's division of Confederate cavalry, aggregating nearly 4,000 men. The results of recent attacks on this fort and the one at Sulphur Trestle had convinced Wade that the fatal defect in both of these works was a want of protection for the garrison against artillery, and for two days before the attack his men were busy constructing a temporary bomb-proof work entirely outside the fort. The ditch, 6 feet deep and 15 feet wide, was roofed with logs over which was laid a covering of earth.

The entrance to the underground strong-hold a covered passageway under the gate of the fort, was not ready for use until 12 o'clock on the night of Oct. 1, and the delay of the enemy in making the main attack. proved the salvation of the garrison. The pickets on the Huntsville road were driven in at 3 p. m. on the 1st and the enemy took position behind the railroad. One company was deployed as skirmishers to engage him and delay his movements as Long as possible. A rain aided the purpose. Firing was kept up on the skirmish line until dark when Wade reinforced his skirmishers with another company to prevent the Confederates from taking some buildings near the fort.

A scattering irregular fight with small arms was maintained from daybreak until 6 a. m. on the 2nd chiefly to the West of the fort where A Wood stretched down within short range, affording the enemy cover. At 6 o'clock the Confederates got a gun in action on the Brown's Ferry Road, southwest from the fort. So Far Wade had reserved his artillery fire, but now his response was prompt. Ten minutes later 3 rifled guns, on a slight elevation, half a mile north began to throw missiles into the fort. Under this Cross Fire scarcely a spot in the fort was safe and Wade moved his troops into the New bomb- proof, leaving sentinels to watch for signs of assault. In half an hour the enemy's artillerymen had obtained the range and were throwing shell into the fort with great accuracy.

About 60 rounds were fired, 22 of which fell inside the fort or struck it, the rest bursting over or beyond it. Two shots tattered the regimental flag of the 73rd Ind. another toppled over a tall chimney, another disabled a caisson and others killed or wounded about 30 horses. With his Battery Section, Lieut. Tobin returned this fire coolly and deliberately and ambulances were seen in motion near the Confederate guns, showing that his shots were effective.

At 8 a. m. there was a cessation in the Attack. Buford then demanded a surrender of the fort, but Wade refused his demand. Under cover of their flag of Truce, Buford unfairly advanced a portion of his troops to within 200 yards of the fort and took 6 wagons and 4 ambulances from under the Federal guns. Respect for the usages of war prevented Wade from resenting this baseness so Long as the White Flag was in sight, but as soon as it disappeared he opened on this body of troops and drove it from its New position with a loss of 4 killed and several wounded.

The latter were carried away in the wagons. In similar attacks the Confederates' cannon had prevailed, here and now they were ineffectual. Buford immediately began to withdraw his troops, leaving sharpshooters to distract the Federal attention from his real purpose. It was penetrated, however, and as early as 9:30 Wade pushed out skirmishers in every direction and with the help of his artillery drove the Confederates from the Field. Maj. McBath with the 2nd Tenn. pursued them for some distance on the Florence Road. The Federal loss was 2 wounded.

SOURCE: The Union Army A History of Military Affairs in the Loyal States 1861-65 -- Records of the Regiments in the Union Army -- Cyclopedia of Battles -- Memoirs of Commanders and Soldiers. 8 vols. Madison: Federal Publishing, 1908.

Biographies:

William Richardson, representative, was born at Athens, Ala., in 1845; son of William and Anne Maria (Davis) Richardson, and grandson of Capt. Nicholas and Mary (Hargrove) Davis. His father and maternal grandparents were natives of Virginia. William Richardson entered the Confederate army as a private, 1861, rose to the rank of captain, and was wounded in the battles of Chickamauga, Shiloh and Murfreesboro. He was admitted to the bar in 1865, elected representative from the county of Limestone to the lower branch of the general assembly of Alabama, and in 1867 began the practice of law in Huntsville, Ala. On Dec. 18, 1872, he married Elizabeth Benagh, daughter of Ambrose B. Rucker of Lynchburg, Va. Mrs. Richardson died, Oct. 24, 1891. Captain Richardson was judge of the probate and county court of Madison county, Ala., 1875?86; was nominated by acclamation, July 3, 1900, and elected a Democratic representative in congress from the eighth Alabama district to fill the unexpired term of Gen. Joseph Wheeler, resigned, and was re-elected to the 57th and 58th congresses, 1901?05.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor