The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919 Page: 147
521 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Reminiscences of the Terry Rangers
whole guard and closed upon the moving column of General
Wheeler's army, so that he had to give battle at Farmington to
protect himself. General Wheeler unlimbered his artillery near
the pike and commenced a rapid fire. The enemy replied in kind
with several guns. While this artillery firing was going on a
courier was sent for us who were four or five miles north of Farm-
ington near Duck river. The order was to come to Farmington
double quick, which meant a gallop, all the way. The enemy had
moved a regiment in a column of two or double ranks close order
up to within 250 yards of General Wheeler's battery and parallel
to the pike and they were armed with Spencer rifles as we learned
later on. This movement was being made on foot, notwithstand-
-ing they were mounted men. Their horses had been left in the
rear. Company F was in front that day at the head of the col-
umn of regiment and I was commanding the company. As we
approached General Wheeler, he gave an order to our Colonel
who was riding by my side to "form fours, move up, the pike un-
til you draw fire of the enemy, then charge them."
There was a drizzle of rain, the smoke from the artillery was
lowering, and the enemy were obscured from our view until we
were probably 75 yards from them. The enemy on our approach
had formed along parallel the pike on the west side of it and
fired a volley from their whole line into our columns of four,
aiming at the sound of our horses' feet, for we were still obscured
from their view by the smoke, but that volley found victims all
the way down the regiment, striking every horse excepting one at
the head of the column and about a dozen men in Company F.
When that volley was fired Colonel Harrison ordered me to lead
the charge; and with a yell, answered by many still unhurt along
the column, I shouted as loud as I could, "Charge them, Rangers !"
Colonel. Harrison dropped out to one side and as the other com-
panies came rushing on he would say to them, "Follow Black-
burn." The yell and the rattle and roar of horses feet on the
pike was too much for the enemy's nerves and they broke back
up the pike. A high cedar rail fence along the pike on the
side they were on kept them from scattering out far that way,
and so they ran back like frightened sheep until they seemed to
be twenty or more deep when we reached them and still pressing147
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919, periodical, 1919; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117156/m1/157/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.