Shannon's Scouts

Tom Burney
Groesbeck Journal,
Thursday, December 9, 1909

(by a Texas Ranger)

In looking over some old papers this morning I ran across a notice of Shannon's Scouts. It was not exactly correct by not very far wrong. There were some names that didn't belong to the company. The notice was published by the Veteran during the reunion in Nashville but I notice a great many mistakes in the Veteran, but I could never muster up enough courage to say anything until now. I was one of the original members of Hood's Scouts, a detail made from the Rangers of 1 man from each company, but Shannon worked the thing to suit himself. We had several from his own Company (C) and nearly all of them were from the Limestone Squad which was very flattering to us. I don't know if I can remember all their names but I will mention all I can. George Archer, Dick Oliver, Bill Lynch, Felix Kennedy, Bill Owens, and Tom Burney, these men were of the Squad who left Springfield on the 8th of Sept., '61 and now there are but 3 of the Squad living that I can hear of and those three belonged to the Scouts: Dick Oliver, Bill Owens, who lives in Elgin, and Tom Burney of Groesbeck, who is not living much anywhere.

When Hood started to Tennessee, we were left near Atlanta to watch Sherman and keep back small parties who would come out on thieving expeditions and chase them in or capture them, but sometimes there would be too many for us 15 men to tackle and then we would stay pretty close around concealed by thick timber until we could see some stragglers whom we would gobble up pretty quick. Sometimes we would wait until dark and act as their rear guard and grab every fellow that got behind,, catch him or kill him. The next thing after that was to go through his pockets and you would be surprised to see the things we would get from them. False teeth on gold plate was a very common thing and silver spoons, knives and forks, and all kinds of jewelry, and household goods, quilts, feather beds, all kinds of clothing, both for men and women, all kinds of jellies, preserves, hams, potatoes and everything you can think of to eat and wear, they would steal, and we would take it, but we had no way to take care of it so we gave the plunder to the first needy family we found. We sometimes would capture as many as 25 prisoners and then we would take them to Jonesboro and ship them to some prison. I remember once while we were staying at Flat Shoals on Yellow River 15 miles below Atlanta, I was sent with two other men to take the prisoners to Jonesboro, one of the men was near-sighted and the other was drunk. While we were crossing a creek with pretty heavy thicket on each side, two of my Yanks broke for the brush. I fired my pistol at them as they ran off but didn't hurt them. The got away but I found a man on the road we were traveling who had a fine pack of negro dogs and as I came back next morning I got a good breakfast and fed my pony and he and I took the dogs and chased those two Yanks all the way to Atlanta. I saw them two or three times but the woods were so thick you could hardly ride through them and a fence every two hundred yards it seemed to me, but I never caught them. The last I heard of them was two miles from Atlanta and the dogs yelping like they were mighty close to them but both those Yanks had a good big stick to fight the dogs off with, so the old citizen told me. I never did hear of the dogs any more, but the Yankees got home so I found out that night. I got to camp about dark and they had killed a pig that had strayed up about the camp rotting pots and plates around until they couldn't stand it any longer and we had our Yankee cook to dress it, which he could do as nicely as any cook in the service of the C.S. We were camped 9 miles below Flat Shoals at McKnight's mills, but the mills were burned. We were in an out house about 100 yards from the main traveled road, kind of brushy out toward the road and knowing that I was chasing those Yankees, they thought they had better be a little cautions so some of them threw a brush across the tail leading out to the house where we were camped, and that brush saved us. We had about 80 mules and 40 horses pastured in the crabb grass field belonging to the place besides a lot of saddles and harness in the house. About 4 o'clock next morning while we were all sleeping soundly, someone came up through the field and said, "Hello Dar" and I believe every man in camp heard him. "What do you want?" someone asked. It was a nigger who was sent to us by Mrs. McKnight to wake us up. "You all better git er way fum here. Don't yer hear dem Yankees out yonder?" And every horse in the Company was loose and we had to catch anything we could get away on. The Captain was gone up the river and nobody in command, so we all saddled up as quick as we could and drove the mules and horses down to the river, back of the field and made them jump off a steep bank into the river and swim across; sent three men with the stock and the others went back. The brush laid across the trail did its work. The Yankees kept the main road for a while and turned into another and went back without finding us, but it was not long before they knew they had not captured us. Twelve of us followed after them and that night we counted up, killed four, captured 16 and horses, and about $20.00 apiece of U.S. currency.

As we passed along where the Captain was visiting, he rode up behind us on a mule. He had been hiding out in the woods but we had a nigger along with his horse and he just had to exchange with him. We had followed them all the way back 9 miles now and had not caught one but they began to want some breakfast, it being now 10:00. So not having seen us, they though it safe to get out and make some good woman cook them something to eat. We had camped for some time in the neighborhood and knew every road and cow trail and all the people were our friends. We saw four ride out of the road into the brushes and stop. That was just what we wanted. They rode down to a house about two hundred yards from the road, rode up to the gate and ordered the good lady to cook them some breakfast as quick as she could and they would pay her for her trouble. They set their guns inside the gate and went to get some corn to feed their horses. Shannon told four of us to stop and get those four and come on as quick as we could, but we knew that they would travel slow so that they could all get a meal and we were in no hurry so when they came out of the crib with corn in their arms we met them at the door and they were looking down the barrel of a army pistol. There was not much to say, we made them give the corn to our horses and we waited for the chicken; they got the scraps. About the time we had finished our meal, we saw a man coming with four more prisoners and two of them took the whole bunch on back to our last nights camp to put the cooks to work so that we would have supper ready. The Yankees still thought we were in the woods as the had never seen any of us. It was not long before they found out better. Some of them rode into the road ahead of us and saw us and they certainly did some good running until they overtook their squadron, which consisted of four companies of about 80 men each, a small crowd to send after 15 men. From now on we watched pretty closely but we managed to get 8 more prisoners and kill four. We sent our horses and mules down near Madison and pastured them until we sold them out a few days before we captured and burned a wagon train above Atlanta. We got 80 head of mules; just took them loose from the wagons and drove them away with the harness on and would sell them with the harness on. We were allowed to keep what we captured. We sold them to the farmers in the country. I forgot to say that the cook I spoke of was a member of the 9th Michigan Regiment and he proposed to cook for us rather than go to prison. His name was Hudson and he stayed with us until after the war and married near Monticello, Ga. Have never heard from him since. It was not long after this little episode until Sherman stuck his torch to Atlanta and started on his famous march to the sea through Georgia. After this we had all we could do. Perhaps I may say something of the march if I am able as I followed him to Savannah and then to Bentonville, the last general engagement of the war.

Provided by , Tom Burney's great great grandson.