With what consummate genius General Forrest kept the ravenous foe from the heels of that almost helpless host as it marched and stumbled and fell forward toward its goal of temporary safety, is a matter of record and need not be here set forth. After many days of rear-guard fighting, in which the skill and daring of General Forrest parried and blocked and retarded the swiftness of our pursuers, we succeeded in holding the enemy in check until the gray remnant of Hood’s once magnificent army crossed the Tennessee at Bainbridge, Ala. The pontoon bridge was quickly destroyed, and the Union Army, foiled in further pursuit, turned down the river to Eastport, to which place boats brought supplies and troops. Here General Wilson prepared to march against Selma, Ala., then the “heart of the Confederacy.” [Illustration: text decoration] CHAPTER XXVI THE LAST FLICKERING OF THE GREAT FLAME January, 1865, found General Forrest bending every energy to the maintenance and recruiting of his force for whatever further defense might have to be made, and the Union commander at Eastport making careful and extensive preparation for an extended and determined campaign as soon as the weather conditions should be favorable. It was with great difficulty that we managed to feed ourselves and our horses through those trying months of bleak winter. In the ranks, where men had never shirked a duty or a danger, the sad story of our lost cause was already forewritten in our suffering hearts; and the hopelessness of our situation became so fixed in the soldiers’ minds that desertions became frequent; and in order to check this and enforce discipline, our commander resorted to stern measures, to the extent that some of the deserters were executed and their bodies conspicuously displayed as a warning. While crossing the bridge at Tuscaloosa, Ala., I witnessed one of these tragic and morbid spectacles, which made a lasting impression upon my youthful mind and embittered my heart against all wars. Late in March the Union Army began to move southward from Eastport, and General Forrest’s first interest was to ascertain the enemy’s plans as far as possible. I was with a scouting troop when we luckily intercepted and captured a Union courier carrying the plan of the Union commander’s line of march. This message was sent to each of the division commanders. They were ordered to move into South Alabama in three columns, marching parallel to each other, twenty miles apart, and to consolidate at a point north of Selma, Ala. We speedily sent this information to General Forrest, then in the vicinity of Tuscaloosa, Ala. General Wilson had 10,000 or 12,000 veteran troops of all arms, while Forrest had about 5,000, and only half of that number were of his veterans; but we had the advantage of being on our native heath, and our leader had never been beaten in a single case when he was in supreme command of all dispositions and details of the battle.