| Special Orders No. 4 |
| Headquarters of the Forces |
| Tupelo, Miss.
|
| July 21, 1862 |
| |
| I. The Army of the Mississippi,
Major-General Hardee commanding, will be transferred with the least
delay practicable to Chattanooga, Tenn., in the following order and
manner: |
| 1st. The artillery, cavalry, engineer,
pioneer, and wagon trains will move via Aberdeen, Columbus, Miss.,
Tuscaloosa, through Will's Valley to Gadsden, Ala., and Rome, Ga.
The batteries may be sent by rail from Randolph via Talladega, the
horses by the ordinary roads, meeting the batteries at the terminus
of the railroad. |
| 2d. The regiment of Louisiana infantry
will march with the trains as an escort.
|
| 3d. Cheatham's, Withers', and Jones'
divisions will be dispatched by rail via Mobile in the order named.
Wood's division will move in accordance with instructions to be
hereafter given; meantime it will be held in readiness.
|
| 4th. The several chiefs of staff
departments of the forces will take measures to carry out these
movements.
|
| 5th. Commanders especially and officers
of all grades are earnestly called on to enforce discipline, secure
good order, and prevent straggling. No delays must occur by the
wayside from tardiness on the part of the troops. The high
reputation this army has made for itself must not be sacrificed for
petty personal gratifications; its efficiency must be preserved in
order that it may strike the enemy effectively and decisively in the
impending campaign.
|
| II. Major-General Price, commanding Army
of the West, will assume command of all troops in the State of
Mississippi not included in the Districts of the Mississippi and of
the Gulf. He will be charged with all operations within the
prescribed limits and Northwest Alabama, This command will be known
as the District of the Tennessee.
|
| III. The available infantry force now at
Mobile and Pollard will be thrown forward to Chattanooga with all
possible dispatch. They will be replaced by a part of Jones'
division, Army of the Mississippi.
|
| By command of General Bragg:
|
| Thomas Jordan
|
| Chief of Staff
|
| {This document also found at
Series 1, Vol. 17, Part 2, Page 657}
|
{Hardee moved about 25,000
infantry by rail, along with ammunition and camp supplies. A very
rough guess would be about 600 car loads were required, meaning
about 40 trains -- on EACH railroad. The railroads used were:
| Troops in Pollard |
Alabama & Florida (of
Alabama), Montgomery & West Point, Atlanta & West Point, Western
& Atlantic RR |
| Troops in Mobile |
Steamboat from Mobile to
Tensas, Mobile & Great Northern, the the same as the Pollard
troops |
| Infantry in Tupelo |
Mobile & Ohio to Mobile,
then the same route as the Mobile troops |
| |
An alternate for the
Mobile and Tupelo troops was to use steamers from Mobile to
Montgomery and then transfer to the railroad for the rest of the
trip. This route was heavily used by the Confederate Government
for much of the war and had been the only route to Montgomery
until the Mobile & Great Northern and Alabama & Florida (of
Alabama) RRs had been completed in 1861. I have found nothing
official to indicate whether the steamboat route to Montgomery
route was used during this move. |
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