“Surrender or I’ll Charge You With The Texas Rangers!” Nathan Bedford Forrest and Terry’s Texas Rangers at 1st Murfreesboro

Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest

Overture

During the early morning hours of July 13, 1862, slumbering members of the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry were wakened by the sounds of gunfire, galloping horses and yelling rebel cavalrymen. Running out of their tents in their night shirts, their only recourse was to head for the neighboring camp of the 9th Michigan Infantry Regiment. Already awake and alert, the Michiganders, along with members of the 7th, tried to form a hollow infantry square, a common tactic used to repulse cavalry charges. Failing in their formation amidst the chaos, they formed a sturdier defensive line behind a cedar fence in front of the Maney house, just north of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The charge stalled, but the rebels’ resolve didn’t, especially among the men of Terry’s Texas Rangers.   

The Importance of Chattanooga

Railroads were vital in maintaining Confederate armies, especially the Army of Northern Virginia. The East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad supplied Robert E. Lee’s troops with food, munitions and manpower. The Southeast Tennessee town of Chattanooga was a crucial  junction on that railroad that must be held. In May 1862, the Union Army of the Ohio, under Major General Don Carlos Buell, was advancing toward Chattanooga from the East. To destroy his supply lines and stall his advance, guerrilla warfare was conducted behind his lines. One Confederate general was more than well-suited for such operations - General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

The Wizard of The Saddle

When it came to fighting, Nathan Bedford Forrest had few, if any, equals.  A self-made man, the Tennessee native made a fortune in cotton and the slave trade, enough to recruit and equip his own calvary battalion. At 6 feet, 2 inches with an explosive demeanor, Forrest cut an imposing figure on a battlefield. His command style was simple - fear and respectability!  You obeyed his orders or suffered the consequences. Before the end of the war, Forrest killed thirty men in hand-to-hand combat, an astounding number for a Major General. He had no formal military training, but had a flair for tactics. Forrest’s genius was in the use of cavalry as mobile infantry to flank Union lines quickly, disrupt their rear and surround them, usually forcing their surrender. His tactics are used today by the U. S. Army, only they use Humvees and Bradley fighting vehicles instead of horses. “Get there first with the most,” said Forrest. Who better to get there first than the 8th Texas Cavalry - Terry’s Texas Rangers.

Opposing Forces

Forest arrived in Chattanooga on June 11,1862 to a new cavalry command consisting of the 2nd Georgia Cavalry under Colonel J. K. Lawton and Terry’s Texas Rangers under Colonel John H. Wharton.  Their target was the garrison and supply depot at Murfreesboro. The garrison, under the command of Brigadier General Thomas L. Crittenden, consisted of a company of the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry, a Kentucky artillery battery, the 9th Michigan Infantry under Colonel William W. Duffield, and the 3rd Minnesota Infantry under Colonel Henry T. Lester. Three months earlier, the officers of the well disciplined 3rd awarded Lawton a Tiffany sword. Because of a simmering animosity between the 9th and the 3rd, both Union camps were carelessly kept separate, making them vulnerable to a massive cavalry attack.    

3rd Minnesota Infantry Flag

Forrest’s Plan of Attack 

Forrest set out on July 9, 1862.  He stopped at McMinnville for reinforcements and provisions. Two companies of Kentucky infantry and two detachments of Tennessee cavalry were added, bringing the total number of men to 1,400. Scouts and civilian spies kept Forrest informed on the Union camps and locations in Murfreesboro.  During the early morning hours of the 13th, the Rangers took out the union pickets outside of town. Forrest divided his command into three groups. The Rangers would attack the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry and 9th Michigan Infantry camps north of Murfreesboro. Forrest himself would proceed down Woodsbury Pike with the 1st Georgia Cavalry and a detachment of Rangers to capture the courthouse.  The 2nd Georgia Cavalry would charge up between the Nashville Pike and the Lebanon Pike to attack the 3rd Minnesota and cut off any contact between the 3rd Minnesota and the 9th Michigan.  

Murfreesboro (Rutherford County) Courthouse

Forrest Rides

 As the Rangers were routing the Union camps north of Murfreesboro, Forrest raced ahead to secure the town’s courthouse and jail. Inside the jail were 150 political prisoners; local civilians who were arrested for suspected espionage or outright defiance toward Union authorities. The provost guard took positions on the second floor of the courthouse and resisted until Forrest’s men broke through the door and subdued them. The jail was set on fire by a vengeful guard. Fortunately, the prisoners were freed from their cells before the fire could consume them. The Rangers entered the nearby Lyle Hotel, capturing a humiliated General Crittenden. Other officers were rounded up from nearby homes and taverns. The hated provost marshal was found hiding under his wife’s bed.

The Ranger’s attack north of town stalled. Through miscommunication, only a fraction of the Rangers attacked the Union camps, while the rest charged downtown with Forrest and the Georgians. Colonel Wharton was wounded and replaced by Colonel Thomas Harrison. The 9th Michigan’s Colonel Duffield was severely wounded and taken inside the Maney House. His replacement, Lt. Colonel John G. Pankhurst, fortified the 9th’s line with overturned wagons and bales of hay. The outnumbered Rangers kept Pankhurst’s men pinned down with rifle fire.

The attack on the 3rd Minnesota’s camp proved a tougher nut to crack until Forrest personally led a charge after the first two failed, flanking the Union line and capturing their camp. Having surrounded the 3rd, Forrest ordered his men to keep them pinned down. When Forrest’s officers suggested he had done enough and should break off the attack, he replied angrily, “I did not come here to make half a job of it. I mean to have them all.”  Forrest mounted his horse and galloped over to the Rangers position near the 9th Michigan’s line.  It was there, Forrest applied another tactic he became famous for-deception. Under a flag of truce, Pankhurst received a demand to surrender or be put to the sword. According to Ranger Captain J. K. P. Blackburn, Forrest added to the threat with “If you refuse I will charge you with the Texas Rangers under the black flag.” Forrest’s cleverly backed his threat by having his cavalry ride in a continuous loop around the town, giving the illusion to Pankhurst that an overwhelming force was about to storm his position. After conferring with the wounded Duffield, Parkhurst surrendered his command. Forrest applied the same tactic on the 3rd Minnesota - surrender or else.  Surrounded and cut off from their camp, they too surrendered.

Ranger Hat with Lone Star Pin

Aftermath 

By mid-afternoon, Forrest had captured the entire Murfreesboro garrison. The total haul was 1,200 prisoners, a quarter of a million dollars worth of supplies, an artillery battery, and fifty wagons, teams included. Confederate casualties were 65 to 85 men. More important, Buell’s advance was stalled. Fearing a Confederate attack on their base at Nashville, Union troops, to be used against Chattanooga, were dispatched to Nashville instead. Forest and the Rangers had made the ideal pairing.

Terry's Texas Rangers Flag

Shock and Awe on Horseback: The Cavalry Tactics of Terry's Texas Rangers

On a cold, rainy morning, Colonel Tom Harrison, of the 8th Texas Cavalry, scanned the field ahead with his binoculars, looking for Union activity.  With sabers drawn, the15th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment came into view. Harrison smiled before turning to his men. “Now boys, we will have some fun,” he said. “There is a regiment out there preparing to charge us with sabers. Let them come nearly close enough to strike and then feed them with buckshot.” The Pennsylvanians charged while the Texans cooly stood their ground. Before they could close in with their sabers, the Texans released a devastating volley, emptying many saddles and forcing the survivors to retreat. For the 15th Pennsylvania, It was a painful lesson learned; sabers and swords were no longer useful in a cavalry fight, especially when you’re up against Terry’s Texas Rangers.

Since the Spanish Colonial Period, Texans learned the value of a good horse and overwhelming firepower.  Because of the long distances involved and the deadly adversaries they faced, such as  Mexican lancers and Comanche warriors, cavalry became the military arm of choice for Texans. Known as the greatest horsemen on the American continent, if not the world, it was useless to confront Comanches with footslogging infantry and their mule-driven supply wagons. Texans realized a different approach was needed on the vast, hostile frontier. From the Comanches and Kiowas, they learned the tactics of mobile warfare.  From the Mexicans, they learned the basics of frontier horsemanship and riding apparel. Marksmanship came from their ancestors in the United States, especially from states like Tennessee known for  firearm expertise such as the use of the long barrel musket.  With the formation of the Texas Rangers, all that learning and experience was about to pay off.

Organized in September 1861 by Benjamin F. Terry and Thomas Lubbock, the 8th Texas Cavalry or Terry’s Texas Rangers were recruited mostly from the central and gulf coast regions of Texas. Each man was to furnish his own pair of revolvers, horse, bridle, saddle, and rifle or shotgun. As the war progressed, the double barrel shotgun became their chosen weapon.  As for revolvers, the.36 caliber Colt Navy revolver was the overwhelming favorite.  Because of the problem of reloading while riding, each ranger carried 4 to 5 revolvers.

                                           

To widen the scattering of the shot, the shotgun barrels were shortened.  It also made the shotgun easier to shoot on horseback. Though their accuracy was compromised, they were deadly at close range.  One shotgun blast could wound or kill more than one man. By closing in quickly with their horses and then releasing a massive shotgun volley, a Union line of cavalry or infantry could disintegrate into confusion and chaos, especially if they were in the middle of reloading. According to one Ranger, “One volley from the shotguns into their ranks scattered these saber men into useless fragments of a force.”

A preview of coming attractions came at Woodsonville, Kentucky on December 17, 1861. Colonel August Willich, of the 32nd Indiana Infantry, gave the best description of the Rangers’ attack: “With lightening speed, under infernal yelling, great numbers of Texas Rangers rushed upon our whole force,  some of them even between them, and opened fire with rifles and revolvers.” Paired with sheer audacity, it was a method of attack the Rangers excelled at until the end of the war.

Texas Civil War Museum To Close For Good

Texas Civil War Museum

On October 31, 2024, The Texas Civil War Museum will close forever. After 15 years, Ray and Judy Richey have decided to retire. One of the best collections of Civil War artifacts will no longer be available for public viewing. The building has been sold and the artifacts will be sold individually on consignment by The Horse Soldier Antiques of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Except for its Facebook page, the museum website has been taken down.

The museum is a Civil War artifact museum with emphasis on weapons, uniforms, flags, and equipment used by Union and Confederate soldiers. In addition, one of the best collections of Victorian Era dresses in the country is featured. Among the museum's many artifacts are a presentation sword that belonged to Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant, Major General Jeb Stuart’s headquarters flag, and Major General Phill Sheridan’s saber.  

Though public opinion was mostly favorable, journalists roundly condemned the museum for not placing enough emphasis on or completely avoiding the issue of slavery. Because the museum is located in the Fort Worth suburb of White Settlement, they couldn’t resist tying the museum to the city’s racist sounding name. Many may rejoice in its closing, but you will never see a collection like this in Texas again-period!

Funding for private museums is often difficult to obtain and is never a sure thing, especially when you have to rely on a large steady stream of paying visitors. Despite the revenue problems, Ray always kept the admission fees low. It was his dream to present his collection to the public. When a civil war diorama, constructed by Arizona high school students, was destroyed by the curator of a Texas military history museum, Ray put up the money for its replacement, unveiled it at the Texas Capitol, and had it placed at the Texas Civil War Museum. To this day, it is the museum’s largest draw. That’s the kind of man he is. 

Though the film may be a bit outdated and the sale of Confederate-themed souvenirs raises eyebrows, there is no intent to propagate racism, domestic terrorism, the Confederate cause or any cause for that matter. Ray and Judy have provided a wonderful gift to Texas that future generations will never see and present generations can only remember through iPhone photos.