It is by sheer chance that I came across your recent conversation regarding Forrest’s cavalry and the incident of the “murder” of Captain
Freeman, supposedly after he “surrendered” to a Union Cavalry Regiment. That was the 4th Regiment United States Cavalry and I have spent the past four years compiling a history of the regiment during the Civil War. My great-grandfather rode with the Regiment from 1859 to 1872.

As a consequence of this interest, I joined our local Civil War Round Table group and have come to understand and appreciate that there are always two sides to incidents having to do with the war! The controversies still rage 150 years later!

I have another side of the story to the Freeman incident. Based on my research and my readings of the writings of members of the 4th Regiment and everything else I’ve read to date, I believe I have an understanding of the character of the men of the 4th Cavalry. For the most part these men were career soldiers with a great deal of pride in their Regiment. Unlike the hundreds of volunteer cavalry units raised by the states, there were only 6 United States Cavalry Regiments in the Civil War, and only one, the 4th, fought in the Western Theater. By April, 1863, most of the officers leading the 12 companies of the Regiment had been promoted from the enlisted ranks. For about 18 months, they were part of Colonel Robert H. G. Minty’s “Saber Brigade”, along with the 4th Michigan and 7th Pennsylvania. It is my theses that this was one of the finest Cavalry Brigades in the war - but I’m biased.

As such, I have difficulty with the story circulated by Forrest’s Cavalry. About a month before the Freeman incident, a major controversy arose between the cavalry regiments that initiated correspondence between Confederate General Bragg and General Rosecrans: The use of
sharpened sabers in combat. As I’ve discovered, it has been commonly thought, and not without reason, that the saber was of little use in the Civil War. This was not the case with the “Saber Brigade” as both their commander, Colonel Minty, and the Union Cavalry Commander, DavidS. Stanley (formerly an officer in the 4th U. S.) believed in and encouraged the use of the (sharpened) saber as a viable weapon of a cavalry regiment. Based on my research, they put it to use with great skill and results - being given their designation, the Saber Brigade, by General Rosecrans. The use of sharpened sabers by the 4th U. S. and the 7th Pennsylvania enraged Forrest and he swore to take no prisoners from those units. Whether or not he followed through is probably impossible to document but it is implied in my readings that this may have happened on several occasions. The following month brought the Freeman incident. One of my primary sources is the book “Minty and the Cavalry,” written by Captain Joseph G. Vale, 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry; Inspector First Brigade, Second Division Cavalry, Army of the Cumberland, published in 1886. He is frequently cited in other publications and considered a very reliable source. The following is from pages 145-47:

"On the 9th of April, Forrest made an attack upon Franklin. General Stanley, with the Fourth United States Cavalry, being on a scout in that vicinity, crossed the Harpath north-east of the town and engaged the enemy, under Colonel Starnes, whose force on that part of the field consisted of his own brigade and Freeman’s battery of four pieces. The Fourth Cavalry dashed upon the center of Starnes’ line, broke it, driving it demoralized from the field; then charged upon the battery. A short but desperate encounter took place over the guns. Freemen, knowing that Forrest’s whole force was at hand, encouraged his men to fight to the last, and, when completely overpowered, endeavored to retreat with two of his guns. Lieutenant Rendlebock, with two companies, dashed after, and soon overtaking him, demanded his own, and the surrender of the guns. Freeman refused, urged his horses on, firing his revolver almost in the face of the Lieutenant. At his third shot, Sergeant Major Strickland, with a single shot from his revolver, laid him dead on the road. The guns were then brought back to where the other portion of the battery was in the possession of the Fourth.

Forrest promptly rallied his command, and attacked the Fourth with Armstrong’s brigade. The Fourth, being entirely unsupported,
retreated, when nearly surrounded, to the north side of the river, abandoning, after disabling the captured guns. The rebel loss in this engagement was fifty-seven killed, and over one hundred and fifty wounded and captured. Most of the wounded prisoners were re- captured when the regiment retreated, but the Fourth brought out fifty-eight unwounded The Fourth lost five men killed and eighteen wounded.

As was the custom of the rebels, after meeting a mishap, they,in this instance, invented a cock and bull story to the effect that
Captain Freeman was murdered by an officer of the fourth, after he had surrendered and while a prisoner in their hands, on their retreat; the object being to give a color of excuse for atrocities committed by themselves, and to create a bitter, blood-thirsty feeling on the part of their soldiers against efficient cavalry regiments in general and the Fourth regulars in particular. Sergeant Major Strickland killed Captain Freeman in a fair fight, and Captain Freeman’s bravery required no false statement, such as made, to perpetuate his memory.

With regard to the raping and pillaging incident after the Battle of Selma, while it may have occurred, I don’t believe it was perpetrated by the men of the 4th U. S., as I don’t think they were in the area, and, based on the number of men involved, may possibly have been an earlier confrontation - actually the last battle between Forrest’s Cavalry and the 4th Regiment, hours before the Selma Battle began on April 2, 1865. General James Wilson, commanding the U. S. Cavalry, had a scouting party of about 25 men, led by Lt. Elbridge G. Roys, 4th U. S., roaming the countryside, keeping the General posted of Confederate movements. Forrest biographer Andrew Nelson Lytle, reports that Union scouts ran into Forrest and his escorts - about 1500 men, and in the ensuing battle, Lt. Roys was killed and most of his men were killed or captured. I’m currently researching this as it would be one of the largest single losses to the 4th Regiment. And I, too, feel as you do, about the loss of Lt. Joshua Holt - Lt. Roys was one of the best officers in the 4th and it’s sad to think he died within days of the end of the war.

Good luck with your research. You’ll be amazed what you find alongthe way!

John L. Herberich
jlherberich@att.net
408-264-0665