Holland City News, January 18, 1962

( This is the fourth in a series of articles describing the part played by

Holland residents during the Civil War. The story was compiled and

written by Rev. Edward J. Masselink after months of research.)

By Rev.Edward J. Masselink Ph. D.

Pastor of Central Ave. Christian Reformed Church

Col. Moore was rated by his opponents as one of the sharpest military strategists they had ever encountered. With uncanny accuracy he anticipated every move of the enemy.

By the middle of May, 1863, Colonel Moore and the Twenty Fifth Michigan Volunteer Regiment were stationed at Lebanon, Kentucky. The town of Lebanon was not very large, but it occupied a very important position. Lebanon Junction, twenty-five miles away, was a strategic railway intersection and would be a likely target for any Confederate raid coming into that region. Lebanon itself had a large ammunition warehouse, and was situated directly on the turnpike highway going from Louisville to Burkesville, Kentucky, where there was a ferry across the Cumberland River. This would be the indicated line of approach for a raiding party coming from the South.

Moore’s men had not yet fully recovered from the epidemic of the preceding winter. Many of them were still in sickbay. Others were barely able to be about. The majority of his men were not ready for combat.

Moore left about 500 men in camp at Lebanon under command of Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Orcutt of Kalamazoo. They were given instructions to guard the city and protect the railroad as best they could.

Taking the rest of the men with him, Moore traveled thirty-five miles down the turnpike to the place where it crossed the Green River. This is at a spot about halfway between Campbellsville and Columbia. At this point there is a large bayou in the Green River which is known as Tebb’s Bend.

On leaving Louisville, Colonel Moore and his men had been issued a new kind of shelter which they called a ‘dog tent, and which is known now as a ‘pup tent’. It consisted of two pieces of cloth about four by seven feet each and fastened with buttons. These were strung over a low ridgepole, and made a shelter for two men, although often three men frequently accommodated themselves in a single tent.

In more permanent camps they sometimes raised the floor a foot or more with bark placed on branches which were elevated a few inches from the ground. This was the only tent they used for the remainder of the war. Each soldier carried one square of canvas in his roll. This was used for any kind of shelter during the day, and was made into a tent at night. Our soldiers in Korea are still using identical equipment today.

Colonel Moore arrived at Tebb’s Bend on June 10, 1863, and pitched his camp in the thick woods just before coming to the bridge. He judged that this was the place to take his

stand and hold the road against any invader. His men immediately went to work cutting down trees. In a weeks time he had cleared about five acres at the neck of the bend. The trunks were cut off level with the ground, so that the area was completely level.

On Saturday night, June 27, Moore’s sentries captured two Confederate soldiers who, they thought, were guerillas. The air was filled rumors of an impending raid. Pvt. John A. Wilterdink wrote a letter the following day to his nephew, Mr. G. J. Nesselink, at Holland:

Camp at Green River, Ky.

Sunday, June 28, 1863

Dear Nephew:

Your letter of the 1^st was received and read with interest.

There are rumors that we will soon be attacked by a guerilla band. Last night two of them were taken prisoners. Today everything is calm again.

We have had five days of steady rain, and a half hour ago the bridge across Green River was swept away. Now we are safe at least for a day. This is the bridge which the 8^th

Michigan Engineers built not so long ago.

Now communication with Columbia is broken, and we will not receive any letters or provisions.

Yesterday we received orders to pack all unnecessary baggage. I think this means that we will soon move to Louisville. For myself, it does not make much difference if we are here or there, although I know it is better in Louisville. I count it a great privilege to know that Providence leads my way wherever I go.

Today our Colonel enlisted ten Mounted Infantrymen and gave them rifles of convalescing soldiers. I send my hearty greetings.

John A. Wilterdink

Part of the bridge across Green River had evidently remained intact and could soon be repaired. Within a few days the bridge was in operation again.

Colonel Moore had only 263 men with him, and although they did not know exactly what was coming, they did sense that there was trouble ahead. As soon as the bridge had been repaired, the men began carrying ammunition and supplies to a more advanced position where, they knew, the fighting would take place.

They soon discovered that the two men whom they had captured on Sunday night were not ‘guerillas’, but were in reality Confederate spies who had been sent in advance of a large raiding party which was on the way.

Colonel Moore knew that there would be more spies around. He was a master at the art of deception, and he did not wish to have it known that he had such a small army with him. In order to mislead the enemy, he had his men walk back and forth across the bridge in different formations.

One of the Confederate spies asked an Indian whether there were any Union soldiers in the vicinity. The Indian replied that there was an encampment in the woods below the bridge. The spy asked how many there were. The Indian said, "There must be a million of them. I have seen them walking back and forth across the bridge all night."

The ten mounted infantrymen, who, according to the letter, had joined Moore’s forces on

Sunday, were evidently Union soldiers in uniform who had been captured by guerillas. They must have escaped, but without their weapons. Moore equipped them with guns from men who were still too weak to walk or fight.

Moore now used these men to great advantage. Since they were on horseback, he sent them out on a scouting expedition down the road to see what it was that was coming. On Thursday evening, July 2, these scouts came back with the information that General John C. Morgan and his dreaded Kentucky Raiders were crossing the Cumberland River, and were heading north on the road to Tebb’s Bend. The flag which they had unfurled when they had established camp would soon be enveloped in battle smoke.