Colonel Wade in position on the bluff near Harpeth Shoals, the morning of January 13th, espied the steamer Trio coming down stream. A shell from the six ponder gun on the bluff through her cabin and a second peremptory order from the Colonel, brought her with colors down to shore, a capture. The load aboard consisted largely of troops wounded in the Murfreesboro campaign now en route to Louisville hospitals. Before the Trio could be unloaded two other steamers turned the bend in the river. The Colonel, seeing them, ordered his men to the bluff, where they concealed themselves effectually. No heed being given to a call to come to shore, a shower of bullets from rifles fell upon the pilot house and deck of the Hastings from the bluff. Surgeon Gaddis was on board with 260 wounded soldiers besides guards. For beds cotton bales were used. The surgeon took command of the boat and in reply to a demand from shore, shouted back that the boat was loaded with wounded and could not stop. Three volleys of musketry delivered caused him to call to the pilot, "Round the steamer to shore".

The Parthenia, companion of the Hastings, turned to escape back up stream, but a shot from the six-pounder on the bluff into her side brought her to shore. The Hastings was paroled to carry the wounded, the paroled soldiers and crews of the three steamers to Louisville.

Wade allowed the cotton bales to remain on the Hastings, beds for the wounded. His parole of the boat and prisoners and the solemn agreement with Surgeon Gaddis, that the cotton, escaping for the purpose indicated, should be burned on arrival at Louisville, were all alike repudiated by the Commander of the Department. There was an existing stipulation, between Bragg and Rosecrans, in regard to paroles and neither Gaddis nor Wade has authority in the premises.

The Hastings having been sent out of reach of the flames, the and the Parthenia were set on fire. Colonel Wade, standing on the forecastle of the Hastings, pistol in hand, heard the report of cannon up the river & a gunboat shelling the woods. Presently the gunboat Sidell turned the bend, still shelling the woods. In hailing distance, the Colonel shouted: "Pull down your colors, or, by G-d, Ill blow you out of the water!" The response was a broadside from the Sidell upon the bluff, where Wades gun rested. No one was hurt. The Colonel yelled, "Fire!" The small arms and the little iron piece on the bluff flashed; the Sidell dropped her colors, came to shore and surrendered.

While all this was going on, General Wheeler, some miles down the river, was hotly shelled by gunboats from the river against which his two light guns and small arms could make no impression. He sent an urgent message to Colonel Wade to hasten to him. The Colonel did not leave off his work in hand. Captain Burbank, Adjutant of the Brigade, brought a second message which failed to bring Colonel Wade, but when he burned the Sidell and paroled Lieutenant Van Dorn, its commander and his 21 men, he withdrew his forces and joined Wheeler that night for further desperate and arduous operations then impending. It was bitter cold and snowing. When Wades 8th rejoined Wheeler, at least one of his bare-footed troopers was frozen to his stirrups and had to be thawed with warmed blankets by sympathizing comrades before he could dismount. Having reunited his forces, the next day, the 14th, General Wheeler sent a part of them across the Cumberland by fording, swimming and some captured boats and, after a sharp action, burned all the Federal stores at Ashland. The six days raid, terminating with the 15th of January, was filled with as many hardships and as much physical suffering as ever fell to a cavalry command within the same length of time. In its marching and counter marching, the 8th Confederate forded Harpeth River, ice-cold and pummel deep, not less than six times. The only solace was the surplus rations and some sustaining grog recovered from the burned steamers.

Four days later one of Wheelers detachments burned another transport on the Cumberland.

http://www.tarleton.edu/~kjones/8csahist.html 

 

Braxton Bragg establishes his line along the Duck River; Bishop Polk's corps is situated near Shelbyville, and William Hardee's corps is on the right near Wartrace. Cavalry extend the line westward to Columbia and eastward to McMinnville, giving Bragg a defensive line almost seventy miles long. To keep the Federal army off balance, John Morgan, Nathan Forrest, Earl Van Dorn, and Joe Wheeler will conduct raids behind their lines, disrupting supplies, cutting communications and wreaking havoc whenever possible. It is "Fighting Joe" Wheeler who draws first blood with a strike at Harpeth Shoals, midway between Nashville and Clarksville. Union General Robert Mitchell raises the alarm, "The rebels are burning everything on the river. There are at least four...freight boats destroyed." Wheeler's men also succeed in sinking a gunboat, the U.S.S. Charter, before heading off downstream.

 

 

    The stretch of the Cumberland River, from about one-fourth mile north of the Ashland City Bridge viewable from Chapmansboro Road, to an area just below Cheatham Dam near where Betsytown was located in the mid l8O0's was known as Harpeth Shoals. A hazard to navigation

along this most busy shipping route between Nashville and points North and South. The Harpeth Island lying here in the Cumberland was notably the Head of the Shoals which extends toward Clarksville for about five miles. The completion of Lock A (# 3 on the tour) at Fox's Bluff in 1904 removed this nemesis to early river traffic. The Steamboat "General Jackson" Sank on the Shoals on May 30, 1821. She was raised and subsequently sold at public auction in a very bad state of repair. Many other boats laden with merchandise were lost here prior to the completion of Lock A. The Harpeth Shoals played a major part in interrupting movement of boats during the Civil War.

On January 10, 1862 the gunboat "Slidell" along with four transport boats of the Union Forces were sunk by Confederate Forces at Harpeth Shoals.

    The river itself has, in the past, been known as the "Chaouanon" or "Old Shaunanon" French for Shawnee and on some early maps was shown as the "Skipakicipi. Some Indian tribes referred to it also as the "Warioto".

NOTE: SEE: "Steamboating on the Cumberland" By Byrd Douglas