ediately; the remainder escaped and ran to Nashville, giving the
alarm. Morgan declared that if he had succeeded in capturing them all,
he would have gone immediately into Nashville. Those who knew him best,
will most readily believe it."

A short time after the fight at Woodbury, Lieutenant Colonel Bowles,
with the greater part of the Second Kentucky, and supported by a
battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Malone (Alabama), engaged a large
force of the enemy at Bradyville. Attacking the advance-guard of this
force (before he became aware of the strength of the main body), Colonel
Bowles drove it in confusion and rout, into the town, and even forced
back for some distance (so impetuous was his charge), the regiments sent
to its support.

In reckless, crushing attack, Colonel Bowles had no superior among the
officers of the division. His dauntless and rash bravery gave great
weight to a charge, but, unluckily, he was perfectly indifferent about
the strength of the enemy whom he charged. On this occasion greatly
superior forces closed in on both flanks of his command, and a part of
the enemy driving away Malone's battalion, gained his rear before he
could disentangle himself. Quick fighting and fast running alone saved
the regiment, but it was a "hard party" to capture, and it got away with
a very slight loss in prisoners. Several men in the extreme rear were
sabered, but, of course, not killed. One man of Company K, who had an
axe strapped on his back, was collared by a Federal Captain, who struck
him on the head with his saber. The "old regular" deliberately
unstrapped his axe, and with one fierce blow shivered his assailant's
skull.

The sloughs and mud holes were frequent and deep. Some of the men
declared that they would "dive out of sight at one end of them and come
up at the other." Lieutenant Colonels Huffman and Martin were especially
enterprising during the early part of February, in the favorite feat of
wagon catching, and each attacked with success and profit large foraging
parties of the enemy. They some times ran into more difficult situations
than they had bargained for, and it must be recorded that each had, on
more than one occasion, to beat a hasty and not altogether orderly
retreat. But these mishaps, invariably repaired by increased vigor and
daring, served only to show that officers and men possessed one of the
rarest of soldierly qualities, the capacity to receive a beating and
suffer no demoralizat