April 2, 1864 and later - A.P. Campbell correspondence (near Blue Springs and Cleveland, Tennessee)

April 2, 1864

Correspondence from A.P. Campbell to various officers. Scouts had observed about 2000 rebels eight miles east of Cleveland, Tennessee. Union officers expect some kind of skirmish or movement, and are trying to find out what Confederate troops are on the move, and for what purpose. I think it turns out to be a reconn. Several roads are mentioned, among them, Benton road, and Dalton and Charleston road.

Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 32, Part 3 (Correspondence), 224.
Campbell Correspondence, April 2, 1864
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/233/?q=spring%20place

April 3, 1864, and later...

Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 32, Part 3 (Correspondence), 240. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/249/?q=spring%20place

For another day or so, Union scouts continued to watch Confederate detachments as they moved in the vicinity of Cleveland, Tennessee. Federal officers particularly feared that Longstreet was sending troops to support Johnston at Dalton, Georgia, which wasn't true. Some of the correspondence around this date mentions that speculation. In one letter from General Thomas, he mentions that the movement of April 2 was just a Rebel reconnaissance movement.