USA > Georgia > The army reunion : with reports of the meetings of the societies of the Army of the Cumberland; the Army of the Tennessee; the Army of the Ohio: and the Army of Georgia > Part 17
USA > Ohio > The army reunion : with reports of the meetings of the societies of the Army of the Cumberland; the Army of the Tennessee; the Army of the Ohio: and the Army of Georgia > Part 17
USA > Tennessee > The army reunion : with reports of the meetings of the societies of the Army of the Cumberland; the Army of the Tennessee; the Army of the Ohio: and the Army of Georgia > Part 17
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Furnished with copies of the field notes and records of the original explorations as a general guide, the officers and agents in charge of the work were directed to push their researches into all parts of their respect- ive districts, where they could hear of any dead, or had any reason to suppose that any were to be found. As a general thing, both officers and men showed a commendable zeal in the work, and deserve great credit for their faithfulness. The thorough minuteness of the search affords positive assurance that but few have been overlooked in this great sepul- ture. All cases of accidental omission have been provided for, and any hereafter discovered will be removed by the keepers of the cemeteries.
0
235
Army of the Cumberland.
On the breaking up of the original Military Division of the Tennessee, and the formation of the Third and Fourth Military Districts, the super- vision of the construction of the cemeteries in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, with the exception of that at Corinth, was transferred to the chief Quartermaster of those districts. In order, however, to preserve a unity of plan in the preparation of the record, and to insure the successful application of the original principles which had governed in their prepa- ration, the Secretary of War, by a special order, dated March 23, IS67, directed that all records of disinterments and reinterments should be continued to be forwarded from these districts to the headquarters of the Department of the Cumberland, for use in the preparation of the perma- nent records and rolls of honor for the entire original Military Division.
In February, IS67, the attention of the chairman of the military com- mittee of the Senate was specially called to the failure to pass the Ceme- terial Bill at the previous session. Some modifications were suggested and adopted, the appropriation for the commencement of the work was increased from fifty to seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the bill for the establishment and protection of national cemeteries passed Congress, and was approved by the President February 22, IS67.
The movement had now become indeed a national work. Under the impulse thus given it was prosecuted with renewed energy; and now, in less than two years from the passage of the bill, and in three years from the time the first preliminary steps were really taken in this great work, we are able to announce that the work of removing the dead has been completed in the original Military Division of the Tennessee, with the exception of a few at Vicksburg and Natchez. More than one hundred thousand bodies of the scattered dead, who died and were buried within its limits, including those who fell upon the west bank of the Mississippi river, and in the borders of Virginia and North Carolina, in connection with military operations originating in or carried on within the division itself, have been carefully exhumed and reburied, each in a separate coffin, in some one of the beautiful national cemeteries established mostly within the limits of the division.
Disabled soldiers have been selected by the Secretary of War, under the provisions of the act, and one now resides at each of the cemeteries, to watch over and protect the graves, and to wait upon visitors.
Running number.
NAME OF CEMETERY.
LOCATION.
STATE.
Number of Acres En-
closed.
Total.
Known.
Unknown.
Number of distinct lo-
calities from which
the dead have been gathered.
Number of regiments
represented.
Number of States rep- resented.
trating some points of special interest :
The following is a list of the cemeteries, with a few brief statistics illus-
236
Army Reunion.
. .
I
New Albany
New Albany ..
Indiana ....
6
2,807
2,025
782 761
67
597
19
2
Cave Ilill.
Louisville .
Kentucky . .
....
....
8
3,638
2,252
1,386
228
301
IS
4
Camp Nelson
Near Nicholasville .. .
.
Danville .
2.3
865
832
333
41
136
II
6
Lebanon .
Lebanon .
Logan's Cross Roads.
3
707
261
446
96
73
II
S
Knoxville ...
Knoxville. .
Tennessee ..
IO.
3.153
1,903
1,250
174
257
IS
9
Chattanooga.
Chattanooga.
75
12.843
7.676
5,167
309
655
23
IO
Stone's River
Murfreesboro.
20
6,121
3,647
2.474
58
382
17
II
Nashville.
Nashville .
64.48
16,486
11,5II
4,975
251
741
S
12
Fort Donelson
15.34
670
3,583
1,074
2,509
565
203|
15
13
Memphis .
Corinth ..
Mississippi.
20
5.671
1,572
4,099
766
272
15
15
Union
16
Vicksburg
Vicksburg
40
12,644
3.252
9,412
638
382
24
17
Natchez .
Natchez ..
Alabama ...
...
ยท
Georgia . .
30
9,992
6,777
3,215
1,970
546
23
19
20
Andersonville ..
Andersonville.
50
13,704
21I
I,So7
58
49
IS
Mobile .
Mobile
560
456
104
...
127
18
Marietta and Atlanta
146
-
23
147
15
3
Lexington
Lexington ..
944
797
147
II
3
94
10
5
Danville ..
....
355
344
Mill Springs
Cumberland River .
Pittsburg Landing.
10.5
38.16
13,961
4,932
9,029
341
574
28
14
Mississippi River .
I53
38
22
120
5.50
Shiloh.
15
2,018
....
Marietta ..
NUMBER OF DEAD INTERRED.
19
50
3,995
3,144
237
Army of the Cumberland.
The dead from Eastern Georgia, including those from Lawton Prison- pen, have been removed to the national cemetery at Beaufort, South Car- olina; and those from Columbus, Paducah, and Fort Holt, Kentucky, to Mound City, Illinois; and those from extreme Eastern Kentucky, and country adjacent to the Ohio River, below Louisville, to New Albany, Indiana - in all about six thousand. All others are buried within the limits of the original division.
The land upon which most of these cemeteries are located has been purchased and paid for, and the jurisdiction has been ceded to the United States by the several States in which they are situated. Permanent stone walls, or temporary wooden fences, sufficient for their present protection, have been constructed around them all.
Under direction of the Quartermaster-General, complete lists of these dead are being corrected and systematically arranged by cemeteries : One copy, together with a complete set of the original burial-sheets, for deposit at each cemetery, and another, in the form of a roll of honor, to be forwarded to the Quartermaster-General for publication. In addition to this, plats of the cemeteries have been prepared, showing the internal arrangement of sections; and enlarged sectional maps showing the exact location and number of each grave.
A general cemeterial map of the entire country from which the dead have been removed, is in process of preparation. Upon this map will be shown the exact location of the cemeteries; the limits of the several dis- tricts from which the dead have been removed to each; the location of battle-fields and skirmishes; the lines of march of the armies; the routes of raiders, and all the prominent places where dead have been found.
This, I understand, is to be extended by the Quartermaster-General to include the entire country embraced in the cemeterial operations East and West.
In closing the brief sketch of this great national work within the limits of the original Military Division of the Tennessee, I feel impelled to say that he who thinks to provide for our slain more honorable graves than those in which they were originally interred, dying at the post of duty, and sleeping where they fell, has but a faint conception of the glory of their deeds, or the significance of this work.
Stand, as I have done, by the grave of Rankin, of the Eighty-First Ohio, killed af the battle of Corinth, and buried at the front, on the spot where he poured out his blood, and read the simple but suggestive inscription upon the rude tablet : "He died doing his whole duty; " or by that of Color Sergeant McCall, of the same regiment, and interpret upon his tombstone the classic inscription, made ever sacred to Ameri- cans by its utterance from the lips of the lamented Warren as he fell on the heights of Bunker Hill -" Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori" -; or in the midst of the forest solitudes of Shiloh, on the deserted and now silent battle-field, at the common grave of the Color
238
Army Reunion.
Sergeant of the sixteenth Wisconsin, and guard, who fell to a man, while gallantly defending the flag of their country, and read their names and youthful ages recorded on a common tablet, and say what act of grateful recognition, by their countrymen, of the priceless value of the services they, and thousands of others as brave and pure, have rendered, in their deeds and in their examples, can add one single ray to the halo of glory that now surrounds them?
All that a grateful country can do, is by honoring the memories, and protecting the sacred remains of those who laid down their lives for its salvation, to show its appreciation of the heroic sacrifice, and teach to succeeding generations lessons of undying patriotism.
239
"MEMOIR."
LIEUTENANT WILLIAM L. PORTER, FIFTH U. S. CAVALRY.
DIED, April 23, 1868, at Gallatin, Tennessee, William L. Porter, Fifth United States Cavalry, from the effects of an amputation, rendered necessary by injuries received while firing a salute on the 22nd of February, IS6S.
The subject of this memoir was born at Lodonia, Northern India, February 9, 1842. He was the oldest child of the Reverend Joseph Porter and Harriet Athern Porter, missionaries of the American Board of Foreign Missions. He was brought to this country by his father, on the occasion of his mother's death, in the year 1849, to receive the education that could not be obtained in the far distant field of labor where his parents spent their lives. His father, returning to India, survived but a year or two, leaving Porter an orphan at the early age of eight or nine years. Being placed at school at South Hanover, Indiana, he remained there until 1857, when he entered Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, where the breaking out of the Rebellion, in 1861, found him.
On the 19th day of April, 1861, Mr. Porter enlisted at Oxford, as a private, in Company B, Twentieth Ohio Volunteers Infantry, for the period of three months. At the expiration of this term of service, he re-enlisted, in Western Virginia, as a private, in Company B, Twenty- fourth Ohio Volunteers Infantry, for the period of three years. At this date he was detailed as a clerk in the Assistant Adjutant-General's office, at General Rosecrans' Headquarters, under Captain George L. Hartsuff, and there received the training that rendered his services so valuable at a later date, in an enlarged sphere of duty. Remaining there until July 25, 1862, he was transferred to Baltimore, and was assigned to duty in the Assistant Adjutant-General's office, at General Wool's Head- quarters.
In the fall of 1862, General Rosecrans, after brilliant services in the armies of the West and South, was ordered to assume command of the army then operating under General Buell, and was ordered to Kentucky, where he assumed command of the Army of the Cumberland. In October of this year, Mr. Porter was ordered to report to Governor Tod, of Ohio, who commissioned him first lieutenant, in Company D, Fifty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, November 10,, and ordered him to report to Gen- eral Rosecrans, which he did, at Bowling Green, Kentucky. During the stay of the army at Murfreesboro, and while the army was engaged in campaigning in the field, up to the time General Rosecrans was
240
Army Reunion.
relieved from the command of the Army of the Cumberland, Lieutenant Porter served on General Rosecrans' Staff, as Acting Aid-de-Camp, and was assigned to the responsible branch office of Reports and Returns, together with having supervision of the printing of the General Orders of the Department.
General Thomas, on assuming command of the Department of the Cumberland, continued Lieutenant Porter in charge of the same duties he previously performed. On November 10, 1864, he was mustered out as first lieutenant, but remaining at Department Headquarters, he served without pay until April 9, 1865. On application of General Thomas, he was appointed captain and Assistant Adjutant-General, volunteers, May 16, to date April 9, 1865. In the fall of this year, he was ordered to report to General Stoneman, as Assistant Adjutant-General, and, while on duty at Memphis, was breveted major for efficient services rendered during the war. He was mustered out of the volunteer service November 1, IS66. Returning North, he engaged for a short period in insurance business. Ilis taste for army life returning, he made application for a position in the regular army, which, on the recommendation of the general officers under whom he had served, he secured. On the 13th day of August, 1867, he was appointed second lieutenant Fifth United States Cavalry. He served at Nashville as Assistant Adjutant-General, District of Tennessee, until January, 186S, when he was ordered on duty as Post Commissary and Quartermaster at Gallatin, Tennessee. On the 22nd of February of that year, he was engaged, with others, in firing a salute in honor of Washington's birth day. After firing all but the last salute, he gave directions to fire " one extra one, as the last." The anvil they were using on the occasion exploded, and a fragment striking the leg of Lieutenant Porter, crushed and mangled it terribly. He refused for over two months to allow amputation, as it would render him useless as a cavalry officer; but, finding that he was sinking in his mangled . condition, he reluctantly consented to have his leg amputated, and the operation was performed. But, too late! Ilis constitution, naturally vigorous, was prostrated by the two months confinement and intense pain, and it had not sufficient vitality to rally from the effects of the operation. and seven hours after the operation was performed, he passed away. Thus, at the early age of twenty-six, the mortal career of Lieutenant Porter was ended, and his spirit found rest.
Born in that far distant land of wondrous tale and fabled story, he was deprived of the tender care of his parents, at the time the opening mind of the child most needs a father's precept, and a mother's watchful, prayerful care. Becoming an orphan at an early date in his life, he missed these essential guides in the formation of his character.
This gave him a spirit of self-reliance, almost of hardihood, which enabled him to push his way, and make friends, where a more timid mind would have failed.
24I
Army of the Cumberland.
Lieutenant Porter was of a frank, cheerful nature; active and ener- getic in all he undertook; lively and warm hearted. He made many friends during his career in the army, who mourn his untimely end. Brave in battle, and cool under fire, he was the admiration of the general officers under whom he served. The three important engagements he participated in were, Stone River, Chickamauga, and Mission Ridge. There is One higher than man, whose ways are past finding out. Lieu- tenant Porter went through these engagements, frequently under heavy fire, and escaped untouched, to lose his life, at last, in the festal commem- oration of the 22nd of February.
Only one year ago, and no one so bright and happy at our first meet- ing as Lieutenant Porter. Welcoming old friends he had not met since peace sent army friends to the four corners of our land, to their old homes and avocations, exchanging the hearty grasp of fellowship in our new organization, his very presence, with his cheery voice and kindly eye, made it a pleasure to see him, and a happiness to have him with us.
Let us cherish his memory, and guard well the heart memories we hold of him. In his far off Southern resting-place, may his grave have brighter, fresher tints, and the air about it a sunnier hue, and the birds a sweeter tonc, 'by reason of the loving hearts who hold his memory precious, and who turn with warm, loving thoughts to that low resting place in the valley.
[SIGNED]
GENERAL S. W. PRICE, Chairman Committee on Memorial.
16
LETTERS.
EXTRACT from letter of Major-General W. S. Rosecrans to Major- General George H. Thomas, expressing regret at his inability to be present at the Reunion.
" If the memories of the places and plays of childhood touch our hearts, what emotions must be aroused by the scenes and events of the bivouac and the battle! If the sports of youth, and the adventures of young manhood bind hearts in companionship, and create memories and friend- ships which follow us through life, what hallowed memories, what enduring companionships, what manly friendships must unite those who have cherished the love of country in hearts warmed by the same patri- otic fires- who have shared the same privations, faced the same dangers, and felt, under the same canopy of battle, the lofty emotions that thrill the souls of men fighting for such a nation and such a land as ours.
" Is it any wonder that a bond of brotherhood should unite the officers and soldiers of the Union army? a bond admitting the extremest individ- uality, and variety of character, and yet strong enough to draw to each other men who have been reared in the remotest sections of the Union, and who have served their country in armies on the most distant lines of operations.
"Long may this bond survive those by whose united valor, under God's good providence, we have been preserved from becoming a byword in history, and now stand glorious among the nations of the earth. . May it unite our children's children in brave, self-sacrificing devotion to our country through long coming years."
NASHVILLE, TENN., December 10, 1868.
MY DEAR GENERAL; - I deeply regret that imperative professional engagements render it impossible for me to attend the Chicago Reunion, and I must content myself for this year with sending, through you, my warmest greetings, and best wishes, to our old comrades of the Army of the Cumberland.
Truly and fraternally yours,
G. P. THRUSTON, Late Brevet Brigadier-General U. S. V. GENERAL WM. D. WHIPPLE,
Corresponding Secretary Society Army Cumberland.
243
Army of the Cumberland.
HEADQUARTERS GENERAL SERVICE DEPOT, - FORT COLUMBUS, N. Y. HARBOR, December 11, 1868.
MAJOR-GENERAL D. BUTTERFIELD,
V. P. for the New York Society of the Army of the Cumberland : GENERAL; - I regret exceedingly that my military duties will prevent me from availing myself of your kind invitation to be present in Chicago at the festival reunion of the Society of the Armies of the Cumberland, Ohio and Tennessee.
Nothing could afford me greater satisfaction than to be allowed to participate in the exercises, and partake of the courtesies, of that inter- esting occasion. To be brought face to face in familiar intercourse, and associated with such high, heroic natures as the gallant countrymen who constitute the membership of that Association, is indeed a rare privi- lege; and, except for the reason already given, I should as certainly be present in person, as that assuredly I shall be with you in spirit.
Honor to them all! to the famed and noble living, to the enshrined and sacred dead. "The mystic chords of memory," stretching over many battle-fields, binding you together with the strong brotherhood of com- mon memories, common sacrifices. and common fellowships, will, indeed, notably illustrate the immortal beauty of our martyred president's invocation ; and most sincerely do I trust that among the observances connected with that liberty beloved and rescued by himself and by you all, may be found the annual gathering of your " Association," to keep, amid the drouths of commerce and of peace, the heart green with remembrances of the close comradeship born out of sorrow and of war.
I am, General, very truly your obedient servant,
H. D. WALLEN,
Brevet Brigadier-General U. S. Army, Commanding.
ARMY BUILDING, NEW YORK, December 12, 1868.
GENERAL; - Intimately associated, as I have been, with the armies of the West, it would give me the greatest pleasure to renew my old associations with their representation, at Chicago, on the anniversary of that decisive victory at Nashville; but I regret that it will not be in my power to be present at this very interesting assemblage of officers, among whom are so many of my most attached friends.
I am, General, yours most respectfully, GEORGE W. CULLUM, Brevet Major-General U. S. Army.
BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL D. BUTTERFIELD,
V. P. for New York Society of Army of Cumberland.
244
Army Reunion.
FORT COLUMBUS, NEW YORK HARBOR, December 11, 1868,
MY DEAR GENERAL; - In reply to your kind invitation of yesterday to accompany you to Chicago, permit me to say that I know of noth- ing which would give me greater pleasure, but, on account of a very severe cold which has kept me down sick for three or four days, I do not think it would be prudent for me to attempt the journey. I shall look with anxiety for the order placing me on duty in your office, and will do my best to give you satisfaction.
Thanking you for your kindness, and wishing you a most pleasant journey, I remain,
Very truly yours, CHARLES G. BARTLETT.
BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL BUTTERFIELD.
NEW YORK, December 11, 1868.
GENERAL; - I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your kind invitation to attend the annual Reunion at Chicago, on the 15th inst., and to express my thanks, with regret that I am unable to attend the meeting.
I am, General, very respectfully, Your obedient servant,
R. S. SATTERLEE.
MAJOR-GENERAL DANIEL BUTTERFIELD,
U. S. Army.
COURT ROOMS, NEW YORK, December 11, 1868.
GENERAL; - I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note inviting me to attend the annual Reunion at Chicago, of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, on the 15th inst. Nothing would afford me more pleasure. My duties, however, as a member of a General Court Martial will deprive me of that pleasure.
Very truly yours, etc.,
J. J. ABERCROMBIE, Colonel and Brevet Brigadier-General U. S. Volunteers. GENERAL, DANIEL BUTTERFIELD,
U. S. Volunteers, Vice-President for New York.
245
Army of the Cumberland.
OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF ENGINEERS, FOR PERMANENT FORTIFICATIONS, NEW YORK, December 11, 1868.
GENERAL ; - I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 9th inst., inviting me to attend the annual Reunion of the Army of the Cumberland at Chicago, on the 15th inst.
Honoring the glorious services of the Army of the Cumberland, and of the associated Armies of the Ohio and of the Tennessee, which, under their great leaders, Grant, Sherman, Thomas, and Schofield, achieved such mighty results, it would give me much satisfaction to be able to accept the invitation, and to meet in fraternal union so many brave soldiers and esteemed friends, but my immediate duties, and my private affairs forbid, at the present moment, the journey which it requires."
I am, with great respect, your most obedient, I. G. BARNARD, Colonel and Brevet Major-General.
BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL D. BUTTERFIELD, V. P. for New York, Society of Army of Cumberland.
COLEMAN HOUSE, NEW YORK, December 11, 186S.
DEAR GENERAL; - I return my cordial thanks for your kind invita- tion to attend the celebration, or annual Reunion, of the Army of the Cumberland on the 15th inst., and regret that I cannot be present on that occasion.
Yours, very truly,
ABNER DOUBLEDAY, Brevet Major-General.
TO BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL D. BUTTERFIELD,
U. S. Army.
HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, - Bu. R. F. N. L., RICHMOND, VA., December 7, 1868.
To MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM D. WHIPPLE,
U. S. Army, Cor. Sec. Society Army of the Cumberland :
GENERAL; - I write to express many regrets at my inability to be present at the second meeting of our Society, on the 15th inst. With the memory of our first most auspicious reunion fresh in my mind, it is with inexpressible reluctance I relinquish the design to participate in the second.
246
Army Reunion.
Hoping our grand "Society of the Ariny of the Cumberland" may not be marked " with vivacity of inception, apathy of progress, and prematureness of decay ;" but, like that venerable relic of the revolution, " the Society of the Cincinnati," its glories and its memories may be made inheritable by the descendants of its heroes.
I have the honor to remain, with many desires for its perpetuity, and sincere wishes for the prosperity of each individual comrade,
Your most obedient servant,
WILL. A. COULTER, U. S. Army.
CINCINNATI, December 12, 1868.
AT a regular meeting of the Fourth Ohio Cavalry Association, held December 11, IS6S, it was ordered that Colonel John Kennett, and Cap- tains H. A. Hamilton, and H. A. Osborn be and are hereby constituted delegates to represent this Association at the meetings of the armies in Chicago, and bear our greetings to the comrades there assembled. HI. II. HAMILTON, Vice-President, and President pro tem.
LUCIEN WILSON, Secretary
REPORT
[ Furnished by the Recording Secretary]
OF THE
PROCEEDINGS OF THE
ANNU
MEE
EETING
OF THE
SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE .TENNESSEE,
HELD AT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,
DECEMBER 15TH, 1868.
Brot. May Send. M. S. A. Hh ofstuff
MESIDENT. SOCIETY ARMY OF TENNE .EE
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE. :
President : MAJOR-GENERAL JOIIN A. RAWLINS.
Vice-Presidents :
MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN,
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