USA > Illinois > Will County > Fifteen years ago; or, The patriotism of Will County, designed to preserve the names and memory of Will County soldiers, both officers and privates - both living and dead: to tell something of what they did, and of what they suffered, in the great struggle to preserve our nationality > Part 1
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FIFTEEN YEARS GO
PATRIOTISM OF WILL CO. OR THE
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
977.325 W85f
HLINDIS ERTARICAL SURVEY
1
mcdonald 26 Sept 40
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LIBRARY . OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Eng? by HE Had 3Sms3 Barday SURY.
Jouph! Comoles
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FIFTEEN YEARS AGO:
OR THE
PATRIOTISM OF WILL COUNTY,
DESIGNED TO PRESERVE THE NAMES AND MEMORY OF
W ILL COUNTY
SOLDIERS,
BOTH OFFICERS AND PRIVATES-BOTH LIVING AND DEAD: TO TELL SOMETHING OF WHAT THEY DID, AND OF WHAT THEY SUFFERED, IN THE
Great Struggle to Preserve Our Nationality.
BY GEORGE H. WOODRUFF, AUTHOR OF "FORTY YEARS AGO."
Patriots have toiled, and in their country's cause Bled nobly: and their deeds, as they deserve, Receive proud recompense. We give in charge
Their names to the sweet lyre. The historic muse, Proud of the treasure, marches with it down To latest times; and sculpture, in her turn, Gives bond in stone and ever-during brass To guard them, and t' immortalize her trust .- COWPER.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY JAMES GOODSPEED.
JOLIET: JOLIET REPUBLICAN BOOK AND JOB STEAM PRINTING HOUSE. 1876.
977. 325 W85f
TO THE SURVIVING SOLDIERS OF WILL COUNTY, THIS EFFORT TO PRESERVE THEIR NAMES, AND THE NAMES OF THEIR FALLEN COMRADES, IS RESPECTFULLY AND GRATEFULLY DEDICATED.
1105662
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PREFACE.
HIS work is no attempt at a history of the late war. Its aim is to do some justice to the soldiers of WILL COUNTY, both officers and privates, both living and dead. It is simply the story of "our boys" and of our county during the rebellion period. It has been written for no political, or rather for no partizan purpose. In the largest and best sense of the word, the author does desire that it may have a political bearing; that it may help to deepen the sense of the value of, and strengthen the attachment of our people to, THE UNION, and'the principles of freedom and equal rights which that Union represents and secures. He would be glad if it should help to " make treason odious " to the young men who are so soon to wield the des- tinies of our republic. This aim, however, is only secondary. The work has been undertaken and prosecuted mainly as an act of justice to those who went out from our county to fight in the cause of the Union.
In accomplishing this task, the author has availed himself of all infor- mation within his reach. Much has been gleaned from the files of our county papers. The matter has, however, been gathered mostly from orig- inal sources ; from the journals and letters of the actors, both living and dead, and from the personal recollections of those who survive. Very much of the narrative is given in the language in which it has been obtained. I cannot specify the sources from which it has been gathered, except in this general way. The manner of its compilation will account for the variation in its style, and the changes in tense and person.
Especial pains has been taken to inake the registry of soldiers full and correct, and to embody the main facts of each one's military record. The aim has been to record the name of every soldier from Will county, with- out regard to the place where he may have enlisted or been credited, and to. exclude the names of those who were not actual residents of Will county .. To this I have admitted some exceptions. Where, as in the case of the 100th Regiment, nearly all of the members were Will county men, I have thought, that a full muster roll of the organization would be pleasing to the members. Some others have probably been admitted by mistake. It has been a work of great labor to collect these names, inas much as in many instances they are credited, in the Adjutant General's Report, to the place where they en-
VI
PREFACE.
listed, and in many other instances no residence is given. Some also enlist- ed in other states. It is probable therefore that the list is not absolutely perfect, and the thought that some names may have been omitted that should have gone upon the record, gives me pain. The fear too, that in making special mention as I have of many, I may seem to have ignored others who are as much entitled to such mention; this fear makes me hesitate to throw the work upon the public. Imperfection however is inseparable from all such undertakings, and the limitations of time and space cannot be trans- cended.
One thing will be noticed, I have recorded nothing to any person's dis- credit, and perhaps the question will be asked-were all the Will county men brave and patriotic? Were there no cowards-no deserters? I do not sup- pose that every man was a hero, or that no inferior motives mingled with the love of country, which in the main, inspired our volunteers. Some deserted. I have made no such entry in the record of names, because I have found so many instances in which the Adjt. General's report is incorrect in this particular, that I have preferred to drop the entry altogether, lest I might per- petuate an injustice to some one. In more than one case I have found a man put down as having deserted, who was killed when bravely fighting the enemies of his country. I have preferred also to reverse the sentiment of Mark Anthony-and let the good " men do live after them," and to inter the evil " with their bones."
The author claims no literary merit for the work. His main desire has been to collect and preserve the facts of our war record. Much time and labor have been devoted to the undertaking, and he cannot but hope that the result will be found deeply interesting to many families in Will county, of general interest to all our citizens, and at the same time not entirely worth- less to the general reader. To some probably he will only seem to have furnished another illustration of the adage-ne sutor ultra crepidam; which might be liberally construed -the apothecary should stick to his pills !
JULY 4TH, 1876.
NOTES.
On page 72, I have left the impression that the amount there recorded was all that was raised in the county for war purposes. It should be said that other towns raised more or less, of which I have found no record. The town of Dupage, I have since learned, raised $12,667.
Some few typographical errors have escaped correction, but they are generally such as will be readily detected, and are not important.
It must not be inferred that all whose record is a blank in PART FOURTH were deserters. In respect to many of these, the record is simply unknown.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
Introduction
9
PART FIRST.
OUR HOME HISTORY DURING THE REBELLION PERIOD.
CHAPTER I.
The years 1861 and 1862
15
CHAPTER II.
From January 1863, to July 1865
53
PART SECOND.
REGIMENTAL HISTORIES.
CHAPTER I.
History of the Twentieth Regiment. From Joliet to Jackson, Tenn. June 1861, to June 1863. 80
CHAPTER II.
History of the Twentieth Regiment. From Jackson, Tenn., to Joliet, June 1863, to muster out. 110
CHAPTER III.
History of the Thirty-Ninth Regiment, or Yates Phalanx. From organ- ization to muster out 143
CHAPTER IV.
History of the Sixty-Fourth Regiment, or Yates Sharpshooters. From organization to muster out .. 180
CHAPTER V.
History of the One Hundredth, or Will County Regiment. From Joliet to Nashville. September 1862, to December 26th, 224
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CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI. History of the One Hundredth Regiment. From Nashville to Chicka. mauga. December 1862, to September 1863 ... 247
CHAPTER VII.
History of the One Hundredth Regiment. From Chickamauga to Athens, Tenn. September 1863, to March 1864. 282
CHAPTER VIII.
History of the One Hundredth Regiment, concluded. Athens, Tenn., to Joliet. March 1864, to July 1865. 319
CHAPTER IX.
History of the Ninetieth Regiment, or Irish Legion. From Organiza- tion to muster out ..
361
CHAPTER X.
History of McAllister's Battery. Company D, Ist Artillery 397
CHAPTER XI.
History of Barnett's Battery. Company I, 2d Artillery. ...... 423
CHAPTER XII.
Brief mention of Cavalry Regiments, and other organizations .... ....
.. 438
PART THIRD.
PRISON EXPERIENCES, DEATH RECORD AND BIOGRAPHI- CAL SKETCHES.
CHAPTER I.
Experiences in Libby, Andersonville, and other prisons, with a list of deaths in prison 457
CHAPTER II.
Our Death Record. Full list of those who died in the service 475
CHAPTER III.
Biographical Sketches
489
PART FOUR.
Roster and Muster Roll of Will County Soldiers.
(517) 1
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INTRODUCTION.
One of the most interesting characters found in all the wonderful crea- tions of Sir Walter Scott, is the one he has delineated under the name of OLD MORTALITY. The character is really a historic one, known to his age and locality by the unromantic name of Patterson ; and he earned his sou- briquet by his devotion to the singular work to which he consecrated his later years, and in the prosecution of which death found him. I scarcely need tell what that work was, for who is not familiar with the writings of the great " Wizard of the North?" Filled with a most reverential admiration for the men, and in the heartiest sympathy with the religious faith and prin- ciples of those old Scotch Covenanters who had yielded up their lives in the defense of civil and religious freedom, during the reign of the two last Stuarts, OLD MORTALITY devoted himself witli a strange and absorbing enthusiasm, to the work of wandering from county to county, and from parish to parish, and searching out in the lonely and neglected cemeteries the graves of such martyrs, and removing from the headstones the moss and rust which had rendered illegible the inscriptions which recorded their names and virtues, all unnoticed,
"From early morn to dewey eve,"
he busied himself, with patient industry, in cutting deeper and afreslı eaclı fading letter.
In some such a spirit,-animated, I think, by some such feelings and motives, I have sought to accomplish a work somewhat analagous to that of Old Mortality. I confess to a profound admiration for, and a deep gratitude toward those, who periled their lives to maintain the union of these states, and the blessings of freedom and equal laws which that union secures. I profess the most thorough sympathy with them in the work of maintaining the Supreme Federal Authority, and staying the tide of anarchy, oppres- sion and barbarism, which threatened the ruin of our fair land. And this feeling I have toward the poorest, humblest man who carried a musket, no less than the one who guided the movements of brigades and army corps ; 2
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INTRODUCTION.
and I never see one, that my heart does not say-this man stood between me- and rebel bullets !- this man helped to stay the torch from my home !- this mam helped to secure to me and my children the blessings of free government, and the protection of equal and just laws! And I have thought it a good. work, one which it behooved to be done, to rescue from oblivion the names- of those who went out from our county-the humblest of them-and to place- them upon that most imperishable of records-the printed page. I espe- cially desire to carve deeper and afresh, in all our memories, the names of those who laid down their lives in our behalf. True, no lapse of centuries- has obscured the few records that have been made in "monumental mar- ble," but scores and hundreds lie buried in unknown graves : falling amid the carnage of the battle field, their bodies received a hasty and promiscu- ous burial at the hands of strangers-perchance of enemies-and
" Their ashes flew- No marble tells us whither "-
or, dying, perhaps of starvation in some rebel prison pen, or of wounds or disease in hospitals, their graves are distinguished from others in the long. files of the dead, only by silent and unmeaning numerals! In these days, too, decades do the work of centuries, in effacing names and events from the- memory, so great is the rush with which one event treads upon the heels of another. Already, too, there is a generation just coming upon the stage of active life who were but children when our boys went forth to battle for the right, and it is but just that they should be told the story of fifteen years ago.
It has formed no part of my purpose to give a general history of the- war, or to attempt a general resume of events which transpired upon the national or state arena, but simply to tell the story of our own county. I. have sought to record, if possible, the name and military history of every man who enlisted from our county, and to follow those regiments and bat- teries in which we were largely interested, through all their weary marches, skirmishes and battles, and to make-in most instances of course very . briefly-special mention of those who sealed their devotion to the cause with. the sacrifice of their lives. Our course will take us through many a weary march, over many a bloody battle-field; and we shall have to look in upon the foul and crowded apartments of Libby, and to go down into the hell of Andersonville !
My aim has been to make the record one of personal interest to every" family in Will county. The general history of the times, political or mili- tary, will therefore only be noticed so far as necessary to render intelligible that of our own county, and of the men she sent forth to the struggle. Few, I think, will question the propriety of such a record. We owe it to the mem
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INTRODUCTION.
who periled life and limb in our behalf. Especially do we owe it to the memory of those who perished in the struggle. Our county, as such, has «erected no monument to their memory,-has taken no steps for the preser- vation of their names. It seems but just, therefore, that their names and deeds should be recorded upon the printed page, where their children and ours can read them, and recall the story of their sufferings and services.
In a general history, of course, we hear and know nothing except of those who became conspicuous as the leaders of brigades, divisions, and army corps. I would do justice, as far as possible, to the humblest private. It was a characteristic of our armies generally,-certainly it was of the men from Will county,-that the ranks were largely composed of as good men as those who hield commissions. From every rank and pursuit in life, from our schools, colleges and workshops, from our offices, farms, and places of trade and commerce, our young men, in many instances sacrificing brilliant business prospects, rushed to the conflict. I believe that in no other war that was ever waged did men-the majority of them-enter the strife with so high a spirit of self sacrifice, of pure and holy patriotism. The ranks were composed largely of young men, in whose bosoms were still glowing all the enthusiasm and romance of youth, undimmed by the sordid motives, and unabated by the cautious selfishness, which settles down upon our riper years.
There is another reason why the work I have attempted should be done, viz .: the influence it will have upon those who shall come after us. For the sake of the future, it behooves us to cherish the memory of those who stood in the "imminent deadly breach," in our behalf. The safety of the institutions we love, and desire to see perpetuated, demands that we place upon the roll of honor the names of those who were mar- tyrs in their defense. I know that it is the opinion of some that the war, and all its incidents, and especially the questions at issue, should now be forgotton, and that we should treat alike both parties in the struggle, be- stowing the same honors and favors upon patriots and rebels. Great names have given their sanction to such a policy. Now, while I would not cherish -a vindictive spirit, I must beg leave to differ from such a doctrine. I have no sympathy with that false and dangerous liberalism, that ignores the eternal distinctions between right and wrong, between loyalty and treason. I do not believe that any government, human or divine, can safely do this. If there was no essential difference, a moral difference, wide as the poles -asunder, between the part taken by the rebels against the best and mildest government the world has ever seen, in which, as in no other government that ever existed, the rights of all were conserved,-and that of those who took up arms in its defense,-then the precious lives and the treasure spent
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INTRODUCTION.
by us were worse than wasted. Such a doctrine puts a premium upon rebellion, and invites a repetition of the scenes of fifteen years ago, and opens the way for the successful pushing of those outrageous claims which are only kept in abeyance until the time when such a false and dangerous liberalism shall have become the prevailing sentiment at the North. We must not, for the sake of the future, so stultify ourselves, and so slander the loyal dead, as for a moment to admit that there was little or no difference in the moral status of those who were so lately contending in the greatest civil war the world has ever known. Rather let us ever and always, insist upon the moral and political gravity of the questions in issue, and upon the fact that they have been definitely settled upon the side of freedom and the Union. Let us still insist, that the late rebellion was the most causeless in which men ever engaged; that it was not like that of the fathers of the revolution, made in the interests of freedom and humanity, but against both, and in the interests of slavery and barbarism ; and that its success would have turned back the hand on the dial of human progress, at least a cen- tury.' Surely if the attempt to destroy our nationality,-if the inauguration of a long and bloody war, with no justification except the failure to carry an election, and solely from the promptings of unholy ambition, coupled with the purpose of perpetuating and extending human bondage,-if this was not a sin and a crime on the part of its leaders and wilful abettors, then let us blot the words from our creeds and from our statute books,-aye, and from our dictionaries, for then there is no such thing as sin and crime! The slaveholders' rebellion not a crime ! It was the crime of the nineteenth century ! Let us not forget this, and let us tell it to our children, and let them tell it to their children, that the generations to come, all down the ages, may know and profit by the truth.
All honor, then, to the men who went out from Will county, and served honorably and faithfully in the Grand Army of the Republic, and periled their lives in our behalf. All honor to the most humble private, as well as those who received honors, and rank, and public recognition. And hallow- ed, thrice hallowed, the memory of those of whatever rank, who fell upon the battle field, or on the lone outpost, or died of disease or exposure in camp or hospital. I claim for them the honors of martyrdom in the most holy of causes, next to that of Christianity itself. Let us deepen in our memories the story of their deeds and sufferings. Let us cut afresh their names on the enduring tablet of history. Not long ago, multitudes gathered from all parts of our land, at . Springfield, to pay fitting honors to the mem- ory of our martyred president. And most richly has he deserved such an apotheosis. But not less, in their own measure, does the humblest private who gave his life for the cause. He did what he could,-he gave his all-his life-the martyred LINCOLN could do no more !
XIII
INTRODUCTION.
Much of the information which is enbodied in the reginiental histories has been derived from the letters of inen who died in the service. These letters were, of course, written without any expectation that any other eyes than those of the home circle would ever look upon them. But they have kindly been submitted to my perusal, and I cannot express the melancholy interest which I have taken in gleaning from them inatter for this work.
Those old, faded, worn and yellowed letters, -- cherished as the most pre- cious mementoes of the dear, dead boys, who wrote them,-what volumes of pathetic interest are folded up in them ! And how many packages of such letters there are all over the land, carefully laid away in secret places, and preserved with religious care! Letters, written in sickness and in health, in camp and in hospital, on the march and the bivouac. Some, written when the time hangs heavy, and the writer unburthens all his heart. Others, written in haste, when about to go into action, or in a lull of the storm of death, or, when all is over, and a line or two is hastily scrawled with pencil, and with no rest for the paper but the writer's knee, and almost illegible, except to the eye of love-saying just enough to assure the anxious friends at home, that -- thank God !-- the writer has gone through the fiery tempest unharmed.
These old letters-written, many of them, on those old sheets emblazoned with the dear old flag, or edged with the " red, white and blue,"-so famil- iar a dozen years ago -- how suggestive they are of those days of anxiety and doubt, yet of pronounced fidelity to the Union! These letters of dead sol- diers-what a world of pathos, I repeat, do they contain ! What breathings of love for the dear friends at home ! What longings to see the old familiar faces and places ! What tender regrets that they cannot be at home to lift the burden of care and labor from father and mother! What regrets, too, that they were not more careful in their demeanor while under the old roof ! What gentle exhortations to the brothers and sisters still at home, to do all they can to make the dear parents happy ! What hopeful anticipations, too, of what they will do " when this cruel war is over !" What thanks for the remembrances they have received from home, mingled with urgent appeals for letters, long and often ! What assurances that they will never grumble again at any home fare, however plain, and what longings expressed for the good things in mother's larder-seeming so rich now, in contrast to a sol- dier's rations ! And what cheerful exhortations to the dear father and mother not to worry for the absent boy, as he is well, and all right, and will soon be home.
One poor boy, just before the advance which brought the "Hundredth" to Stone River, sends his thanks for the box of good things which had come to hand the day before the advance, just in time for his Christmas dinner -- (alas ! though he little dreamed it, his last Christmas dinner)-which were
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INTRODUCTION.
so good, so like home-and which, while they gratified his soldier's appetite, were yet minore highly prized as an assurance that, though absent, he was not forgotten; and then he assures the old father and mother that he is well and hearty, and hopes soon to be home and help them on the farm, and bids them not worry about him! Alas ! alas! at the very time these parents were reading poor George's letter, he lay stiff and eold on the field of Stone River! Oh, what anguish, think you, was there in such a conjuncture! To be reading one moment these eheering words from the dear boy-and the next, to know that he was dead-and that they will never see him again in this world,-that the stay and hope of their old age has been suddenly taken away, without one farewell,-that they eannot even look upon his mangled form,-that he has been hastily buried, without one prayer; and that even the spot where he sleeps they can never see or know !
One spirit pervades all these letters, whether written by offieers or pri- vates-whether by men of eulture, or the sons of toil. They all breathe the spirit of patriotic devotion to the country. While the writers are evidently not in love with their calling, as such,-while they take no pleasure in ex- posing their own lives, or seeking the destruction of their enemies,-yet they all express the determination, cheerfully to endure every hardship, privation and peril, until victory erowns the eause of the Union.
PART FIRST. HOME · RECORD.
CHAPTER I.
HOME HISTORY DURING THE YEARS 1861 AND 1862.
Introductory-First Public Meeting-A Remarkable Sabbath-First Meeting for Enlistment-First Volunteer-First Company-Second Meeting -Second Company-Great Uprising-Lockport and Plainfield Batteries- The Army at Home-Clergy-Meeting of Supervisors-Judge Douglas in Joliet-Camp Goodell-A Patriot Mother-Recruits pour in-One who was too Large-20th Regiment-Enthusiasm-Regimental Election-Death of Douglas-Funeral Observances in Joliet-A Strong Contrast-Wedding in Camp-20th Regiment Leaves-Activity in other Towns-Wilmington- Yates Phalanx-Homer-Lockport-Capt. Felter's Cavalry Company-Some Citizens go to see the Elephant-A Joliet Boy-Keith's Battery-Dr. Dan- forth changes his Weapons-Recruiting in Eastern Towns-Meeting of Su- pervisors-Will County in N. Y. 7th-Recruiting for Y. S. S .- Sensation at Wilmington-Company I, 46th Regiment-Companies K and F, 8th Cav .- Other Enlistments-Good News-More Good News and Bad News-Colonel Erwin's Funeral-22d February-More News-Shiloh-More Funerals- Call for 300,000 more -- Effect in Will County-Twelve Companies being En- listed-War Meetings-Supervisors Meet-Bounties-Patriotic Mothers- 100thi Regiment-Election at Camp Erwin-90th Regiment-Other Enlist- ments-Mysterious Disappearance-War Poet-100th leaves-Home Guards -Supervisors Meet-More News-More Funerals-Some Citizens interview Morgan-An Officer of the 100th meets his fate-How 1862 closed.
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