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 18
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Captain John Morrill, of Co. A, then took command of the regiment, and was afterwards promoted to lieutenant colonel. About this time Captain Payne resigned, and Lieutenant Reynolds was promoted captain.
August 29th, the battalion moved to Iuka, Miss. This is a village of a few thousand inhabitants, and was famous for its min- eral springs, being before the war a place of great resort for the southern chivalry. It was a spot of considerable attraction, the spring being in a beautiful grove, with summer houses, and afford- ing a cool and pleasant retreat from the heat of summer. The boys enjoyed the retreat very much, and were grateful to Uncle Sam for sending them to this fashionable resort, where they could refresh themselves without being subjected to the payment of hotel bills. They had faith in the medicinal virtue of its waters.
In September, the battalion returned to Camp Clear Creek in the vicinity of Corinth. August 18th, it again started for Iuka, going by way of Jacinto .. While on the march to Iuka, the tidings of the rebel reverses in Maryland, reached the army. It was said that Gen. Rosecrans on hearing it, jumped out of his bed en deshabille, leaped over two camp stools, grasped the ridge pole of his tent, and turned two summer-saults in his joy at the news.
The battalion reached the vicinity of Iuka on the second day's march,-the day of the battle, which commenced about 5 p. m. of the 19th. The battalion took a position in support of a bat- tery on our extreme right, and was not seriously engaged. Next day it joined in the pursuit of Pricc.
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A private member of the regiment writing home in reference to the battle of Iuka, under date of September 27th, says :
" We left Corinth with five days' rations, and took through the country, marching thirty-five miles each day. On the 2d, about five miles from Iuka, we were alarmed by the booming of can- non. We were halted and told to look to the priming of our guns, then ordered to march double quick. We were supporting Powell's battery about eighty rods from the fight. We lay out all night; it was very cold. The fighting was terrible from four o'clock until after dark. I was on the picket near the field, and the groans and cries of the wounded were awful. The ambu- lance driver says our army lost 300 killed and wounded. The rebs were drunk. The 11th Missouri had to push them back so as to shoot them. They lost two generals, one (General Little) killed, another wounded and captured. The rebs started that night and we started about nine in pursuit, and after marching about twenty miles came up with their rear guard, and our bat- talion deployed and came up too close to go any further without artillery, and so fell back."
Orders then came to abandon the pursuit, and the battalion re- turned to Corinth, Sept. 27th.
While the battalion was at Iuka, many of the residents of northern Alabama enlisted in that and other regiments. Many of these recruits were as pronounced in their hatred of slavery as Wendell Philips himself. Said one to an officer of the 64th, " When I find a northern man upholding slavery I feel to curse him."
The negroes also came into the Union lines in great numbers. Trains from Tuscumbia brought them by thousands. Many were sent to the north daily, but thousands were continually about the · Union camps. They held big prayer meetings, in which they sang and prayed and talked as only the contrabands could. They compared their deliverance to that of Daniel from the lion's den. The soldiers all welcomed the darkies, and even those who had once been bitter against fighting the war for the overthrow of slavery, had got cured of their prejudices, and did not seem to 25
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feel bad at seeing the slaves escape, and every mess soon had its colored cook and servant.
Price having been reinforced by Van Dorne and Lovel returned to attack our forces at Corinth, and on the night of October 3d, formed his lines within 1000 yards. The Y. S. S., went into po- sition on the evening of the 3d as skirmishers. On the morning of the 4th, the battalion met the first advance of the enemy, and was heavily engaged through the day, rendering efficient and ef- fective service. It lost heavily in this engagement,-going into fight with 233 men,-at evening roll call but 160 responded, 73 were killed or wounded. Co. E suffered most of all, losing twenty-one men, killed and wounded, and among these, alas! Captain Grover, who was mortally wounded. He was in com- mand of companies B, C and E on the skirmish line, and was cheering on his men when he fell. Sergeant Major Henry S. Clark, one of Lockport's most promising young men, was also killed.
A private of Co. E, writing home after the batttle, says :
"I am safe and sound after the great battle of Corinth, fought Friday and Saturday. The enemy attacked us 50,000 strong, under Price, VanDorne and Villipugue. The first day's fighting was terrible, but nothing to the next. We were out in the woods, three companies of us, Co. B deployed as skirmishers. Our men were driven in and the rebs attacked the reserve. We fought about an hour, at last they came so fast that we had to retreat be- hind our breastworks. We went out with forty-two men, (refer- ring to Co. E) and when we got back, had but twenty-one. Serg't Henry Clark, from Lockport, is killed. Our Captain is danger- ously wounded, but the Dr. says he is better. Peter Brown from Channahon, Mike McGalligut and Geo. Rouse are killed. Messrs. Coyles, Casey and Tom Garlish, from Lockport, are wounded. John Sullivan from Joliet, lost his leg. We have taken 2000 prisoners. Our men are after Price, and captured his army train, and Price had to leave his horse and take to the woods. We took his staff. His men fought like devils charging our batteries, and taking both ; but the 11th Missouri, (which was really an Illinois regiment,) 52d Illinois, and our battalion charged and drove
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them out. Our camp ground was covered with their dead. It was mighty rough at first, but I soon got used to it."
The same soldier writing again the 16th, says :
" We had a job yesterday of lifting our little orderly who had been buried ten days without a coffin. I helped to bury our gal- lant little captain. I may well call him gallant, for a bolder man never drew sword than him and Lieutenant Manning. I believe Manning will be our next captain. I hope he may. I saw S. W. Bowen this morning. We will have to lift our captain to-day. By this time you know all about the great battle, but you don't know about our company (E).
" We lay out all night, and as soon as daylight the ball opened. We lay between our artillery and the rebel fire for two hours, when Captain Morrill told Captain Grover to send some of his best shots over to see how the rebels got along, when Pat Feeley, Dar- win Gifford and myself, went over to the railroad and got behind an old milk cellar, and with some of Birges' Sharpshooters gave them the best we had in our boxes for about an hour.
" We saw them crossing on our right in brigades, trying to flank us right and left, which they did. I then went and reported to our commander. We stood our ground which was to our loss. We got behind a big log and waited in silence until they came within about three rods when we gave them a volley which made them waver and go into the woods again. In front of us was a deep gulley with a very steep bank next to the enemy. They came to the edge of the bank in solid column, five brigades deep, mostly Arkansas troops. We filled the gully full of them. But our own batteries gave us two charges of grape and shell, killing four and wounding a great number of our company. So we had to retreat up to the breast works, when we stood and held them in check. They came up to the batteries on the double quick, charging them three times, and we drove them back as often. They got up in town as far as old Rosey's headquarters, when they met our boys that was guarding them, and they drove the rebels back, killing twenty and not losing a man. I saw one sixty-four pound ball go through one hundred yards of a solid body of the 2d Texas, killing almost a whole company.
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" As soon as the enemy was driven off the field, I went over to see how many were hurt. The first man I found was John Sullivan, of Joliet. Says I, " John, your leg is broke." "Yes, says he, " but by-we drove them !- they had to run!" I ex- amined many of the rebel haversacks to see what they had to eat. All I could find was some corn, some roasted and some raw, with a little side meat,-no bread in any of them."
Such is the account given by a corporal of Co. E. We add an- other account given in a letter of a commissioned officer of the regiment.
"CORINTH, Oct. 6th, 1862 .- We are still at Corinth, but it was by a close chance that our forces held the town. The rebels were perfectly desperate, and fought like mad men. On the 3d of October the fight was kept up from eight in the morning until dark. On the left our force drove the enemy from the field the first day, and the enemy drove us on the right. On the second (4th) the rebels made a desperate charge on the left, but were repulsed with great slaughter. In about one and a half hours after, the combined forces of the enemy made a second charge on the town from the northwest. Here was the most desperate fighting of the day. Two brigades charged at once in column by division, on the double quick. Two of our siege batteries are posted on the north- west side of the town, and our forces were drawn up in a double line of battle, connecting the two batteries, and also in one line ex- tending some way on the outside of the batteries.
" At first the rebels drove our forces back about fifty rods, and got possession of both batteries and about half of the town. But our troops rallied, and then followed such a scene as I hope never to witness again. Eleven of our battalion fell dead and thirty- nine wounded. The contest remained for some time undecided- victory leaning now to the one side, and now to the other-for about twenty minutes. During this time, the enemy made con- tinuous efforts to plant their flag upon our forts, but no oftener was the attempt made than flag, and flag-bearer, fell from the par- apet together. Our battalion paid its especial attention to the upper fort, or the rebels in and about it, and at that very place the
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rebels first began to give way. No sooner was it known along our lines that they were yielding on our right, than our whole line commenced to advance with wild shouts, and when the rebels saw that our men were going to give them a hand-to-hand fight, they turned and sought the woods like frightened sheep. But while our men were in the height of their exultation, lo ! two new bri- gades of rebels were rushing up at double-quick directly toward our lines. Although our regiments were now all mixed up, yet order prevailed along the whole line the moment the enemy were seen advancing, and an earnest and determined look took the place of shouting. The danger was met most gallantly by our boys- not a foot of our lines gave way, but every man stood up nobly, and poured volley after volley into the foe, still advancing, even when to do so was certain death. They were more than brave- they were reckless. Their officers advanced the last time mounted, but not one who was mounted returned. Their regimental officers were on foot. When they commenced to retreat, they did so in order, but it soon became a stampede.
"The fresh battle-field was awful to behold ; many a Union sol- dier lay dead or wounded, but the enemy lay piled up in heaps- the wounded often weighed down by the lifeless body of a comrade. The fighting continued next day on the Chevalla road, and report says the secesh suffered terribly. Our battalion did not join in the pursuit, being too badly cut up."
In this battle, Lieut. Reynolds, of Co. F, had a very narrow escape. A bullet broke the ring which held the scabbard of his sword to the belt, and a spent ball hit his leg with sufficient force to drop him, and make him lame for a while.
During the fight, Lieut. Knickerbocker got hold of a rifle, but having no cartridges, on coming up to one of our men who lay dead on the field, he put his hand under his head for the purpose of slipping off his cartridge box, which the poor fellow could use no longer, when his hand went into a ghastly wound from which the blood and brains were oozing. Just then some one spoke, " This is hard," said he. The words came from a mere boy, though a soldier. " Do you know the man ?" inquired the lieu- tenant. " It is my father," was the reply. The boy shed no tears, but his look expressed volumes of agony.
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After the fight was over, Lieut. Knickerbocker went over the field to look after the wounded. In one place he found a rebel soldier bleeding from a wound in the ankle, which was badly broken. The lieutenant picked him up and carried him under a tree, and procured him medical aid. These attentions both sur- prised and touched the man, even to tears. He said that he did not expect such treatment, as their officers had told them before the battle that anyone who fell into our hands would be butch- ered. He avowed a determination, that if he got well, he would fight us no more.
Nov. 22d, 1862, the battalion was ordered to Glendale, Miss., where it was stationed on outpost duty, and where it remained nearly one year, engaged in hunting guerrillas, and scouting for Gen. Dodge, and in erecting fortifications, &c., thus assisting in holding this portion of the Union lines, while more active opera- tions were going on elsewhere.
Of its stay while here, we have but little record. It was dur- ing this period that Capt. James C. Cameron, Co. A, of Ottawa, organized a regiment of cavalry from the Union men of that region, which was known as the 1st Alabama cavalry, of which he was commissioned colonel. Philip A. Steinberg, of Will county, a sergeant in Co. F, was commissioned a captain in the same regi- ment. Col. Cameron was afterwards killed in a fight at Barton's Station, April 17th, 1873, and Capt. Steinberg was killed at Vin- cents Cross Roads about the 23d of October, 1873.
While at Glendale, John Sullivan, who lost his leg at Corinth, was discharged, and came home-the boys of his company gener- ously making up a purse of $200, out of their hard earnings, to help him on his way.
The same corporal, from whose letters we have already quoted, says under date of Sept. 7th, 1863 :
" I was in Corinth the other day. I walked in. It is a long walk through the woods, and they are full of guerrillas, and they shoot without halting us, as they would a dog. So we are ordered . not to take any prisoners, but to shoot them on sight. They put six bullets into one of our men the other day, without telling him to halt. But he is living yet, for we are hard to kill. We went
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out the other day, a squad of eight, to a house where we found six women and girls, but we could see no man. So we began to look around a little, and presently three men ran out of an old stable. We ordered them to halt. Two did so, but the third kept on, and we leveled our rifles at him. The mother, wife and sisters screamed out to us not to shoot him. So we fired over him, but still he would not stop. So three of us took good aim, and brought him to a halt. He proved to be a lieutenant in the rebel army. We did not kill him, but we gave him a long furloughı."
We give one more brief extract from the same soldier's letters, to show how the sensibilities become hardened in time of war. He says : " We do have some funny times now and then. We have skirmishing with the enemy almost every day. We killed fifteen, one of them a colonel, this morning. Send me the Joliet Signal as often as you can !"
Nov. 4th, 1863, the Yates Sharpshooters moved to Iuka, and thence to Pulaski, Tenn., arriving at the latter place on the 12th, making a march of 135 miles in eight days, crossing the Tennessee river at Eastport. It formed part of Sherman's great army of 60,000, sweeping through Alabama and Tennessee, cleaning out everything as they went, leaving not a hoof upon the grass-a pre- liminary movement to the next summer's campaign.
The latter part of December, enlistment rolls were opened to see who would re-enlist. The battalion had been two years in active service, and in eighteen different engagements of more or less importance-forty days before the enemy without tents or shelter of any kind, except the forests-yet so determined were these brave men that they would see the rebellion crushed out, and the Union restored, that over three-fourths of the battalion re-en- listed ; and on the 15th day of January it went north on veteran furlough of twenty days from its arrival at Chicago, the 22d. During this interval, recruiting was actively engaged in, to fill up the ranks of the old companies, and four new companies, G, H, I, and K, were added, thus making it a full regiment, known there- after as the 64th regiment. Of these new companies, one was raised in our county by Captain (afterwards Major) Logan. Of the regiment thus recruited and enlarged, Lieut. Col. Morrill was
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made colonel, and Capt. Manning, of Co. E, was made lieutenant colonel, and Captain Thompson, of Co. B, major. The regiment re-assembled at Ottawa, Feb. 14th, and after being fully re-organ- ized, left on the 17th of March for the front. On the 20th, it arrived by rail within two miles of Decatur, Ala., where it went into camp.
Captain Logan's company, not being yet provided with tents, and having no covering but their blankets, and being all " fresh fish," had rather of a cool time, for just at this time a storm came on which would do credit to northern Illinois. True, they were now in the "sunny south," and they had great faith in that poeti- cal expression ; but their faith was somewhat dampened, when, on the next morning after their arrival, they found themselves under a blanket of snow a foot thick. This seemed a rough introduction to a soldier's life, none the easier to bear because the old campaign- ers made light of it. But they soon got comfortably quartered in the town, and the weather got hot enough before they reached Atlanta.
Ten days after their arrival at Decatur, the inhabitants of the town were ordered to leave, and the place was converted into a fortified camp. Redoubts were built, rifle pits digged, and every preparation made for an attack or siege. For two weeks the regi- ment was kept continually under arms. The rebels, under Roddy, were hanging about the place, nine or ten thousand strong.
Capt. Logan, writing home during this period, says : " I can get more work out of my men, when there is a prospect of a fight, than at any other time. On one occasion, when called up at mid- night, in expectation of an attack, I noticed that my company was unusually full, and found a dozen or more in the ranks that had been on the sick list the day before. Among them was Jacob Lutz, of Jackson, a mere boy, who was really sick. I asked him what he was there for when he was sick. " Well," he replied, " Captain, I am sick, but I wanted to get a pop at the rebs and make them sick, too."
The regiment was now placed in the 1st brigade, 4th division of the 16th army corps.
May 4th, it arrived at Chattanooga, and entered upon the great Atlanta campaign. Leaving Chattanooga the 5th, it camped
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1
the first night on the old Chickamauga battle-field. Here they , found many bones and skulls still unburied ; whether they belonged to friend or foe could not now be told, but they gave them decent burial. The civilized human mind revolts at the sight of human remains unburied.
We shall quote now, generally verbatim, from the diary of an officer of Co. F, in detailing the movements of the regiment during the Atlanta campaign :
" We arrived before Resacca May 9th, and companies A and F were deployed, and drove the enemy in their front into their works. In the night the regiment marched to Snake Creek Gap. On the 12th it was in the advance on the skirmish line. Captain Reynolds, who was in command of the right of the line, had a very narrow escape. His sword was hit by a bullet, and knocked out of his hand.
" On the 13th, advanced to Resacca, and was engaged until the 16th, when the enemy retired. May 20th, arrived at Kingston, and remained in camp the 21st. On the 22d, Sunday, inspection. On the 23d, moved at 2 p. m., going about a mile, halted until sundown, when the regiment moved again, and, going some three miles, crossed a branch of the Coosa on a covered bridge, and going four miles farther, went into camp at 11 p. m.
" On the 24th, moved at 5 p. m., passing through a pine dis- trict about eight miles in extent, passing a steam mill and numer- ous wheat fields, stopping at 11 to rest at a splendid spring of water. The men were footsore and weary.
" Moved on again at 4 p. m., going some six miles, camped at dark in the town of Van Wirt; on the way passed a fine slate quarry. It rained all night, and we got thoroughly soaked. May 25th, lay in camp until 5 p. m., then moved on, acting as train guard, moving a few rods at a time, until about 1:30 a. m. of next day, when we lay down until morning. It rained for a couple of hours, and was so dark as to compel us to move by the sense of feeling more than by sight. About sunset, we hear heavy artillery firing some eight miles in front.
" May 26th, moved on again as train guard at sunrise. Some sight for a fight. After going on five miles, camped in the town-
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ship of Dallas at 2:30 p. m., and had dinner and rest. We hear that bushwhackers are about, two men having been found with their throats cut while they were asleep, and one shot through the head. At 9 p. m. we are under arms, expecting to move every moment, and at 11 we moved half a mile, and lay down until morning. For the last two days we have been passing over high ground, being a spur of the Blue Ridge. May 27th, we started early and marched three miles to Dallas. We hear heavy firing in front.
"In about twenty minutes after halting, companies A and F are out as skirmishers, and deployed in the woods, and moved by the left flank into an open field, then by the right flank forward. Thomas Rickard, of Co. F, was shot through the hip at this time. When about half across the field, an order came to halt, leaving about half of the company without cover except two or three trees or shrubs, and the bullets in the meantime were raising the dust lively. Getting tired of this position, we made a change on our own responsibility, and reached the timber without further loss. We then moved forward again, and changed direction to the right, got close to the enemy, within four or five rods, and found them stubborn and hard to drive. We could only move them by making a rush for them. I tried to make one of them surrender, but he wouldn't, so I tried the next best thing, and emptied my pistol at him. The right of the line fell back, obliging us to do the same. The 35th N. J. came up and assisted us. Three of them were killed within fifteen feet of me. When our line fell back they left, although we did not move more than ten rods to the rear, which position we held until we were relieved, after dark. Our loss in the company was severe. A. Wagner, killed, shot through the head, while in the front rank, loading and firing with all his might. We were obliged to leave his body in the hands of the enemy. They buried him under the tree where he fell. James H. Gilfallan, shot through the leg, died at night. Corporal John Parks, shot in the abdomen, will probably die. John Schleken, shot through the leg. Richard F. Hammond, (of Alabama,) shot through the shoulder, and Thomas Rickards, through the hip. Corp. G. Waldron, through the arm. Co. A had three men killed, and among the wounded was Capt. Conger.
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" While writing, the rebels are sending sundry missives, and one of Co. D has just passed, hit in the head. Their sharpshooters look like ' Indians to me, and I have had a pretty good look at them. I was told by one of the 16th Ill. that there were women on the line in front of them, and that one of them was shot."
The regiment in this engagement lost fourteen men, killed and wounded. Among the wounded was Captain Logan, of Co. G., who was shot in both legs.
" May 28th, we lay in camp all day. We found ourselves badly stiffened in the morning. We expected to move at night, but did not as the rebels charged on the second division, but they were repulsed with a loss of two thousand men. On the 29th we were ordered to relieve the 39th Ohio in the intrench- ments, two companies as skirmishers. At night the enemy made seven distinct charges on our lines, but were repulsed each time ; their loss not known. It was a pretty hot time, one man in Co. C killed, and five or six wounded, mostly by premature firing from our own line.
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