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 21
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The occasion of this preparation was the approach of a regi- ment (the 88th) of Indiana boys, returning from the battle of Richmond. They were supposed to be the enemy, and it was hard to restrain some of the boys from firing into them. Fortunately, however, their character became known before the 100th annihi- lated them. I think our boys were glad to find that they were friends. And if, when the excitement was over, one or two of the boys were found up a tree, or behind a fence, it was no doubt in order to get a better chance to fight successfully. Was not Fred- erick the Great, during his first battle, found shivering in a barn, at a safe distance from the field-and did he not afterwards become the greatest general of the age !
After they had recovered from the effects of this encounter, they marched two miles further, and rested till daylight, lying down in a soft bed of dust. They were aroused early in the morn- ing by the market wagons going into Louisville with their meat and produce. Some of the captains took the opportunity to buy some of the meat for their hungry men.
At daylight went a few miles farther, and rested through the day. As the quartermaster had not been able to procure trans- portation, it was hard scratching for rations, but the boys managed to satisfy their hunger on fruit and sweet potatoes, which were
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plenty in the adjacent fields. The men slept that night in an open clover field, and next day, (the 6th), marched to Camp Yates, on the farm of John C. Breckenridge, about four miles from the city.
Here the regiment was brigaded with the 79th and 88th Ind. and the 73d Ill. regiments, under command of Gen. Kirk. Tents and clothing were also drawn, and anyone from home would have been puzzled to identify his best friend. The regiment was also put through the necessary lessons in drill, perfecting themselves in the art, which they would now probably very soon be called upon to practice in earnest.
The regiment remained in this camp about a week. Captain Elwood, of Co. G, was made inspector general of the brigade on the 12th.
On the second day after going into camp, orders were given to prepare for inspection, and also a review by General Kirk. The regiment at once set about the work of preparation with great zeal, and equal ignorance. The guns had been loaded since leaving Louisville, and now they must be cleaned up, and got ready for inspection, and boots must be blacked and coats brushed, etc. About 3 o'clock the colonel ordered the companies to form in front of their quarters in ranks of four, that they might be ready to move to the appointed place. But the guns were yet loaded. Some one, ignorant of, or forgetting the standing rule against such a procedure, fired off his gun-it was so much easier than to draw the charge. The example was contagious ; everybody else followed suit, and pop, pop, all down the line go the guns. The old nick was to pay at once. The pickets on the distant outposts hearing the sound fired off their guns to give the alarm, the long roll was sounded, and every body but the innocent 100th thought that John Morgan, or Gen. Bragg, or Jeff. Davis, or the devil, or the whole confederacy were upon them. The 100th enjoyed the sen- sation they had created, but Col. Bartleson was very much morti- fied, and Gen. Kirk stormed and swore at the boys, calling them an undisciplined mob. The review was postponed for that day, and Col. Bartleson ordered to bring his regiment to a better state of discipline.
While at this camp the regiment was presented with a banner
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from the ladies of Joliet. It was accompanied by an eloquent let- ter from Judge Parks, to which the colonel sent a suitable reply. At the same time the colonel was presented with an elegant sword, by the officers of the regiment.
Sept. 10th, the brigade moved from camp "Dick Yates," to a position in the southern suburbs of Louisville, and our regiment camped on the place of a Mr. Casseday, a brother of the late G. W. Casseday, of Joliet. On Sunday the 14th, the principal part of the brigade moved with three days' cooked rations, on a scouting expedition on the Beardstown or Shelbyville pike, to look after some rebel cavalry reported near Spring Creek, twelve miles from Louisville. They moved slowly along the pike, Gen. Kirk and staff at the head of the column, halting occasionally while some of the staff stopped to make inquiries. Major Hammond was in command of the rear guard. A clumsy, innocent looking old market wagon, driven by an old butternut, was allowed by the Major to pass along up the line to the head, where it was stopped by the General who gave the Major a severe reprimand for allowing it to pass. He suspected that it might be a spy going to inform the rebels of the approach of the brigade.
Near the end of the march they crossed a little creek. The colonel's horse, which by the way was a little gray mustang be- longing to Lieut. Williams, (somewhat noted for his taste in horse flesh), seemed to want to drink, so the colonel rode him into the stream. When he had got into the middle of the stream the col- onel threw the bridle upon the mustang's neck, so that he could drink the easier. The mustang it seems wanted a bath more than he did a drink, for without giving the colonel any notice, he incontinently lay down in the water to the no small amusement of the spectators, but to the great damage of the colonel's toilet and temper.
I have heard this freak of the mustang attributed to two causes. Some explain it on the supposition that a former owner had learned the animal to lie down whenever the bridle was thrown upon his neck ; while others insist that the matter is suf- ficiently accounted for by the fact that his (then) present owner was a zealous Baptist deacon.
The regiment encamped that night in a partly wooded field to the right of the pike.
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On the 15th, it returned to the city, without having captured any rebels, and camped at night at the old camp, Casseday.
On the 16th, the brigade was marched down into and around the city. The day was excessively hot, the mercury 105 in the shade. The men were fully equipped, and as yet, unused to marching, and the consequence was that many fell out by the way, utterly unable to stand the heat and dust. Some had sunstroke and were sent to the hospital. There were no fatal cases in the 100th, but there were two or three in the other regiments of the brigade. The dust was suffocating, rising higher than the tree tops, and enveloping everyone. The men were absolutely choked by it. The ladies in some portions of the city turned out and gave the men water, and presented them fans, and cheered them as they dragged through the streets, and when some fell out by the way exhausted, held the heads of the fainting and almost dying men. I am afraid the boys, many of them, imitated the Eng- lish army in Flanders that day, and that curses deep, if not loud were hurled at the head of Gen. Nelson, at whose command this unnecessary marching was done, and who with his staff sat on the verandah of the Gault House, and coolly viewed the demoralized troops as they marched by.
On the 18th, the morning papers announced the surrender of Munfordsville to the rebels, and matters began to look serious ; and on the 19th the troops, the 100th among them, were ordered into the city to work on and man the intrenchments. Non- combatants were also required to take the shovel, and assist in the work. The darkies were also pressed into the service. And just here came in a good joke upon a couple of Joliet boys, which as I may not have another chance to get them into history, must be told. Fred Woodruff and Dick Willis had gone down to Louis- ville to see the boys, had been out to their camp, and were now laying around the city loose. Some of the military authorities,- as the story goes,-not knowing that they were from Joliet, and thinking from their appearance that they might serve the country with the shovel, if they could not with a musket, put them upon the intrenchments. But I believe they made such awkward work handling the shovel, that they were glad to get rid of them the next day.
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On the 20th, the brigade marched out on the Bardstown pike nine miles, staying there until the 22d, when it returned to Camp Casseday. The next day it was ordered into the city again, and placed behind the intrenchments. The excitement was intense. Bragg was reported to be close by. Stores were closed, and many women and children left the city. But Buell's army came in ahead. The difference in the appearance of his army, coming in from its long and hasty march from Corinth, all rags and dirt, and the fresh rig of Kirk's brigade, was very noticeable, and highly suggestive. On the 26th, the regiment was moved to the eastern side of the city, and took up quarters in an old rope- walk.
At this time, Sept. 27th, there was a great excitement in the city, caused by the shooting of Gen. Nelson, by Gen. Jeff. C. Davis. I am afraid that there was not much mourning over his death by the men who made that exhaustive march through and around Louisville.
On the first of October the brigade organization was broken up, and the 100th was assigned to Gen. Haskell's brigade of Gen. Crittenden's corps. Accordingly, the regiment broke camp, packed up their impedimenta, sent the sick (about fifty) to the hospitals and convalescent barracks, and late in the afternoon started out on the Bardstown road to join the brigade, marching until ten o'clock at night. They slept in the road that night, and were moving again next morning at four o'clock, going to Fern Creek, the place where they had been about ten days before. Here they found the brigade, consisting of the 26th Ohio, 3d Ky., and 58th Ind., all old regiments, and so reduced in numbers that, when in camp, the 100th occupied nearly as much ground as the three. The brigade was commanded by Gen. Haskell, and the division by Gen. T. J. Wood. With these regiments and commanders, the 100th was destined to become pretty well acquainted.
Oct. 2d, the brigade was on the march. Nothing worthy of note occurred, except seeing a wounded rebel being taken to the rear, which suggested that there was shooting going on somewhere. Went into camp just at dark, a short distance southeast of Wash- ington. Were in line again at an early hour on the 3d, the 100th having the place of rear regiment of the column. A trifling inci-
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dent occurred, showing the distrust with which fresh regiments were regarded. Col. Buell, of the 58th Indiana, was in command of the rear guard. Presuming that the 100th would be disposed to " straggle," he ordered in a loud voice-evidently in order that the 100th should hear it-that the rear guard should " fix bayo- nets." Major Hammond, who was riding in the rear of the regi- ment, heard the order, and being considerably nettled thereat, as an offset, he ordered the rear company of the 100th to " cap their guns." Fortunately, however, these two orders did not bring about any collision. Colonel Buell, too, grew very amiable and friendly, after a little, perhaps desiring to make amends, or per- haps molified by the sight of a certain, curious-looking black bottle, just then in the custody of the assistant hospital steward, (some- times known as " Mit.") The colonel spied the bottle, and not suspecting that it was part of the " hospital stores," intimated to " Mit" that he would accept an invitation to "smile." "Mit," always generous with hospital stores, and very Hand-y in taking care of or dispensing them, passed up the bottle, and the colonel took a moderate taste. Now, it happened that the colonel was in the habit of taking his "straight," and " Mit's " was about one- half capsicum. The colonel quickly relinquished his hold upon the bottle, and of the quantity he had taken into his mouth as well, and the smile was changed to tears !
The column moved slowly along, having occasionally slight artillery duels with the rear guard of the rebels. About six in the evening it came to a stream upon the banks of which there were some mills, and an elevation of ground upon which the rebels had planted some cannon, which occasioned some annoyance and delay.
Strict orders had been given by the division commander against pillaging. But it happened at night, just as the regiment were camping, that a stray Kentucky pig somehow got into the way of some of the boys of Co. G, and they thoughtlessly knocked him over, and proceeded to dress it, anticipating an agreeable addition . to their supper. Some old soldiers in the brigade happened to discover the operation, and thinking that they could perhaps profit by the verdancy of the 100th, tried to convince the boys that by all rules of military etiquette, the old soldiers of the brigade were entitled to all such estrays. This claim was, of course resisted and
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resented by Co. G, and quite a noisy dispute arose. Capt. Mun- ger, hearing the noise, came up and inquired into the matter. The captain was quite indignant at this attempt to impose upon his men, and declared somewhat emphatically that he " would not allow any old soldiers, or any old officers, to rob his men." Another officer had meanwhile come on the stage, who asked of the captain : " Who are you, sir, and what is your command ?" to which Mun- ger replied : "I am Capt. Munger, commanding Co. G of the 100th Ill. Vol .; who are you, sir, and what is your command ?" Reply -" I am Capt. - , adjutant general of this brigade, and you will report yourself at once to your colonel, under arrest." Here was a pretty " kettle of fish !" The captain, crestfallen, went as ordered to Col. Bartleson, and surrendered his sword. The Col. had a good laugh over it, and told the captain to go to his quarters, and he would get the arrest removed in the morning-which was done.
Perhaps the curious reader may like to know what became of the pig. I am happy to be able to satisfy this laudable curiosity. The boys, who had been guilty of procuring his untimely death, were ordered to carry him suspended on a pole upon their should- ers for some hours, up and down the camp. While undergoing their punishment, others of the boys would run up and carve a slice from Mr. Pig, which process was repeated so often, that in a little while the load was reduced merely to the hind legs, by which it had been suspended. This was not the only instance in which these old regiments tried to impose upon the green 100th. Along about this time the boys lost a good many of their new hats, while many in the old regiments were supplied with new ones, which it would have puzzled them to account for.
Oct. 4th, the army was on the move. Marched about twenty- five miles. When about three miles from Bardstown, the brigade was formed in line of battle. It was supposed that the rebels, whose skirmish line was in sight of our advance, were going to make a stand here. The 100th was placed in front, and two companies were deployed as skirmishers. General Haskell, who, by the way, was from Ohio, and a most excellent officer, was a little afraid of his new regiment, and was so inconsiderate as to express his fears in very imprudent, not to say impudent, language. "Soldiers of
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the 100th," said he, "you are about to go into battle. The 26th Ohio is placed behind you, with orders to shoot down any man of your regiment that attempts to run." This speech greatly exas- perated the boys of the 100th, and the colonel most of all, who indignantly told the general that he need have no fears for the 100th, they were not from Ohio, but from the state of Illinois- they were " Illini "-men !
Co. A, Captain Bowen, and Co. B, Captain Elwood were on the skirmish line under command of Major Hammond, and when they got sight of the rebel skirmishers they broke and run for them so fast that the major who was mounted had hard work to keep up with them. The rebs lit out when they saw the boys coming, and there was no further chance to make good the col- onel's boast, but it came in time, and Gen Haskell afterwards made the amende honorable, when he found at Stone River that the greatest trouble was to hold the boys back. But the speech always rankled in their minds, and though they afterwards became good friends with the 26th Ohio, they never forgot the speech of General Haskell, and on one or two occasions subsequently they let him know that they remembered it."
Bardstown was found evacuated by the rebels, when our force reached it. On the 5th and 6th the army moved on to Spring- field, and camped on the fair grounds. On the 7th the force had a very tedious march, lasting until nearly morning. The day was excessively hot, the dust very deep, and no water could be obtained until they reached the " Rolling Fork," upon which they encamped. The 100th kept up pretty well until dark, when many fell out, and when it arrived at the stream, and went into ยท camp, the ranks were badly thinned. The regiment remained in this camp until 2 p. m., next day, when it moved on to within two miles of Perryville, where the firing could be heard very plainly, and the boys expected to be in it.
But the "battle of Perryville" had been fought and won, when the 100th reached the field, and the enemy was fast disap- pearing from our front. Here the 100th had the first view of a battle field. The dead of both sides were still unburied, and the wounded were being gathered up, and the men saw what war meant. The next day the regiment moved a short distance to the east of
30
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Perryville, and here in an old frame building a little way from the battle field, their venerable and beloved chaplain, preached his first sermon as a chaplain. No reporter was present to transmit to us a resume of his discourse, but one can easily imagine what train of thought would be presented by the surroundings.
Next day, (the 10th), the brigade was again on the move, and at night went into camp in a place which was named Walnut Grove, remaining here until the morning of the 12th. Here the regiment had a slight foretaste of its future experience-a partial initiation into the business into which they had entered.
The notorious raider, John Morgan, was said to be in the vicinity, and the boys were warned to keep a sharp lookout. The picket line was established not far from camp, and in the edge of the timber, a rail fence running along in front, beyond which was an open field, and still beyond that, a hollow or ravine. The 100th being called upon for a detail to go upon the line, detach- ments from different companies in charge of Captain Elwood were sent out, and were on duty until midnight, when they were re- lieved by another detail (Co. H), in charge of Lieut. Nelson. Nothing of note occurred until in the gray of the morning, when an officer, who was supposed to be the inspector of the line, rode up to the left of the line, and asked for the officer in charge. Lieut. Nelson responded. The officer then gave his orders to the lieutenant to keep a sharp lookout, as there were rebels about, and they might be attacked about daylight. He also told the lieutenant that " we" had some cavalry in front, and if they should be driven in, they must be careful and not fire at our own men. The officer then rode down the line and disappeared. The men were immediately notified to be on the alert, and if attacked to. rally to the centre of the line, and make as good a fight as they could until reinforced. Very soon from over the hill came the sound of officers giving commands, as if troops were forming, and in a few minutes a company of cavalry came dashing up in front of the picket line, and formed in handsome style only a few rods off. They presented a handsome appearance, riding splendid horses, well accoutered, the men all wearing U. S. overcoats and hats. As soon as they had formed their line, they advanced toward the fence, and an officer dismounted and commenced laying down the
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fence. One of our boys caught a glimpse of some "butternut" under the U. S. overcoat, and sang out " rebels ! rebels !" But the officer still laying down the rails, cried out, " don't fire, don't fire, we are friends." Some one fired a gun to arouse the camp, and the pickets rallied to the center, and fell back under orders toward the main line, and met Captain Goddard coming up, who being the ranking officer took command. Believing them to be Union cavalry he ordered the men not to fire. Several of our men however believed them to be rebels and jumped behind the trees to be ready for them. One, Johnny Sarver, who saw the butter- nut and was determined not to be fooled, drew a bead on the offi- cer and fired, wounding him and killing his horse, a beautiful bay. The rebels, for such they were, no longer attempted to con- ceal their character, but fired a volley from their carbines at our men and turned to run, taking the wounded men along. Our boys opened on them, and several saddles were emptied. The camp was now all alive, and a battery also opened upon them.
They proved to be a company of Morgan's cavalry, and the man shot by Sarver (and who it was found next day had died) was one of Morgan's Majors. One man of our regiment, James S. Connor, of Co. H, was slightly wounded. Here then was the first blood drawn from the enemy by the 100th, and also the first blood shed by the regiment in the good cause. The last was not very much, but enough to say blood!
This Johnny Sarver, who has the credit of bringing the first rebel to grief, was the youngest man in the regiment, in fact a mere boy of fifteen, and could only get into the service as a mu- sician. But after he got to Louisville, he laid down his fife and took a musket, and as we have seen, knew how to use it ; and he carried it as bravely as the oldest, up to the terrific charge on Kenesaw, June 27th, 1864, in which he was killed. Harry Clay King was another brave boy, only a little older, and being about the same size, and standing in the ranks beside Sarver, the two received the sobriquet of " the pony team," and by this were known in the regiment. James S. Connor, who had the honor of shed- ding the first blood of the 100th, went through the service after- wards unscathed.
The army advanced slowly, part of the time in line of battle,
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with skirmishing going on in front, and passing through Dan- ville, Stamford and Crab Orchard, camped on the night of the 15th, about five miles beyond the last named place. Here part of the brigade, mostly convalescents, were left in camp, while the rest of the command continued on to Wild Cat. These continued for four or five days up in this wild, mountainous region. The command ran short of rations and forage, and the regiment was sent on the 16th to forage. On the 18th, they went beyond Wild Cat a few miles. Rations still short. Some of the boys tried the experiment of making hulled corn, but they were not very suc- cessful. The product did not seem to be healthy, or at least it oc- casioned a call on the doctor for remedies. For a few days, the boys were a little more hungry than was agreeable. Indeed one soldier writing home at the time, says he got so hungry that he stole the corn from the mules to stay his own stomach ! We shall find in the course of this history that they had to resort to this trick again. On the 20th, fortunately, the trains came up with rations. On the 22d-Bragg having made his escape through Cumberland Gap-the army started back through Mt. Vernon, Crab Orchard, and Stamford. At Crab Orchard on the 25th, occurred the first death with the regiment, Robert A. Hughes, Co. A. He was from Wilmington.
At Stamford, the enemy took a new route southwest, through Weathersfield and Liberty, camping on the night of the 25th at Columbia, having marched at the rate of twenty-two miles a day. The day's march, which terminated at Columbia, was a terrible one. The 100th was rear guard, following all the wagons. The weather was cold and damp, and about 3 p. m. it began to snow, making the marching just horrible. The colonel was put under arrest for his leniency in allowing the men to straggle and ride in the wagons. The four days' severe marching made many in the old regiments give out, and told heavily upon the 100th. Many got sick, and all footsore. The boys, no doubt, thought of the comfortable homes they had left, and felt a little blue. A division hospital was established in the town, and 12 sent from the 100th, while 171 reported at surgeon's call. Remained here until the 30th.
On the 24th, when the boys had gone into camp about half a
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mile from Green River, occurred a little incident, which might be characterized as painfully ludicrous. The men were all very tired. Chaplain Crews, who messed with the officers of Co. K, told the boys that if they would build a fire, he would go to the river and bring the water. Accordingly, he threw off his fine new overcoat, and tucking it safely away under a pile of rails, started on his kind errand. Meanwhile the boys set themselves to work to build the fire, and, by a strange fatality, built it against the pile of rails where the chaplain had hid his coat ; and when he got back with the water he " smelt woolen," and investigating the matter, found his new coat about half consumed! Philosophy, stoicism, even patriotism, could not have sustained a man at such a time ! Nothing but grace, and a good deal of it-which, fortunately, the good chaplain had-could have kept a man under such circum- stances from " slinging words " not found in Webster's unabridged !
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