USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > History of DeKalb County, Illinois > Part 8
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and indeed wherever a rebel army was to be found, there were men of DeKalb County to meet them in the deadly conflict.
Volumes could hardly do full justice to the story of their exploits. It has been found necessary in this work to condense the history of most of them down to the dry record of their principal movements. To the One Hundred and Fifth volun- teers more space has been given, partly because that regiment contained three times as many of DeKalb County men as any other regiment. and partly because the history of the move- ments of one regiment in that great campaign is substantially the history of all others who participated in it, and will serve to tell their story.
To the Eighth Illinois Cavalry has also been given an unusually full record because they alone of all our regiments participated in the movements of the Virginia campaigns and their history is the history of the great, long-enduring, oft baffled, but finally triumphant Army of the Potomac, and with that of the other regiments, really completes the de- scription of all of the great campaigns of the war. This record gives the history of allof the full Companies formed in the County. Hundreds of men however, enlisted in other companies and did service no less gallant and praise-worthy.
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTII.
THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH.
SKETCH OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH REGIMENT ILLINOIS INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS, FROM ITS ORGANIZATION IN THE FALL OF 1862, UNTIL ITS FINAL DISCHARGE FROM THE UNITED STATES SERVICE, IN 1865.
In response to the call of President Lincoln, for six hun- dred thousand more men, to aid in putting down armed re- bellion against the National Government, the One Hundred and Fifth Regiment, Illinois Infantry Volunteers was formed, embracing ten Companies, of which six were composed of volunteers from DeKalb, and four from DuPage Counties respectively.
The men were enlisted in July and August, 1862, and went into camp at Dixon, Ill., on the 29th day of the latter month, where they rendezvoused until the preliminaries in- ci lent to effective organization were gone through with. All the line officers were elected by the unanimous vote of the respective Companies, and each of the field and staff officers received every vote in the entire regiment.
The Regiment was mustered into service September 2d, 1862, with 954 men, Col. Daniel Dustin having been by its wisdom and with enthusiasm, elected and welcomed as its com- manding officer. The Colonel entered the service in August, 1861, in the 8th Illinois Cavalry, as Captain of Company L, which was raised in DeKalb County. He had been promoted Major, and served with his regiment in the campaign on the peninsular.
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
For Lieut-Col. and Major the 105th selected Henry F. Vallette. of DuPage County, and Everell F. Dutton, of De Kalb, the latter having been 1st Lieutenant of Company F. in the 13th Illinois Infantry, volunteers, which Company was also recruited in DeKalb County, in April 1861. He had been promoted Captain of his Company in August, 1861, and was with the 13th in all the severe marches through Mis- souri and into Arkansas, under General Curtis. Lieut .- Col. Vallete had not before been in the service. Lieut .- Colonel Vallete and Major Dutton are in stature something over five and six feet, respectively ; the former of light frame, the latter large and commanding. Both are active in their movements, the Major being particularly noted for those qualities characteristic of the dashing soldier.
The regiment was mustered in by Captain Barri, of the regular army, at Dixon, as before indicated. Companies A, C, E, G, H, and K, being recruited from DeKalb county, and companies B, D, F and I from DuPage. The following were the officers mustered at the time of organization :
Field and Staff.
Colonel Daniel Dustin.
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry F. Vallette.
Major. Everell F. Dutton.
Adjutant. William N. Phillips.
Quartermaster Timothy Wells.
Surgeon Horace S. Potter.
Assistant Surgeon Alfred Waterman.
Chaplain Levi P. Crawford.
Company A.
Captain.
Henry D. Brown.
First Lieutenant George B. Heath.
Second Lieutenant Robert D. Lord.
Company B.
Captain. Theodore S. Rogers.
First Lieutenant Lucius B. Church.
Second Lieutenant Willard Scott, jr.
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH.
Company C.
Captain. Alexander L. Warner.
First Lieutenant George W. Field.
Second Lieutenant. Henry B. Mason.
Company D.
Captain Amos C. Graves.
First Lieutenant. William H. Jeffres.
Second Lieutenant. Luther L. Peaslee.
Company E.
Captain. Thomas S. Ferry.
First Lieutenant Marvin V. Allen.
Second Lieutenant Albert C. Overton.
Company F.
Captain. Seth F. Daniels.
First Lieutenant. Samuel Adams.
Second Lieutenant Porter Warner.
Company G.
Captain.
John B. Nash.
First Lieutenant. Richard R. Woodruff.
Second Lieutenant John M. Smith.
Company H.
Captain. Eli L. Hunt.
First Lieutenant. James S. Forsythe.
Second Lieutenant. Charles G. Culver.
Company I.
Captain. Enos Jones.
First Lieutenant. William O. Locke
Second Lieutenant Augustus H. Fischer.
Company K.
Captain Horace Austin.
First Lieutenant.
Nathan S. Greenwood.
Second Lieutenant. Almon F. Parke.
The men were here inducted into the A. B. C. of the service by the officers, according to " tactics," taking the first posi-
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
tion of the soldier and going through the first exercises of squad drill.
About the time the boys began to experience the sensations peculiar to raw recruits, just entering on a change of life and diet, the regiment was ordered to Camp Douglas, Chicago, where, from the 8th to the last of September, it was busily engaged in securing clothing, camp and garrison equipage. While at Camp Douglas the regiment was numerously visited by its friends, who came to see how the boys looked "in camp," and to exchange a few more words of parting.
The regiment was presented with a beautiful stand of colors, by Hons. T. B. Bryan and II. C. Childs, of DuPage, upon whose folds were inscribed, in golden letters, " Strike together" -- words destined to become actualized in the con- duct of the men before the enemy.
On the 30th of September, 1862, under orders from the Governor of Illinois, the regiment left Chicago for Louisville, arriving there October 2d. At Jeffersonville, Indiana, the men were armed with the " Austrian rifled musket," an in- ferior weapon. Reporting to General Dumont, the regiment was attached to a division then under his command, and to a brigade under the command of Brigadier-General W. T. Ward.
At this point the trials and hardships of active soldiering began, as the boys of the new regiment were immediately called upon to execute a forced march to Shelbyville, Ky., carrying knapsacks heavily stuffed, four days rations in haver- sacks, musket in hand, and sixty rounds of ammunition. Leaving Louisville on the day following their arrival at that point, the regiment arrived at Shelbyville on the 4th of Oct- ober, having marched about thirty-six miles in twenty-four hours. For green troops who had never marched a day or an hour before, this was a hard beginning. Although only the first, it was the last march of some of the men. Left Shelbyville on the 8th and entered Frankfort at 4 A. M. on the 9th. The movement was made with the entire division.
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH.
The 105th (and the division) remained at Frankfort seven- teen days, during which time it was engaged in guard and picket duty, with occasional slight skirmishing with the enemy, performing drill duty daily, and exceuting a counter raid upon John Morgan and his command, marching to Lawrence- burg and returning to Frankfort, a distance of about twenty- eight miles, in about twenty hours.
Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky, was an interesting point to the soldiers who were so fortunate as to rest there. It is situated on the east bank of the Kentucky river, sixty miles above its entrance into the Ohio. The site of the town is a deep valley, surrounded by precipitous hills. The river flows in deep limestone banks, the quarries of which yield a. fine stone, or marble, of which many of the houses are built. It contains a State-house, Court-house, and other official buildings, with many handsome private dwellings, and a pop- ulation of some three or four thousand. In the beautiful Cemetery, near the city, are the graves of many of Ken- tucky's prominent dead ; many soldiers of the Mexican war, and the tomb of Daniel Boone, the old pioneer.
Here the regiment became thinned out somewhat by dis- eases peculiar to camp life. Many had to be left behind when the regiment moved on for Bowling Green, which it did, together with the division, on the 26th of October, arriving at that point November 4th. The boys still unused to millitary duty, and poorly prepared to endure a forced march of so great length, were, nevertheless, rushed through on foot-as from Louisville to Shelbyville, with heavy loads-a distance of 154 miles, in ten days. The weather was warm and the roads dusty during the latter part of the march, which added greatly to its trials. Think of a column of troops, already jaded, with exhausted and chafed bodies, literally enveloped in dust, so that one man could not see three ranks ahead of him, much less distinguish one comrade from another !
The night before they started upon this march a furious snow-storm visited Frankfort and neighborhood, making the
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
pulling down of tents and the packing of camp equipage in the morning, a cold and cheerless task. The troops left Frank- fort in three inches of snow, but with confidence in their ability to endure any hardships after undergoing the severities of the forced march from Louisville to Shelbyville. Leaving Frankfort on the 26th, as before mentioned, the command moved about twenty miles and camped at Salt River. On the 27th, passed through a small place called "Dogwalk." On the 28th, passed through Johnsonville, and Chaplin Hill, camping at Sugar Grove. Passed through Bloomfield and Bardstown on the 29th, camping one mile beyond the latter place. Reached New Haven on the 30th, and on the 31st passed near Hodgkinsville, and the birth-place of Abraham Lincoln. November 1st, reached Bacon Creek Station, on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, leaving the sick and sore to be sent forward by rail. November 2d, passed through Mumfordsville and crossed Green River, campni gat Horse Cave. The Cave was numerously visited by the soldiers and pronounced a very interesting natural curiosity. It lies deep down in the bowels of the earth, with a round entrance like the mouth of Jonah's Whale. In its interior is a stream-a deep, small, silent vein of pure water, coursing beyond the vision of the seers of Horse Cave village. On the 3d, passed near the famous Mammoth Cave, camping within a day's march of Bowling Green. Arrived at Bowling Green on the 4th, camping at Lost River, several miles southwest of the town. A small stream, losing itself in the broad mouth of another of Kentucky's underground passages, was the scene of this encampment.
As already indicated, this was a hard march. The officers and men endured it with commendable patience, arriving at their destination exhausted and footsore.
Here the regiment remained one week, drilling daily. On the 9th, the division was reviewed by Major-General Rose- crance. Riding up to the 105th during the review, the Gen- eral, after being saluted, said : "Men of the 105th: When
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH.
you go into battle, fire deliberately and aim low. Remember, that if each one of you hits a man you will kill and cripple a great many. It is a short lesson, and I hope you will re- member it."
The boys enjoyed the brief rest at this point, and under direction of their good Colonel and faithful officers, rapidly improved in the school of the soldier.
Here we had an opportunity of entering and exploring Lost River Cave. One day a party, equipped with candles and matches, penetrated far into the interior, crawling through circular openings to its series of chambers, or tracing the meandering passage which holds in everlasting embrace the little river that is "Lost." The chambers near the entrance to the Cave are oblong, with arched ceilings, and barely admitiing a man in upright posture. They are empty and unornamented. But the passage in which the stream flows is broad, and high enough to admit the tallest man, the ceiling in dome-like form, rising in many places so high as to render its outlines scarcely visible withont the aid of strong lights. For two hundred yards the party picked their way, now and then climbing over rocky places, and on bare ground treading the narrow shorc. The sound of voices vibrated with thrilling effect in the deep recesses of the dark cavern.
The pleasant encampment at Lost River ended on the morning of November 11th, the division having been ordered to Scottsville, the county seat of Allen county, a small town of about two hundred inhabitants. The regiment arrived on the evening of the 12th, and camped near the town. Until the 25th, the regiment remained at this point, engaged in drill and guard duty. Here the troops were required to turn out at 5 o'clock in the morning and stand at arms until sun- risc. This was a precautionary practice.
The boys by this time spent nearly all the money they had received on entering the service, and were compelled to use postage-stamps as currency. In trading with the most igno- rant of the natives about Scottsville, they passed old stamps
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
and labels for money. For instance, a "one cent " Pain killer label, from a bottle of Perry Davis' or anybody else's specific, would pass quite readily for a "one dollar." Thus many secured the luxuries of the country thereabouts, such as pies, cakes, eggs, or anything else eatable.
While here, the 105th, together with a section of a battery, executed a sort of mock battle, the former manœuvering and charging before the latter while firing blank cartridges. The battle was spirited, and admirably conducted by Colonel Dus- tin and the commanding officers of the battery.
The first changes among commissioned officers occurred November and December, 1862, as follows :
Captain Horace Austin, Company K, of DeKalb, resigned November 26th, First Lieutenant Nathan S. Greenwood, of Clinton, succeeding as Captain.
Adjutant William N. Phillips, of Wayne, DuPage, resigned December 2, Sergeant-Major David D. Chandler, of DeKalb, succeeding as Adjutant.
Chaplain Levi P. Crawford, of Sandwich, DeKalb, resigned December 24, Daniel Chapman succeeding as Chaplain.
Second Lieutenant Robert D. Lord, of Geneva, Company A, resigned December 17, Sergeant William R. Thomas, of Sycamore, succeeding as Second Lieutenant.
First Lieutenant Richard R. Woodruff, Company G, of Sycamore, resigned December 24, Second Lieutenant John M. Smith, of Burlington, Kane county, succeeding as First Lieutenant.
Captain Eli L. Hunt, Company K, of Sandwich, resigned December 17, First Lieutenant James S. Forsythe, of Som- onauk, succeeding as Captain.
Captain Enos Jones, Company I, of Milton, DuPage, ro- signed December 17, First Lieutenant William O. Lock, of Addison, succeeding as Captain.
In the above instances, promotions were made according to rank in the filling of the vacancies.
On the 25th moved to Gallatin, Tennessee, arriving on the
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH.
26th. Gallatin is a pleasant place, of about two thousand inhabitants, the county seat of Sumner County, on the Louis- ville and Nashville Railroad, distant from Nashville twenty- five miles north.
The brigade to which the regiment was attached embraced the following regiments : 70th Indiana, 105th, 102d, 129th Illinois and 79th Ohio. About the 10th of December, the brigade was ordered into winter quarters at Gallatin, except the 105th, which on the 11th moved to South Tunnel, six miles north of Gallatin, relieving an entire brigade of Ohio troops. under command of General Steadman. Here the regiment remained until the 1st of February, 1863, except Company A, Captain Brown, which was stationed during the winter at a Railway bridge half-way between the tunnel and Gallatin, during which time constant scouting duty was per- formed. Much sickness prevailed, and many deaths occurred. The camp was located on high, but soft ground, near the mouth of the tunnel-really on the side of a mountain, whose lofty summit overlooked the camp and railway station to the north. This position was the scene of much suffering, and varied and wearisome duties. The regimental Surgeon II. S. Potter, and Assistant Surgeon George W. Boggs, though among the best medical officers of the department, could hardly stem the tide of disease, which seemed to swecp through the camp at times with the fatality of an epedemic. The chief Surgeon himself narrowly escaped death by discase.
First Assistant Surgeon Alfred Waterman had been as- signed to the small-pox hospital, at Bowling Green, immedi- ately after the arrival of the regiment at that point. This was the scene of his own severe illness, as well as important service. Remaimed there until about the 18th of February, 1863, when he returned to the regiment, then at Gallatin. He escaped the horrors of South Tunnel, but not the horrors of Bowling Green, which seemed to be all hospital and noth- ing else. The regiment lost a few men there.
Right here let us remark concerning the chief Surgcon of
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
the 105th, and the Assistant Surgeons, that in the exigencies of every situation they were found to be men of sterling in- tegrity and large capacity. Surgeon Potter was a gentleman of fine sensibilities, and on all occasions manifested a willing- ness to go to the end of his powers of endurance in order that nothing it was possible for him to do might be left undone.
First Assistant Surgeon Waterman, an officer of stronger physical powers and great activity, afterward became chief Surgeon, filling up the measure of his duties in whatever sphere he was called to act.
Second Assistant Surgeon-afterward First Assistant- George W. Boggs, a young officer of decided skill, filled his position in the most creditable manner.
Grim death bore away from that mountain height at South Tunnel many a gallant soldier, and some friends visiting the regiment from homes in the North, arrived after their boys had been buried. Henry S. Kingsley, an honorable and talented young member of Company F, Captain Daniels' Company, died of typhoid fever. His father, Rev. Mr. Kingsley, hearing of his sickness, came all the way from Cook County, Ill., to Gallatin, Tenn., only to learn that his boy was dead and buried some hours before his arrival.
In the mind of every soldier who wintered at South Tun- nel the recollection of its experience will stand out in gloomy relief.
The regiment was ordered back to Gallatin, February 1st, 1863, where it remained with the brigade until the last of May. On the 14th day of March, Companies D, F, H and G were detailed as provost guard, and performed that duty creditably, making friends of the citizens of Gallatin by their steady habits and good behavior.
Up to this period-May 1863-the regiment had lost 205 men, died and discharged on account of disability. But for the exposure and the severe marches it had undergone, the larger portion of those who died and those discharged, would
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH.
have been numbered among the effective force of the organi- zation.
During the six months stop at Gallatin and the Tunnel, ending the 1st of June, 1863, the regiment performed a great amount of hard labor, constructing earthworks, scouting, clearing the country of bushwhackers, gathering forage, horses, etc., and capturing rebels. Major Dutton had charge of all the scouts-fifty from each regiment of the post-riding night and day for weeks through the country, at one time (May 19), making quite a capture of prisoners on the south side of the Cumberland river, attended with a skirmish, dur- ing which a Lieutenant Record, of the 70th Indiana, was wounded. At another time the Major captured, and brought in, seventy-eight bales of cotton, from across the river, fifty horses and mules, and several rebels.
The Gallatin printing office was placed in charge of Private Ogdon Whitlock of Company F, 105th, by Major Scarritt, Provost Marshal under General Paine, Post Commander. Private Whitlock acted as Post printer, turning out a large amount of Government printing in the shape of job work, and together with Sergeant J. E. Harroun, of the 102d Illi- nois, as senior editor, and Privates Bell and Patrick, of the 102d, and Company A, 105th, respectively, published a well- filled and well-edited six-column weekly paper called the Courier, which enjoyed a circulation of 1200, having many northern exchanges, and receiving complimentary notices from such papers as the Indianapolis Daily Journal, Gazette, Weekly Chicago Covenant, Sycamore Republican, Wheaton Illinoian, Nashville, Tenn., Daily Union, Elgin, III., Gazette, Salem, O., Republican, Aledo, Ill., Record, and many other prints ; also a sarcastic notice from the Louisville Journal.
We have not yet mentioned the fact of the dissolution of Gen. Dumont's division to which the regiment was assigned at Louisville. On the 7th day of December 1862, the 39th brigade, which was in the division, and commanded by Colonel Moore, of the 104th Illinois volunteers, was captured at
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
Hartsville, Tenn. This event seemed to disgrace, or at least, was disastrous to the division, as immediately thereafter, one brigade-the 40th-was assigned to Gen. Reynolds, and Ward's brigade assigned to Gen. E. A. Paine, commander of Post at Gallatin.
Lieut .- Colonel Vallette filled the position of Provost Marshal for some time at Gallatin, and Captain A. C. Graves, of Co. D, had charge of Provost guard.
Many of the officers and men received leave of absence from that point, visiting their homes and returning to the regiment, bearing letters and packages to those who remained with the command.
Second Lieutenant Wm. R. Thomas, promoted from 1st Sergant, Company A, was assigned to the position of A. A. G., on staff of General W. T. Ward, commanding the brigade, then called the 8th, a position which he filled with credit to himself, reflecting honor on the 105th. He was afterward confirmed as a staff officer by authority of the President of the United States, which position he retained during the re- mainder of his term of service.
First Lieutenant L. B. Church, promoted from Second Lieu- tenant Company B-afterwards promoted to Captain-was detailed on the staff of General Ward as A. D. C., and subse- quently on the staff of General Paine, as A. D. C., which posi- tion he assumed to the entire satisfaction of the commanding officers in particular and the command in general. Lieutenant Church was an officer and gentleman of more than usual popularity, on account of his uniform conviviality and his wonderful talent for singing. He has charmed the senses of thousands in and out of the army by his magic voice. To the 105th he was a tower of strength; as a natural born singer, he possessed in ample measure the power to soothe and thrill with concordant sounds the spirits of its every member. Stand him on a barrel in the streets of Gallatin or in any of the camps, and he would bring every regiment and every detachment within the radius of a mile inside the
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THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH.
circle of his song vibrations. " The Sword of Bunker Hill," "Red, White and Blue," " Old Shady," and other popular airs were rendered with great energy and effect.
The 105th was distinguished for its musical characters- perhaps more than any other regiment in the whole Depart- ment. Colonel Dustin, Lieutenant Colonel Vallette, Major Dutton, Assistant Surgeon Waterman, and Lieutenant Heath, of Company A, were singers, also. They participated in the exercises of a grand concert given at Gallatin by a combina- tion of singers and musicians of the 8th Brigade, on the evening of 22d April, 1863. The entertainment was a splen- did affair, and had to be repeated the second evening follow- ing. The Gallatin Courier in making an extended notice of the concert of the 22d, said : "The entertainment was a highly successful one in all respects, and will be remembered as one of the brightest incidents in the army, long after the scenes through which we are passing have flown." Among the line officers and enlisted men there were also many singers, and good musicians.
The Regimental Band, with Drum-Major Morrel Fuller and Fife-Major Walter Van Velzer at its head, became justly noted in the army for clever manipulations on the drum and fife. Being expert performers on the violin, also, these gen- tlemen added its charms to the list of "regimental blessings." By means of industrious application during their term of service, they advanced to a stage of development which gave them decided character as individuals and made the regiment proud of them as its principal musicians. The entire com- pany of musicians attained to a high degree of efficiency, the Band as a whole being excelled by none, and above the aver- age in all respects of most regimental bands in the army.
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