USA > Illinois > History of Fourteenth Illinois cavalry and the brigades to which it belonged > Part 26
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December 17th. Moved out an hour before day. Marched through mud ankle deep-knee deep, increasing
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mud 10 miles, to Hillsdale pike and camped on Harpeth river, 5 miles west of Franklin; rained through the day. Since leaving camp near Nashville in the early morning of 15th, we had little to eat. While plodding on foot through deep mud we could not "tote" rations and we had no trains.
Sunday, December 18th. Rained hard nearly all last night. Marched at II a. m. to Franklin and Nashville pike, and camped on a creek a mile north of Franklin. Here we saw a large force of captured Johnnies on their way to take Nashville. Day's march, 8 miles.
December 19th. Reveille at 4 a. m. ; hard rain at night. Marched at 10 a. m. through Franklin. Roads much ob- structed with teams and troops. Marched down the Car- terville pike 4 miles, and camped in a field ; day's march, 5 miles.
December 20th. Turned very cold last night. We are under orders to march back to Nashville, as we are now useless in the pursuit, the retreat of the enemy being so rapid that none but mounted men can keep in sight. This ends all our fighting in the service. This campaign ended in the entire destruction of Hood's magnificent army, but a small proportion reaching the south bank of the Ten- nessee river. General Thomas says in his report, page 46: "There was captured from the enemy during the various actions recited, 13,189 prisoners, including 7 gen- eral officers and nearly 1,000 other officers of all grades. Seventy-two pieces of serviceable artillery and 2,000 deserters, to whom the oath was administered. Our own loss will not exceed 10,000 killed, wounded, and missing." General Thomas was the lion of the day, as "nothing suc- ceeds like success." He had demonstrated to General Grant and the country that he was right, and all rejoiced. We marched 21 miles and camped; thawed through the day and rained at night; camped within 5 miles of Nash- ville. We are promised to be remounted.
December 21st. Reveille at daylight ; rained and snowed last night; cold today. Marched at 9 a. m .; passed through Nashville; crossed the river and moved up the Gallatin pike; camped between the pike and the railroad 3 miles from Nashville ; marched 9 miles ; cold and snow in the evening. Our fare was extremely hard since the
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14th, as we could have no trains with us. This ends this chapter and closes our fighting period.
The following, received too late for its proper place in the chapter, is too important to be omitted, as it gives the most correct estimate of Hood's force. It is from the National Tribune, contributed by William E. Doyle, Stev- ensburg, Va., and describes the battle of Franklin. He says : "The main portion of the battle was one terrible rush of the entire rebel army to overwhelm the inferior num- bers opposed to them. It was like the flank attack on Sherman on the preceding 22d of July. Hood believed in these reckless charges of masses of men to overwhelm the enemy, but failed against the western troops, who reduced his troops from 85,000 at the beginning of the campaign to about 40,000 at Franklin. Of this number not 20,000 escaped from the battles of Franklin and Nash- ville, and Hood's army was no more in January, 1865. Hood's intention was to crush the Union forces at Frank- lin and capture all of Thomas' army south of the Harpeth river, and for this purpose generals led their commands to the charge; on foot and in the merciless slaughter five of them were killed, viz .: Major-General Pat Cleaburne. Brigadier-Generals John Adams, O. F. Strahl, S. R. Gist, and H. B. Granberry. This exceeds any battle of the war in this particular, as we lost no generals. The charges at Atlanta and at Franklin each far exceeded the charge of Pickett's division at Gettysburg, and the loss of the rebels was very much heavier on each occasion. There were not many of Forrest's losing regiments there; they were all fighters though, and credit for fighting should go where the enemy's loss is the heaviest."
Note .- Hood's nominal force was 96,000, and not less than 50,000 present. Schofield's infantry was 18,000 present.
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CHAPTER XV.
SYNOPSIS OF SERVICE-NARRATIVES OF COMRADES-BIOG- RAPHIES OF OFFICERS-ROLLS OF ENLISTED MEN.
The regiment remained in camp at Edgefield, near to Nashville, until early April, and was then ordered to Pulaski, where they remained until ordered to Nashville to be mustered out, which was done July 31st, 1865. Their period of encampment at Edgefield and at Pulaski was without incident worthy of note, more than the ordinary occurrences of quiet camp life, except the promotions and resignations of officers, and the return to us from cap- tivity of our officers and men who had not previously re- joined us, and these incidents are recorded in the biog- raphies of officers and the rolls of the men. The regiment had been promised to be remounted and sent on active duty, but the rapidity with which the armies of the Con- federacy melted away after our complete destruction of their southern army under Hood, rendered it unnecessary to remount the dismounted regiments. Of the proud army under Hood, who, for the whole summer had re- sisted three armies combined under our great leader, Wil- liam T. Sherman, and who crossed the Tennessee river in November with an infantry force of over 60,000 effective men, reinforced by General Forrest's famous Confederate cavalry, fully 15,000 strong, there remained to recross the Tennessee river in their retreat perhaps not exceeding 10,000 men. They had stranded on the "Rock of Chicka- mauga" and had gone to pieces, leaving in our hands over 70 pieces of serviceable artillery, with untold numbers of small arms and all manner of military equipments. Now at the termination of our active military service we can, with creditable pride, recount in brief synopsis some of the great achievements of the grand old 14th Illinois cavalry. First : To the cry so often heard contemptuously uttered, "Who ever saw a dead cavalryman?" We answer that in one single expedition covering a period of little more than
61.00
SERGEANT JONATHAN H. MELVEN, COMPANY E.
٢٠
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one week, our regiment lost a larger per cent of its num- ber than ninety-nine hundredths of the infantry regiments in the service through their whole term. Our loss in battle, compared to three amongst the best infantry regi- ments in this state, the 34th, 75th, and 92d, of killed, ours compared to the highest loss of the others was 34 per cent greater, and to the next two, it was nearly three times as great, and compared to the loss of the three regiments com- bined, their total loss in killed exceeded the loss of our single regiment only about 60 per cent. Our loss in killed was about one-third more than the combined loss of two of those regiments. The total death loss was 23 per cent more than the highest, and 73 per cent higher than either of the others. This, too, be it remembered, covered a period of less than three years of service, whilst of the compared regiments all were full three years, and one was about four years in service. A proof of the wonderful activity of the 14th in service is found in the fact that, without estimating the movements by detachments, which, with them, as was general with the mounted forces, constituted a very large portion of their service ; the move- ments of the regiment in body, through a period of about two years of its active duty, covered a distance of over ten thousand miles, or over thirteen miles a day for every day, Sundays included, for seven hundred and thirty- two consecutive days. This includes, of course, the dis- tances we were transported by railroad and by boat. Our initial service in Kentucky ranked high, as is proved by the official reports, while in the great pursuit of Morgan by our brigade we were the very first in line to prevent his entrance into Kentucky, and our regiment was among those who made the final pursuit and capture. In the very important and severe service in East Tennessee no regiment in that grand army exceeded in activity or im- portant service rendered, the record of "the bloody 14th." Indeed so signal was the reputation of the regiment that it was selected from a whole corps of excellent cavalry by its commander for one of the most perilous and difficult military ventures of the civil war, the punishment of a band of Indians, exceeding in number our force, and the complete success of the undertaking demonstrated the wis- dom of the choice, and called out the especial praise of the
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great commander, Grant. Our service in Georgia was merged in the history of Capron's brigade and in Stone- man's division, all of which in reputation, stood high.
The march around the great rebel army and attack upon Macon, Ga., in a region swarming with rebel cavalry, and completely cut off from all support, marks the heroism and endurance of the command, and the unfortunate ter- mination of that expedition ought not to dim the lustre of the heroic adventure to release our suffering prisoners, while it ought forever to close the mouths of those who contemptuously cry out, "Who ever saw a dead cavalry- man?" Our single regiment alone, reduced to little if any more than three hundred men, lost by death in that one expedition 98 men. How, out of the ruins of the regiments of our brigade, each of which suffered such losses and discouragements, it was possible to reorganize so efficient a force as our brigade proved to be in their last campaign in middle Tennessee, is simply a matter of aston- ishment. Disorganized and discouraged as they had been, and sent into that campaign crippled in efficiency as they were, by the inappropriate arms furnished them, they not only ranked equal at all times with the best of that most heroic body of Union cavalry that faced such tremendous odds, but on two occasions was Schofield's army saved from capture or destruction by the superior skill and valor of Capron's brigade alone.
We will now give the few individual narratives and ad- ventures that have been furnished by comrades. These are not given as superior in interest, but rather as fair samples of the hundreds of unrecorded adventures and services.
We first give the narrative of Sergeant J. Harvey Mel- ven of Company "E," the comrade who, on the evening before the muster out of the regiment, gave them such a rousing speech. We omit from the communication some portions that have appeared in the body of the history. Comrade Melven says : "I was after Morgan from start to finish, and never dropped out from June 25th until July 26th (when he was captured), thirty-one days, and nights, too. When General Morgan stopped and displayed his feeling of satisfaction as to the distance he had traveled, our regiment was under the command of Major Davidson
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(afterward colonel). He had us count off by fours, and we fell short one of having seven sets. The Major ordered us to dismount, and, turning to me, he said: "Sergeant Melven, take charge of these men and be ready to move at a moment's notice." He then rode over the hill to where Morgan was making terms of surrender, but no sooner had the Major left than at least 20 of our number were sound asleep, with that hot July sun pouring its rays square into their upturned faces. Several ladies and small children from a farm house near by came to us, and wept bitterly to see those poor men sleeping while the sun was roasting their faces. We who were standing to keep awake told them that we only wished that we could join them in their sweet sleep. Soon Major D., with several other officers of the regiment, who had taken an early flank movement on Morgan, and helped to corner him no doubt, came and told us to mount and return to Salineville for rest that night in as good order and as soon as possible. We mounted and slept our last horseback nap of that cam- paign. Before passing I must say : "God bless the noble, loyal people of Ohio, who for weeks fed us on either side of the streets as we marched through their towns." Should I live 100 years I shall never forget the cheering words they gave us, nor that delicious apple butter, to- gether with tons of other good things.
After taking part in all the East Tennessee campaign with our regiment, from the capture of Knoxville to our stop at Philadelphia, on October 6th, 1863, I went on de tached service with General Julius White, commanding the second division, 23d A. C., was in the battle of Huff's ferry (when Longstreet crossed the Tennessee river) and in the fights at Lenoir and Campbell station, and in the siege of Knoxville. On February 4th, 1864, I left East Tennessee for Kentucky, and at Paris, Ky., met about 200 recruits for our regiment from dear old Illinois. We soon moved to Nicholasville, Ky., where Colonel Capron com- manded the post, and I assisted in drilling the recruits until June 3d, when we took up our march for the old regi- ment, joining it at Cleveland, Tenn., June 17th, 1864
The Georgia campaign, which began soon after our uniting with the regiment at Cleveland, all survivors well remember.
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When "boots and saddles" sounded early on the morn- ing of July 27th, I thought of the campaign that ended in Ohio one year from the day before, how we had let raider prisoners retain their booty at Buffington Island unmolested, and wondered how it would be with us who might fall into the hands of the enemy, and that we were starting into the very jaws of death. Oh, how true I guessed !
In the charge at Sunshine church, about 10 o'clock on that fatal Sunday, July 31st, I received a slight wound in my right hand, and after having Dr. Wilkins dress it, I returned and assisted in guarding eleven pris- oners captured in the repulse of the charge made on our right, in which I received the wound. One of them said only a few moments before our front was swept, that we were liable to be exterminated if we attempted a stubborn resistance, for they outnumbered us ten to one. In the stampede that followed Orderly Sergeant Duval of Com- pany "E" and myself, seeing our horses failing, dis- mounted and took to the swamps, traveled by night through alligator and moccasin marshes, and slept in the brush in day time until the Friday following, without seeing another human face or speaking above a whisper since the Sunday before. We were joined by two of the Ist Kentucky Cavalry, whose term of service had ex- pired the day General Stoneman surrendered. They in- sisted on our traveling in day time with them, which we consented to do, but in less than six hours we came in contact with a squad of rebel cavalry and one of the Ken- tucky boys fell into their hands. Three of us escaped, and while hid in the brush about 5 that p. m. two more strag- glers came upon us, one of them being Dear Old Orderly Sergeant Philbrook of Company "F," the other was John Spiker of the Ohio cavalry squadron; they opened up some corn dodger and boiled pork, which had been given them by negroes, and we relished it more than blackberry, elderberry, and green corn diet of the past six days. When dark came we passed so close to a rebel picket that we heard them not only snore, but breathe. They were camped not more than 40 rods from our hiding place. In the afternoon of the day following we had just finished the delicious dodger and pork and were resting in a quiet
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thicket when a small white boy and a large negro boy, with two blood hounds, came on to us unexpectedly to all of is, even the dogs. Of course they escaped and we started north with a rush. Within less than an hour they or their dogs, with a squad of men, were making the welkin ring with their howls and yells, but when so near that we could hear the sniffle of the hounds the artillery of heaven broke oose and within 3 minutes the rain poured and the chase ended for that evening. On the day following, while sleep in our only blanket, about I o'clock we were startled by the shout: "Here they are; surrender boys and we will treat you well." There were four of them with guns ind leading their horses, following four bloodhounds hat were still tracking us as quietly as a cat stealing upon ts prey. We were searched for arms, then for money, but they failed to find either on me, for I had no arms, and ny $9 was in the wristbands of my old army shirt. At he first cry of our captors the remaining Kentucky man lunged into a dense thicket just below us on the hill side und was not noticed by the enemy.
Of us four who were captured there I am the only one who ever returned. We were taken from place to place, und turned over from one command to another for several lays. At General Wheeler's headquarters at Covington, Ga., a rebel made a one-sided trade with me in pantaloons, giving me a pair of thin cotton ones that were soon in tat- ers. We were cast into a dismal old jail at that place for hree days, then taken to Augusta, where we spent one lay in a much finer jail. From there we were taken to Macon, where we spent from Saturday evening to Monday noon. From there we were sent to that court of death, Andersonville, which more able pens than mine have at- empted to describe, so I will not try to picture it. We vere moved from there to Savannah, where, on the day of ny arrival, I was sunstruck. From there we were taken o Millen or Camp Lawton, thence to Blackshear, where ve remained only two days. From there we were taken to Florence, S. C., via Savannah. We were locked in box ars and sidetracked at Charleston one night, and for want of room we had to pile on top of each other when lying lown, and as I chanced to be the lower man, I found the kin had left my left hip before daylight came. I was
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only at Florence one week when I was paroled on my 22d birthday. On leaving Millen I was lucky enough to be placed in a stock car, where cattle had been shipped a short time before, and I made my supper that evening on the scattered corn in that car, relishing it as I now do good bread. Twenty-seven of my company were captured. The time (total ) of our captivity was nine months, 9 of the 27 died in prison, and of the 18 who lived to get out, only 3 of us survive. J. HARVEY MELVEN,
"Late Sergeant Company 'E,' 14th Illinois Cav."
The following narrative was furnished by Captain Wil- liam R. Sanford of Company "K," one of our bold and skillful line officers. He says: "When our brigade, under Colonel Graham, was sent, about the last of November, 1863, from near Cumberland gap to Maynardsville, Gen- eral Granger was expected at Kingston with a force to reinforce General Burnside in Knoxville. Sunday, November 29th, 1863, I was called to headquarters and ordered to pick 20 men from the 14th to carry dispatches to Major-General Granger, then supposed to be at or near Kingston. I selected my men and made all preparations and left camp at 8 p. m. We captured three horses and ran in a rebel picket. They made quick time at the crack of our carbines, followed by our saber charge. We got their horses. Four miles farther we struck the river, and had some difficulty in crossing, not knowing the ford. A picket was on the opposite side, we could not decide whether Union or Confederate ; sent forward scouts, who reported all right. November 30th, reached Clinton at 3 a. m. Left 7 men at Clinton to get their horses shod ; cold and hungry ; found here the 2d Tennessee Cavalry, and was well treated by officers and men. Arrived at Kingston at dark; report to Colonel Bird's headquarters. General Granger had not arrived ; feed and rations scarce. Decem- ber Ist spent in getting horses shod. Corporal Lowrey and John Hall return to our command with dispatches from General Grant. December 2d, started at 6 a. m. for our command; captured eleven rebels and their horses. Camped 5 miles west of Clinton at the house of a rebel named Johnson, having marched 40 miles; had a very cold night. December 3d, moved at daylight; passed
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through Jacksborough and Fincastle; met Lieutenant- Colonel Davis, Ist Tennessee Cavalry, who expected to be attacked, having mistaken us for rebels. We supposed them to be our enemy, but mutually discovered our mistake before making an attack. Here we turned over our pris- oners ; camped at the house of a southern lady, whose hus- band is in jail at Richmond. December 4th, moved at daylight; left Cumberland gap road 10 miles from the gap, and struck across to Tazewell, where we arrived about 8 p. m. quite tired. December 5th, reported to our divi- sion commander, Colonel Foster, and learned that the 14th: had a hard fight at Walker's ford. We found our regiment 4 miles from Walker's ford ; they had given us up as cap- tured. Corporal Lowrey and John Hall, who had served as scouts on our right and left to warn us of approaching danger ; came in about two days after. This was but one of many raids that I made at the head of Company .K,' 14th Illinois Cavalry, and I must add that no better com- pany of men ever served on such duty ; always true to their officers and knowing no fear when duty called."
Immediately succeeding the return of Captain Sanford's party, Captain Francis Boeke (then first-lieutenant of Company "I") was sent to bear dispatches to General Granger at Kingston. No report of operations has been made and as they reported success of their assigned duty, this is all we can give, though doubtless they had much the same experience as Company "K."
Sometime in January, 1864, while Longstreet occupied the country around Morristown, and the 14th was posted on fords and crossings of the French Broad river, Cassius C. Beemis of Company "I," 14th, crossed the river in a boat with several companions for a lark. A party of rebels surprised them and captured Beemis, the others escaped. Beemis was taken to Morristown and kept a number of weeks. Finally an order was issued to send all their prisoners to Richmond. That night the force of chain guards around the prisoners was doubled. Beemis had no friends in Richmond that he desired to see, and though the chance to escape was slim the irrepressible Beemis determined to try it. The prisoners were kept on a hill with many clusters of bushes. Beemis lay perfectly quiet, feigning sleep, but closely watching the nearest sen-
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tinel, and when the sentinel was in a favorable position he would roll gently over in the direction of some bushes. It was not very dark, yet he succeeded in reaching the bushes without discovery, and from there rolled slowly and quietly to the bottom of the hill, where the bushes were thicker. He cautiously worked his way completely out of sight, when he ran like a whitehead. Beemis was a great forager and knew all the Union families of that region, and by their aid he succeeded in working his way through the rebel lines and reached us in safety then at Knoxville. Beemis was one of the bravest men in the regiment, indeed he seemed to know no fear when duty called. Poor fellow, he was captured on the Stoneman raid and put in the Andersonville pen. But to pen Beemis long was a difficult task. With two others he succeeded in getting out, and with great skill they baffled the hounds and pursuing men, and succeeded in working their way far into North Carolina. One morning they discovered that a party of men with a pack of hounds was in pursuit. They separated, each taking a different route. Finally two, Mark Butterfield and we believe James McNichols, were captured. They heard the hounds baying and a volley of musketry in the direction that Beemis had gone; and when the parties all met again Butterfield asked where Beemis was. The only answer was: "You may be glad you are not where Beemis is." The thought of men being torn to pieces by bloodhounds, urged on by human beings, is too horrible to contemplate, yet in the case of Beemis we can form no other conclusion. To forgive such an unwarranted barbarity is a difficult task for the average Christian.
While our brigade lay near Bean Station and just before the great battle there, Lt. Payne, our commissary, crossed the Holston river and entered a mill for forage. While engaged in collecting it a strong party of the enemy sur- rounded the mill and captured the whole party except the lieutenant, who, somehow, slipped under the water wheel and escaped. He did not propose to give his enemies Payne.
Lieutenant Putnam Beckwith of Company "C," 14th Illinois, led the only squad that escaped from the Stone- man disaster mounted. He says: "On the morning of
JOSEPH M. THOMPSON, COMPANY L.
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the surprise, August 3d, 1864, I was awakened by George Weisner of my company, 'C;' he cried out, 'The rebs are coming.' I sprang up, saddled, and mounted the quickest I ever did in my life. The rebels were charging through the camp. I put spurs to old Gray and got out of that lane as fast as I knew how. I struck off on a byroad, as the main road was crowded with a rushing mass of our men. Quite a number took the byroad. We found a ford across the river. I had a squad of nine men with me representing each regiment in our brigade. Myself and two others from the 14th, one was Colonel Jenkins' orderly, the other a boy 18 years old. One sergeant and two men from the 8th Michigan, two men of the 5th In- diana, and two of the IIth Kentucky. I lost my hat charg- ing through the timber. We rode up to a dwelling, where there were two rebel soldiers, who surrendered to us, and I paroled them. I ordered them to get me a hat; they brought me an old plantation hat without a band. I turned it inside out to make it stay on my head. Soon after we held a consultation about how we should proceed, and in what direction. The Michigan sergeant and I differed as to the direction; the sun was not visible. I told them which direction I was going and the boys of our regiment said they would follow me, and all of the others, except the sergeant, decided to go with us, and after starting the sergeant also came along and we traveled northwest to- ward the Chattahoochee river, keeping off the main roads most of the time. Sometime in the first day out we rode up to a house to get something to eat ; there were three or four young ladies but no men at the house. They were much frightened, and said they had nothing about the house to eat. I answered that we were Confederates with Yankee clothing on, for the purpose of picking up Yankees ; they then brought us apple pie. We moved as rapidly as we could through the day and at night tied our horses together and went a hundred rods or more away to sleep in the brush, so that if the rebels discovered our horses we might have the chance of escaping on foot. When we reached the Chattahoochee river we were a glad set of boys; the Michigan sergeant had insisted all the time that we were going south. We had captured quite a number of rebel soldiers, one and two and sometimes
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