USA > Illinois > History of the 112th Regiment of Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in the great war of the rebellion, 1862-1865 > Part 18
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After his capture Lieut. Alden suffered the usual indignities heaped upon Union prisoners by rebel officers and soldiers. He was robbed of money and valuables, but had no reason to expect that he would be required to surrender his clothing. In this, however, he was disappointed. But a few hours after his capture he was accosted by a rebel cavalry officer and po- litely requested to trade hats, the officer at the same time tak- ing his hat and replacing it with a much poorer one. Soon another officer made the same request, in the same manner, and with the same result, This was repeated until Alden was hatless. Another rebel officer, in the same manner, compell- ed him to trade boots ; and he traded, and traded again, until he was barefooted. If any suppose that the Quartermaster tamely submitted to being robbed without objection or protest, they do not know the man. He did protest most vigorously, and denounced their acts of vandalism in language more forci- ble than polite, but all to no purpose. He was in their power ; and no argument, no appeal to their generosity, no denuncia- tion could influence these "chivalric" sons of the South to de- sist from their acts of brutality, and he was compelled to sub- mit.
And the Confederate officer who stole his hat is now a mem-
211
IN REBEL PRISONS.
ber of the United States Congress ; and the officer who robbed him of his boots is a member of that august, honorable and dig- nified body, the United States Senate. Verily, there is no other government on the face of the earth that thus exalts and re- wards its traitors, or permits them to hold high and honorable places in the councils of the Nation. During Lieut. Alden's absence from the regiment, Lieut. Jacob Bush of Co. K, act- ed as quartermaster until the 3d of November, 1864, when Lieut. George W Lawrence, of Co. I, was detailed, and acted as quartermaster until Lieut. Alden's return to the regiment.
James Lindsay, who was captured with Lieut. Alden, was the Quartermaster's clerk. He was inhumanly and wickedly murdered by a rebel guard, while confined in prison at Flor- ence, S. C., in January, 1865 ; and the guard was rewarded for his bravery with a thirty days furlough home and a promotion after his return. Another illustration of Southern inhumanity.
Jolin W. Adair, Welcome B. French and Lewis P Peterson survived the horrors of rebel prisons, and are still living. French escaped from the rebels at Raleigh, N. C., and con- cealed himself in a box car and rode to Goldsboro, where he boarded a train loaded with Union prisoners, bound for Wil- mington for exchange, and was taken to the latter place, with- out being discovered, and was exchanged on the 4th of March, 1865. Neither of them ever returned to the regiment for duty. All three were discharged for disability incurred in rebel prisons.
Among the wagons captured at Cassville was the regimental wagon of the 112th Illinois, containing all the records of the regiment and of each company, and the officers' clothing and baggage. The loss of the officers' clothing and other property was severe to them, under the circumstances, but the loss of the regimental and company records was irreparable. It made work and trouble to every officer in the regiment in making up reports and accounts, and, more than all, much valuable ma- terial for a proper history of the regiment was blotted out of existence and cannot be supplied.
Lieut. Sherbondy, as we have seen, was wounded and taken to the field hospital on the 28th of May. One of the Bennett boys of his company was detailed to accompany and take care of him. When the army moved to the left, about the first of
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HISTORY OF THE 112TH ILLINOIS.
June, it necessitated the moving of the hospitals. The ambu- lances were over-crowded and Lieut. Sherbondy volunteered to wait until one could return for him. He was left at a log cabin occupied by two women, and Bennett remained with him. As soon as the Union army had moved, rebel cavalry were scouring the country in quest of information as to the movement ; and the ambulance sent back after Lieut. Sher- bondy was captured, with the driver and team. The ambu- lance driver was Zarah H. Newton of Co. F, 112th Illinois, and the next time he and Sherbondy met was at Andersonville in the following winter; for although the latter escaped cap- ture this time, he was afterward "taken in" at Columbia in November, 1864, and confined for a time in the "nigger pen" at Andersonville.
No ambulance arrived, and at daylight the next morning Bennett went out to reconnoiter. In a few moments one of the women informed Lieut. Sherbondy that a squad of Confed- erate soldiers was on picket but a short distance from the house. Sherbondy's wound was a severe one in the side, and he was nearly paralyzed, but he determined to escape capture if possible to do so. He could not stand, even with the assist- ance of the women, so he rolled off the stretcher and attempt -. ed to crawl to the door. But the effort was too much for him, and he tainted. When he returned to consciousness he found himself in the thick underbrush about forty feet from the house, where he had been carried by the women, assisted by a small boy.
In a short time a brigade of rebel cavalry passed along with- in twenty feet of where he lay, but the brush concealed him from view and he was not discovered. The boy brought him some milk, and Sherbondy then sent him to reconnoiter, but without favorable results. He lay there until 3 o'clock, when, with the assistance of the two women, he sought a safer place, further from the house, near the edge of an old field. But the exertion brought on hemorrhage of the lungs, and he thought his last day had come. But he recovered, and just at night saw some Union soldiers going down to Pumpkinvine Creek after water. He was too weak to call the women, and breaking off a sassafras bush, signalled the soldiers, and finally
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LIEUT. SHERBONDY'S ESCAPE.
caught their attention. They came to him, and obtaining the stretcher, carried him to the 4th Corps hospital, which had not been moved, and thence he was sent to Ackworth, on the railroad, and then to Nashville, where he remained until his wound was healed, and then returned to the regiment. Lieut. Sherbondy very justly gives those two women credit for hay- ing saved his life, for his capture at that time could have been attended with but one result-quick death.
Later in the campaign an Ohio man of the 23d Corps was accused of making a criminal assault upon a woman. He was tried by drum-head court martial, found guilty beyond any doubt, and sentenced to be shot, and the next morning the sen- tence was executed. The woman upon whom he made the as- sault was one of the Good Samaritans who had befriended and assisted Lieut. Sherbondy-a most shameful recompense for her kindness to a Union soldier. But it can be said, truthfully, that such outrages were very rarely committed by Union sol- diers, and when convicted their punishment was sure and quick ; there was no escape from the consequences of their crime.
On the other hand, complaints were frequently made to Un- ion officers, by citizens, of numerous outrages of that charac- ter committed by rebel soldiers, and especially by rebel cavalry. The Southern people generally feared their own cavalry more than the Union armies. The latter stripped them of horses and cattle and forage, but did not break into their houses nor insult their women. A citizen of North Carolina informed the author that when Lee's army passed through that State, after the surrender, no woman was safe from insult and no house secure against burglary. The rebel soldiers revelled in lust and larceny, and gloried in their own shame and wickedness. Thank God, no such accusation can truthfully be brought against the soldiers who fought for the Union. Bad men there were in the National army, but they were few, and when con- victed of crime met with sure and condign punishment. Say what you may about the "honor" of the men of the South, the morale of the Northern army, its intelligence and sense of jus- tice, were vastly superior to the Southern army ; and no better witnesses to this fact can be found than the men and women- the citizens-of the South.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN, CONTINUED. FROM DALLAS TO THE CHATTAHOOCHEE-PINE MOUNTAIN. KENESAW-MARIETTA.
The position of the opposing armies remained unchanged on the first day of June. Skirmishing and artillery firing con- tinued along the whole front, but there was no general engage- ment. The Confederate army was strongly intrenched, and instead of sacrificing the lives of his men by a direct assault, Gen. Sherman preferred to make another flank movement to the left to strike the railroad at Ackworth, which would com- pell Johnston to abandon his works around Dallas and New Hope Church.
At 3 o'clock in the evening of the first, the 23d Corps was relieved by Davis' division of the 4th Corps, and moved two miles to the rear and went into bivouac for the night.
Marched at 5 o'clock on the morning of the 2nd of June, to near Burnt Church, and, forming in line of battle, Cox's Divi- sion in the center, moved forward, and crossed Allatoona Creek, near the Dallas and Ackworth roads, and gained a position within about one hundred and fifty yards of the enemy's in- trenchments.
215
THUNDER AND ARTILLERY.
As the 1st Brigade was moving into position in the line, by the flank, through dense woods and thickets, the head of the column suddenly struck the rebel skirmish line, and the bul- lets whistled through the timber furiously. Companies A and F were deployed as skirmishers, and soon drove them out of the woods and across an open field to the edge of heavy tim- ber, where a heavy line of infantry could be seen awaiting our advance. The brigade charged across the field, in the midst of a terrific thunder shower-the heavy peals of thunder and the roar of the enemy's artillery mingling together, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other. The enemy were driven from the position in the edge of the timber to the heavy intrenchments one hundred and fifty yards in the rear, and the Union troops occupied their line. The enemy opened a furious artillery fire, but on account of the formation of the ground could not reach our line, except down one or two ra- vines, which were kept so hot that no man could cross them.
The 112th Illinois lost several men wounded in this affair, but the only names the author has been able to obtain are those of Hiram Newton and Jacob W Payton, both of Co. D.
The men on the line passed an uncomfortable night. The ground was too wet and muddy to lie or sit upon ; the rain had wet them to the skin, and they were compelled to keep moving to prevent being chilled. Temporary breast-works were built during the night, and the morning found the Union line prepared to hold fast what it had gained.
Heavy skirmishing continued on the 3d, until a heavy thun- der storm in the afternoon compelled both parties to cease fir- ing. The Union lines were extended still further to the left, and that night the enemy abandoned the works in our imme- diate front and fell back to another intrenched position near Pickett's Mill, and on the 4th the division moved into their in- trenchments, which were found to be solid and substantial, and evidently made with the purpose of holding them.
The Union troops continued to move to the left, and in the night of the 4thi Johnston was again forced to let go along his whole line and retreat to a new line of defense extending from Brush Mountain, just north of Kenesaw, southwest to Pine Mountain, and thence to Lost Mountain.
216
HISTORY OF THE 112TH ILLINOIS.
The 23d Corps remained in its original position until the re- mainder of the army had taken positions on its left, anton the 8th the corps was on the extreme right of the Union line, without having moved. The railroad was reachel, and four days later the line had been repaired, bridges rebuilt, and cars were running into Big Shanty. Sherman's army greetel the locomotive whistle with cheer after cheer, while Johnston's must have been astonished at the speedy continuation of Sher- man s line of communication as his army advanced.
The 3d division engaged in a slight skirmish with a small body of rebel cavalry which was prowling around the right and rear,'on the 7th, and on the 9th supported the 2nd Division on a reconnoissance.
On the 10th the whole army moved forward, Cox's division, of the 23d Corps, on the extreme right. The division broke camp at 9 o'clock, and marched from near Allatoona Church, about five miles on the Sandtown road. Found the enemy in position across Allatoona Creek, and slept on our arms in line of battle.
The 11th was another rainy day Severe skirmishing was kept up until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when the line was or- dered forward into position nearer the enemy's lines. In the advance Co. G, of the 112th Illinois, lost two men on the skir- mish line-George W Hempstead, mortally wounded (died in field hospital on the 14th), and William Elkins, severely wounded.
The rain continued on the 12th, but did not prevent- sovere skirmishing. The lines were so near together that the skirm- ishers were "crowded" close together, and on either side were glad to seek shelter in rifle pits or behind trees. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon the 112th Illinois was ordered out on the skir- mish line, and remained on picket until the next afternoon, when it was relieved and took a new position and built strong works on the right of the brigade.
Henry M. Richards, of Co. I, was wounded on the 12th, and George H. Ferris, of Co. D, on the 13th, while on the skirmish line.
Francis J. Liggett and William D. Freeman, of Co. B, 112th Illinois, came into our lines from Andersonville, on the 13th,
217
THE ADVANCE CONTINUED.
having made their escape on the 24th of May. Their appear- ance was more like Georgia "crackers" than Union soldiers ; hair long and unkempt, underclothing on the outside, to con- ceal the blue, faces thin and pinched, clothing ragged and dir- ty ; they were indeed in a pitiable condition, yet the boys could not help laughing at their ludicrous appearance. They had been eight months in rebel prisons, and did not regret the hardships they had endured for twenty days in crawling through the woods, eating raw meat and berries, to escape the horrors of prison life. Of course they received furloughs, and started north to visit their homes.
On the 14th strongly supported skirmish lines were advanc- ed, and the whole front moved well up to the enemy's line of. works. On the right Cox's division, supported by the 2nd Di- vision, drove the enemy's skirmishers from the hill occupied by them across Allatoona Creek, obtained a cross-fire with ar- tillery upon their line of intrenchments, and, under cover of the fire, carried the line and captured a considerable number of prisoners.
The advance movement was continued on the 15th. The Union batteries slielled the rebel lines furiously, and the 20th Corps, on our left, engaged in heavy fighting. Reilly's brig- ade of Cox's division was in reserve.
Heavy cannonading all day on the 16th. The 2nd Division of the 23d Corps moved to the right, clear of the line, and ad- vancing rapidly in conjunction with the right of Cox's divi- sion, obtained possession of high ground from which an enfi- lading fire was opened with artillery upon the rebel line, and the enemy abandoned the works and fell back to another in- trenched position across Mud Creek.
Moved forward inline of battle on the morning of the 17th, skirmishing sharply and driving the rebels back. On reach- ing the Marietta road, Cox's division of the 23d Corps, moved down the road in search of the enemy's flank. Reaching the valley of Mud Creek the enemy opened fire with artillery, but the division advanced rapidly across the open ground and gained possession of a hill opposite and within close range of the rebel works. Cockerell's battery of Ohio artillery unlim- bered just behind the crest of the hill, only the muzzles of the
218
HISTORY OF THE 112TH ILLINOIS.
guns visible from the front, and for an hour or more engaged in a brilliant artillery duel. The 3d Division lay in line under the hill in support of the battery-the 112th Illinois nearest the battery-but the men were protected from danger by the hill. At the same time Hooker's corps on the left was engag- ed in severe fighting, and Hascall's division of the 23d Corps was engaged on the right. The air was full of flying missiles -solid shot and shells. In the midst of the uproar the 112th band obtained a favorable position and played several Nation- al airs, which the rebels could hear in an occasional lull of the artillery firing, and which were cheered to the echo by the boys in blue.
The rebel batteries were silenced, but each side held its po- sition and kept up sharp skirmishing, until night put an end to further operations.
The casualties of the 112th Illinois on the 17th were Wil- liam J. Hill killed, Edward Miller mortally wounded (died Ju- ly 1), and Lieut. A. P. Petrie wounded, all of Co. C; Riley Ma- ranville of Co. E, severely wounded, and Calvin H. Howe of Co. I, captured-all on the skirmish line. Howe was errone- ously and very unjustly reported as a deserter, and dropped from his company rolls. But when the rebels brought a train load of prisoners into our lines at Wilmington, N. C., the fol- lowing year, among them was Howe, and Capt. Wilkins at once corrected the mistake and had him reinstated as a mem- ber of his company in good standing.
And this leads the author to remark that company com- manders were frequently too hasty in reporting absent or miss- ing men as deserters ; and many a man has the ignominious term written opposite his name in the Adjutant General's Re- ports of this State, who does not deserve it. Men were fre- quently kept at hospitals and barracks against their will, and after they had recovered from wounds or illness, to perform menial services for the officers, or to keep a sufficient number present to assure the retention of the officers in charge, and these men often ran away and joined their commands at the front, and were reported by the high officials in "soft places" as deserters. The author personally knows of several such cas- es in the 112th Illinois, and in one case the man was severely
219
A RECRUIT'S ERROR.
wounded on the skirmish line on the very day his company commander received notice from a hospital in St. Louis that he had deserted.
About one hundred recruits joined the 112th Illinois on the evening of the 16th of June. The next morning, before the movements of the day had commenced, one of them, Robert H. Vining, of Co. H, went out in front of the works to watch a detail of men engaged in digging a pit for a battery. He was cautioned by the men at work not to expose himself, but his curiosity got the better of him and he remained. In a few moments he was struck by a rebel musket ball, and was car- ried back severely wounded-a wiser but sadder soldier. He lost a leg, and his military career was ended.
It rained very hard all day on the 18th, but the weather did not prevent the Union troops from gaining several advantage- ous positions, and that night Johnston was again forced to abandon his line of intrenchments, and fall back to a line near Marietta, the key of which was Kenesaw Mountain-leaving a heavy rear guard in the trenches.
It still continued to rain on the 19th, but at day-break an advance was ordered, the rebel rear guard driven from the trenches, and the works occupied. Again the whole line ad- vanced-the 23d Corps along the Sandtown road, on the ene- my's flank, to Nose Creek. The rebels had removed the planks from the bridge, and the little stream had been swollen by re- cent rains until it was a raging torrent, too deep to ford. The dismantled bridge was covered by artillery, supported by car- alry, and no attempt was made to force a crossing on the 19th ; but on the 20th a battery was advanced to a knoll near the creek, and the bushes along the stream filled with sharpshoot- ers, and under protection of these, the 103d Ohio, of Case- ment's brigade of the 3d Division, crossed on the stringers of the bridge and gained a foothold on the opposite side. The whole brigade then crossed, followed by the remainder of the division, and on the 22nd the whole corps occupied an in- trenched position, well advanced on the enemy's left flank, and nearly south of Kenesaw Mountain.
From the 22nd to the 26th the time was occupied in getting the troops into position and strengthening the lines. Hood
220
HISTORY OF THE 112TH ILLINOIS.
made a furious attack with his corps upon the 2nd Division of the 23d Corps, and a division of the 20th Corps, but was repuls- ed with considerable loss. On the 23d Andrew. T. Allen, of Co. H, was wounded, which was the only casualty in the 112;h Illinois.
On the 26th Reilly's brigade advanced, and, after a sharp skirmish and under cover of a brisk cannonade by the 23d (Myers') Indiana battery, occupied and intrenched a strong position on the hills near Olley's Creek.
The enemy held a fortified hill across the creek, on a ridge between Olley's and Nickajack creeks. The 112th Illinois was thrown forward on the right of the battery, which kept up a brisk fire upon the enemy. The remainder of the division and Hascall's division followed and occupied other hills in contin- uation of Reilly's line, and pressed the enemy so closely as to keep them under cover.
Gen. Sherman was preparing to make a direct assault on the enemy's works on Kenesaw Mountain, on the 27th, and these demonstrations were made on the extreme right of the Union line to induce Johnston to strengthen his left by detach- ing troops from his right and center; but the activity of the skirmish line along the whole front seems to have puzzled the Confederate commander to decide at what point there was the greatest danger, and his lines were, therefore, kept intact.
It had been Gen. Schofield's intention to attack the enemy with the 2nd Division on the 27th, but the plan was changed to a strong demonstration by that division, while Cox's division made a further divergent movement to the right down the Sandtown road. At daybreak the movement commenced. Cameron s brigade crossed Olley's Creek and occupied a posi- tion to the right and rear of Byrd's brigade, which had crossed the night before. Reilly's brigade attempted to cross near the Sandtown road, but the bridge was broken down and covered by a rebel battery, so that a crossing could not be effected without too great sacrifice. One regiment was deployed as skirmishers and kept up a brisk fire in front, while the other regiments of the brigade moved down the creek until a position for a battery was found on the flank of the rebel line, and un- der cover of the fire of the battery, the regiments waded a
221
AT KENESAW MOUNTAIN.
swamp, forded the creek, and charged up the hill on the rebel flank. Cameron's brigade at the same time moved against the other flank, and the enemy broke and ran.
The position was occupied by Reilly's brigade and strongly intrenched-Cameron joined on the left, and he connected with Byrd's brigade.
The corps was now far in advance of the center and left of the Union line, in fact was in rear of the rebel army occupying Kenesaw.
While the men were at work on the intrenchments the roar of artillery far to the left and rear notified them that the ball had opened on the fortified heights of Kenesaw, and Reilly's brigade was at once again moved forward, driving the rebel cavalry before it, about two miles, to a cross road leading into the main road from Marietta to Sandtown.
Cameron's brigade joined on the left," and the men set to work with a will to fortify the position against attack from the front and flank. The division was separated from the rest of the army by Olley's Creek and by a long unoccupied interval, and all felt the danger of the position, and did not rest until it was made well nigh impregnable.
During the movement on the 27th, the 112th Illinois was in advance. The casualties of the regiment on the 26th, were Corporal Cornelius G. Fike, mortally wounded (died June 27th) and Daniel D. Shellhamer, severely wounded, both of Co. K ; on the 27th Charles Riley of Co. G, severely, and Adelbert Newman of Co. H, slightly wounded.
The result of the assault upon the enemy's intrenchments on Kenesaw Mountain is well known. The men marched bravely, heroically to the charge, but the position was too strong to be carried.
Hundreds of them lost their lives in the attempt, and tens of hundreds were severely wounded.
The assault was a failure; and Sherman resorted to his old method of flanking the enemy out of his position. The posi- tion of the 23d Corps across Olley's Creek Sherman regarded as important, and he at once commenced the movement ot troops to the right of Schofield's position, threatening the rail- road and the bridge across the Chattahoochee.
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