USA > Illinois > History of the 17th Illinois Cavalry Volunteers > Part 8
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citibank I-ul had bought this some Pistole a wh t habitat for many days.
Nx Losingion were About one och of mana inturen these places Di ..... zur inthird, which way ope half mir From the river. For a long time Mati- Pins men were without water. Free. mout. a name dear to the heart of every repuobran. Its been severely cessa ai for the loss of this battle as well as the battle of Wilson's Com. the General Javon feil - twelve ma is being Springfield, Missouri. Our Compri puisse i too far to the erst for ns to s0; where Mulligan for many days hod holl many times bis number in check. Before he surrendered some of ti. troops refused longer to fight. fh. contest was too nuequal, bo. r. For .. . ments could notreach them. Here we camped, putting in a few homs d'u that we much needed. The City " .. hevn losted by the rebels and presents asorty asport, livres, wachs a 1 sture - if all kinds were then he the enemy where impedimenta was becom- ing great.
The morning bugle aroused us, th. calendar show my Oct. 21st. We were . ma in de sad denoting through the I -plate striste, down the bill to the river, to which we move up in an ' On fredagen line" wander. in water var The water was almost forel with the bank, stoi the channel, many Let deep was under our horses pages. This , did not know. Not a borec and a fost in the water, but with .... und Ances were drinking. Sipie is horse and rider slipped in the me cain to the surfare, and the horn be- gun to swim, but the rider tuuged as the curb, pulling the horse over ba k- want. The horses right fire- foot wa: visible for a moment- the horse of his back- the rider videally dragging his har- down by clinging to the tri. dle. The ambine was in the next. toftea Ves procured a small boat tut. But nothing could be done. Por the uv-fritos of the changel wuala Dos -ne up the victims until's bend in the ement was reached. Our drowned caradle wis Serst. Albert if. Minss, of company I. This occupant. gott gloomover the costand ard ara; with tears in their ajt. turned ass ticipatel with others to ssinn ingar ?. ed there in the Miss'nci. no opportunity to reserve out for be went under in less than a quarter .;: 2 minute.
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Satge Use, I was die Beder parti is wirat to lo q. ? menly th . lis
'. hurt the com-
He informed
them the I was on business of him
poateand shine the had mor time to ANEW .. SAU SLIDES. "The Feds will be
trend d two hours and I am here tt d! the boys" "Where are they ?" The mis gent said the boys were mit it & me, but that Draeen -boys were. .. which place they went, ma-ed up
the Iron, who enquired, " who's there and what is wanted?" Degran No. I sani, "this is Lientenant Charles sho tell . tue that the Federal Troops will be bere in the next two hours, and We came over to intorm your sous." Deacon No 2 replied, "Glad to see you Lieutenant, but the boys went to Bom ville last evening and have net seturmed yet " Butler. "What time do you rape of them to return?" Dea. eon 3. 2 "Wili they said if they wer. not here iy andnight I need not. las ter them all morning. ' Butler. "T: > >> pr daily all right, but per- haps you know of some more of the boys trade to be caught." Deacon No. 2. N. L .. en tant, for Colliers, who you li. . hors simut's mile from here, let: town ar out sunset, and he is going basis, " home all night. His dogs Ty hạn . him warning - also Lie sten- art Rye is as his father-in-laws. Bader. "Colliers is probably all right but ant with Rye who is a good sul- mer api I hate to have him gobbled up' Dea on No. 2. "I dont think there is mitch danger as I learned thut Shorty s camp is close to the house and his packets are about a quarter of amely from here on the Booneville." Butler told them he had been from hey tomtoand all day and did not have the countersign and consequently might have trouble in getting by the packets provided they failed to recog- tize him, but would take the chance of ro lins down and warning the Lieu- to next when he would feel sure that he was cate. Dencos. No. 1 said that he spring branch road was not pick- erad and he would pilot the way to the Nagy it'd sired. Deacon No. 2 said, Licht, the boys left their mag- here. as they were juled. an! took two of usine. It not too much trouble I wish you would take them into Booneville to them, so the Fels. cant get the m." Batter consented, when Dracon No. 2 . eque forth in his bed attire only, shook hands with the supposed Lieutenant Charles and led the way to the stable.
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CHAPTER NAV!
Crew to this time we !od p .... i
ch was noted from the fact that it ti e a negro it was il was
Igood to the atake for ir-niting a
rt coat, had bera a in taber of the ich Kaares Cavali, and during his service in rha: re çin : hot retel as scout for General Michal. The com- mancer of the rep'mert he seat for Father and requested him In the a few men and secution. if preally, where the rebels were- personally Skolby'scommand. Couldsingapurta Fere bang reverted would stay in the fint, raat not far from forty che dettoi rebels lag between Bonneville. Gorge- ton G, Pleasant HIRI, Little Blue, Imic- pendence. Lexington and Mrshall. (see map.) At this thing we lag between Bonneville and Georgetown, close up o the enemy. With thi. ten mra. Titler started, the nigar de kant in : a s of the little ban! wis acquani ted with the locality. The bel.con movi was str the out singly and with -for- hard work," they mw. Lawy in the : Era nosa toward the enemies supposed pastina-northeast toward Palestin, though this was rather out of the di- rection of the main rebel ating -Ja:ly & stuall band could have been in that porition. The boys traveled by star- Night throughto thick waal, About orr and a half mnhes from our camp :ug came to a small clearing in the center of which wasa log cabin, They quietly surround. i the cash for which they pounded upon the does no. oh! hes aroused a biped who conven- Enily knew nothing further than that T'aiestive wax about a anle and a half themast from there. I. t . & tw. Imurs to cover that alle and a half of the Missourian. Palestre wis a hamn- les af perhaps a dagen houses, in one of which was a light barnin ; Putter had posted his men he went Into the house, finding the family sea- 4. a> und the fre plice. An o.d BID " se. vad taking Butler by the Hand 5, "How do you do, Lieutenant the rest of the family jened
tive were missing, including: 3- go - Arriving at the bottle by the Spring Brunch road the old mellomen vis port in charge of pie of the men ve: he began to mistrust samething imes min were put at the front door. A L. was turning in the the place giving .and light. It must be tormented that hundredsof Price's men wore bizo uniforms captured at Pilot Kus ani "her points. hedes it was impossible in many instances to distinguish Tron or Confirrates At the rear door Biler ent rej a room contataing two beds, with a door leading into another room. As Butler entered, this luor- way was occupied by a man with a cooked revolver in his hand He was not dressed to receive ladies, but vos in pretty good fighting, trim. The To. volver was leveled at Butler, with, "who are you?" Butler, with as much check as the preverbial mule, simply g'ances at the Jobunie and walked up to the fire place and took a seat upon a stonl. while the gentleman made the third demand. "Who are ye?" Butler res. ponded with, "Come don't make a fool of yourmlf, dont you know me? I ba long to Wilkinson's Rangers and entr to see what business you lave to la out here to be gobbled up by the Feds' At this juncture his wife handed hiro his pants, which he pulled en, laying, his revolver on a bed, saying, "i have been from home two years and a half and I have a permit from General Shel- by to spend the night at home." "Let me sce your permit," nising and walk ing toward him. Ac Butler pot with- in six feet of him-he suspicioning something-grabbed his Colts Navy by the stock with his right hand, but Butler, with a spring, caught it by the barrel. The death hug had come.
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2 A. CaP. . STER, Private Company "F."
DASTUR AXVIL
Le Cafe write was a huge follow h : tr arsired pounds, while meld trou d our bay to tip the Landed and sixty. Be- the the wis the struggle went ': J Maminky in thyr start having the
aget it, once : ating Butler down 1 .: " the bed. but in endurance the J honle was lacking, and soon he had O .. manzale af a resolver against his
ich, which brought tortu "dont shoot Th arrender." The other boys came ives the room when two other rebels Horn discovered in one of the bed's, the Jules pulled over their heads. Why Chiny til not help their Lieut, is more Fre been tell. The rebels horses were !9usd in the wood's near at hand. The Lieutenants wife was informed that if " reseuring party was sent after them Tho jsouers would be Lilled. Our lay's got back to camp with three pris- Quers, three horses, two mules, two mas, one revolver. The lost? comrades : re found in camp. Butler reportc.1
Sergeant for enwardice With the result that the reported man " cited a commission. "So much for merit in the 17th regiment." The atbel Lieutenant after getting into our enten became very abusive. Three of the men with Butler from Co H, were Corporal Www. Biedermanu, Henry Green and Samuel Scott. It is clear that Matlack was not a favorite v'ch this conipatty, and his bravery has been seriously questioned. On the road, during the Price raid, we were short of food, so short that we had nothing to eat but corn. Un uht of these occasions we were z giry a turuip field when we broke for the field and were gathering tur- rips as rapidly as possible. The officers vere among us in a jiffy trying to chinees cut. The 3rd Battallion was * * Gives very hard for Fisher was with ns and we know him, but Matlac !: reduced Corporal Beieble. Co H, to the ranke. Nousatheld with this, he made Lum nosaddle his horse and carry the saddle and equipments to camp, which was abeat three milies dist int. To thus punish one new out of hna- dreisoqually guilty, ne. so no comment. Milly inthis region the 17thwas by detachments sant in various dir. tous. Hope the news rundbed us that we vere .The the baby welt ut, by soit, and
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once board a General comune at on the interiority of our horses, which hoved Lis ignorance of the runtter. for the Illinois houses were & loved for krwwn excellence, or superior bree lug, soure of us paying lung prices for our pet-, the balanes were spotify in the car- what Benton BurroLa. Where the Missouri troupe obtained their horses we dont know, neither do we know that their horses stood the raid boor : than ours. The General Live Hatis. Sourian, was evidend'y bath partial : ) men and horses of the state. this pride was mattinad'e but his speech impudent. Fr in bosingtu ve turned
well on the left, and while marching on a read granit . timand a column of troops about twor ias wath of us were hustening w .w.id. were leveled upon than but I remetu- ber there was deil tas to whothey were. I now believe them site 1 Er hastening to Indep. ileme D'exenton wow began to force the fi; . un ., mak- ing sobre charges where ces the en t. V would stand. We mased to honor mianourer, but now forend the Sghthe .. Here the 7th Kaustr and Sth Misten- ri Cavalrieg were united to us while Generals Curtis and Blond were in front of Price fighting him Lamdi.
Every day battles were feight, the booming of cannon could be heard ip all directions. save directly southofthe rebel army. On the netthe east and West, we were pounding him. borot was given him. Our tieneri Ph vs ... ton forced the Sal ting hion their t' :. 0 directions. As we near lai peda e,
the 7th Kansas, Ich Mir out. 3 .. rill's Horse, Så Colorado, and 170. 1 .. went for the caring Hadde . . . . three miles from Independiente the art. my made a stani, when . buost = 3. da order two regiments roh Tojen der sticking cannon.
near to which the woman walle tte sobre is hen; 1-es Many
Trbels throw themselves in front of their common, sacrificing tomeet that these brass pieces might be swed. but two other companies of those krise Mi. souriant ruch on to the retreating guns, ning the sabre mereife-sie? when hurzab! the guus are ours !! Our horses step over dead mien, in profusion, all thickly covered with dast; some on thir Lacks, their open eyes filled with Anat, others arc lying prone. Some with Hanbe drawn up. others straight-
A fettep tage chargesa chatand arret
2 bor per a dosy, Let General Piers .- is the chain drops and selling . Her. ( when to the sikt," and der charge the Artillery, equating I'm plus. Our troops rush in, yelling UNA very Grands, for the time being .. wore. The Johnnies flee in erid a: consternation. Not many prison . . were taken, for we had no time. Meu dled there by sevres. The 8th Mis-en- ri und 2ud Colorado went over thestone wall on the south side of town. on the run. The robs were using this is a breast-work, but it amounted to with- ing. for our med went over with . sive them bell, boys," and the ground to" nearly a balf mifle was strewn with a .- chemie .. We all did well. our brigade whipped nearly twice our number. with Artillery to face. The little band un. der General Pleasanton killed dead jure twenty-three. With Major Fighter. stand atting then in grand 2. 1. -lippery with their blood. AD ABRA with the thre.evidently with the s.b.re in three. Oh veen horrid siehe" One rebel. che only shaven, had his coretil artes pier er with the point of the wine. ani notwithstanding he bert a- best Of le Wood, his checks were that og lip- red. He lay upin his kie's nh come, lay as though he 2-1 4 the Rash and pride of manhood. l.u. he was dead enough. Our sung"on" a'e busy at work erring alike forice vi and i . working rapidly get the 101. ly, with the utmost e ire and genties .. Mach Lus bien said of the brutality of winx sarerons, bat my reuders Mitist many about that there were some Hiv. . Men in the army. A rough brutal sar- y vi would not be allowed there, work: stort that type rarely enter the wall- tu ation. Our surgeons were the tu bust in the United States. Th .. tak the very best care of 04. This may have been an exception to this .le, but the exceptions were very. Very. rore.
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1.
Flangia Cavalry White cers, זת
CHAPTER XXVIIL. .Ut- trae chat an weeastearl do zance shorts, armed with a Lo bundle wedand a very small bottle of wine, hi swoop dowe upon car hospitals rester both Doctor's and iwill, " arealate reports bit branded on (+ . They svebij mir ent what they i'd religion, by the be Setfuls, wor- .ing us when we uret fecded test - piot. Artripad one would www wad strip firt. e! !::: no mock
boty about thew. They were the Hat women Con everer del. With 'is in our fevered de biam anticipating wir wants, working n'ont beyond their strength, quite arpretentious, imping our Deurs, cupe quendy Helping us. The others dete innowa. Hors -- with them, whatever is, ie wrong. el are never satisfied with the exist- 'az order of things: they are very pi- .. . - in their own estimation. and in wany instances do more larm than
.c s Troops retired sullonly. The . morning the 2d Colorado attack wt: And Major Smith and a an door if :. men . f that regiment were kill- .. ... the Johonies were soon driven · the field, our regiment being still ath bit. Major Santh was a man we hote and ogrent favorite of ... - 1 :: At Ane Check his sesi- " on avenged his weath, as lin.za sabre .... je that vert many a traiter to his 5 .account. Some tolk was made Th trebois lohued that their cries of stroni'm we.e unheen-d by the Col- It has been sail that
saraand the night pensions ha i start- de taxehe would be filled the west de .. i .ve once -vet. this st. timhint i. par. We draw the enemy cato je . and Curtiss, who were very siat . K. ist City. When we were .ro- 4. he Blue an offer shour .1. . . try i Dea, hairy we. every tain ite is Ship Coun aring
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tas ur put away we vester the 19 00. Fisher shouting raise on There. ny Rai b: 1 Loving a .> winnen mounted on two wheels. . ha pair . ( . hatte Er ere house to how it by Sme little Hindi.t. pro- Etle ploro, and miss -d
We athe on the left and thur ing the enemy back, the light on
tto quite a detcer to our left to Hicknantes Mills, where a few Johannes prevede ne, bat ren for the main army. Ihre wels a few hours in the rain, the right being very duk. In the a'sit Miger Fisher arrives in coop maling inquiries for his orderly who i, his brother. But .Sam' could not. le found and he shared the bed for a couple of hours of two of our boys. Ou tue morrow we march rapidly, the ene- my being pretty well concentrated near KSensas City where a heavy engag- ment is plainly visible. A heavy force is left to cover their line of retreat. North of the ravine near Big Blue on quite an eminence of ground we draw up line, when from the south of us over a mile away on a hill a puff of smoke was seen, the boom was soon heard and the shells which they were hurling at us buist midway, high in air. Pat. puff the smoke. boom, boom the cannon, crack, crack the shells and still no one butt. Like magic two guns freu the 2d Missouri Battery appear. tur may checked lad is there, tanned Lhe an lidian Once he fires lis rifled Sap, Abby we strain our eyes to note the men's Again he fires and a rush is made to one sble by the rebel artil- jerists, plainly erch. Our gunner in- aulae- in language not barued in Sun- day school. The wig Sargeant talks quietly to hint while the boy sasses hack. Deliberately he again tales sim and fires. The rebels flee from their cannon, bat retura and drag their guns away. Ore bay hod knocked a camion out of Pleasanton and McNeill are t. hind us, and a solid shot aimed at us powers between them. Our regin.ent i veered to clear the bill, which is thiely ensured with stunted oaks and lage boulder .. By foury we march down the hill. "head of column to the r_m." down the ravine, when, "or left hout foto line" in line of battle, we march steadily up the hill. avoiding trees and boalders, yet keeping a good line of battle. A rebel battery on tap of the hid in front of us, not eighty rods away, is playing upon us as fast as the dust begrimed gunners can load and fire. Just back of this battery is passing Prices army, amid a clond of dust. Hundreds of rebels are rush- cd into the growth in front of us. All this is plainly seen from the hill we hid just left. We are ordered back,
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some of us to pr ere. Zip! za !! now! A shell has exploded una" Capt. Kelly's hope, Miting Turze will rider three feet from the ground, but no one is huic -- a miraculous er ... .. We are marched out slowly, way l.ch on the upland, where we dismount to ' laying down on the grass ne waich th. fleeing rebel anoy as they hurry 1 -t on the opposite ridze, about a tulle ref. One thing is certain. vis: our Cel .:: ci is not a coward, and we can stand it if he can. Personally I felt like inde !. ging in a horse race until we had hit those bursting shells tar in the rear ! have no doubt but our Colonel an just right, bat my desire to run war mighty strong, all the same. I am re- liably informed that General MeN.ill Sunt orders for us to fall back. Fiori experience I can state that a six it ch shell in process of fusion in close proximity has nothing comforting anwut it, since the war Ihave found many that cared nothing for them, but I am afraid they belonged with the nonent !- battents, who are very furious when no fight is in progress, and during the war were in constant terms of intimacy with the rear guard. Our numbers. were rapidly diminishing. some were captured. some were completely vort out. They stood it long as possible. while ear corn was our principle dict. (this is correct-no pun. ) They did not laek love of country, did not link courage, but did lack powers of endur- ance, Some did not care to stay with us, a few only.
To the west of us the battle is still raging, and we move out on the hill near where the rebel battery stod. near the road where the energy minst march out. There was I should judge about one thousand of us. Reinforce- ments are ordered up but they don come. Perhaps another Fitz Joha Por- ter case. But here we are, and we can play Leonidas or repeat the action of Bela !. lava. I here fell in love with one of our boys, Thomas Bell, who was furious that we were not lead ont ouris the road the enemy wore retrearing on, distint not more than a half mile. There was no sham on Bell'y part. He was a natural born fighting soldier. Blunt and Curtiss have whipped +! : rebs, and Lere they come mirelling proc us, not a shot fired by either side. He can get annihilated bat we connotas's thirty times our number.
vank. ' The Con. ... ..
of our boys to the net : it 1 vation is the
1 he was .i. t. though sig he portal. suffer ! dont kr my. It aoet br le- metobring that taces Ium-as and Mis- souri bugs bachved up the boardvarit the two steen, and has suffered in the . hands of fire rebels about all ber . their ingenuity could invent. P. ; ) ty had been destroyed, suck stoler. relatives and friends killed. Ten years previously the most serious trouble be- gan, teu long years haj those union people safred at the hands of these de ju radoessas rly all of whom were tu Price's aray, who with fire and bullet had given the law and order party no peace, no ?... Here in this vieir' y lived John Brown, whose sind auf goes marelong on." I sawatomic, his home, is int a few miles westofns, and though he died at Harper's Ferry. he still lives in both song and story. Hereu in judging these comrades iet ds not forget that for long jours they wer. surrounded by cruel and merciless er- emies, these saus cheries, new ist . fleeing from the state that for !me years they have tried ni wake de andar. all so recently have their cons loex echoing among the hills in the world- lund, and on the prairie- Hundreds of miles have just been land in waste by them. Connth ss thousands of du !- lars worth of property taken ordestroy . + 1, butfreds have been killed by +h. 4 . Our boys remember the long years ! their eruelties and atrocities, and if an occasional act of severity was practice". let us remember the long list " pro" vcations. But way on our lett an; further south of Mine Creek a few hours later the microas BEP Ander- son ments M. death. The word Guerrilla with two of his desperados are caught in a cabin. on the prairie to twoof the 2nd Colori, hogy. Ti ... tight in the one room with royalt: < and butcher-knives, and aber ati .. over, one of the Oloradio lost - twee re out of the door wounded in mar plats. Hir is the ouly survivor of the St . The floor is served with blood the walls are covered with it, but Bill .in derson will scalp no more prisoners lie died a vinh at death, but mane no ay- peale for increy weu krowing ther had he an hundred lives, and see tard in a court of Justice, he would be them all. Thus troin the in sy pte at Centralia. Anderson was stor ry pursued and lost his life northeast of Fort. Scott gute twenty to things aule .. The awful wretch met an al. i am.
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timi heads the tips are sitting their huttes im- properly; unding their state das bild-
Play we fagge i, then out. Under this
aide to keep on the sun and rup to the year. Now and d'un & levt euros enlawy dies. The stranglers are in 1.0: n . fast ences reformed into compan- ies ard crowded to the front. It is
one of these that charges the rebel ar- tille:y at Mine Creek, where scme ill feeling existed for a -Hour tinc beti. een these boys and the 7th Kansas, who were in the charge. Here the End Colorado charged a little to the right of us, and rebels go down before these peerless hardy westerners. in great profusion. Colonel Beveridge at our head on a large gray horse, is using the spurs vigorously. We are on to hình. With his sabre high in air to attract attention he calls. Attention Battalion. By comparing! On Fait into lier, MARCH! Draw sabres! For- vard, tret, gallop, march, CHARGE.
We pass a building to our right, the rehel bullets patt-ring upon its roof like hail. while their bazzing in air sound like many swarms of bees. With sibres in air yelling as only Illinois boys can yoll, we drive the spurs, at the same time lifting our horses heads, we follow our Colonel closely. We are presing the rebels, cutting . f about tro thousand of the enemy under Mar- maluk. and Cable. A detachment of the 3d fowa numberingal out fifty men came to where war prisoners were, they captured them? We were on the left of the prisoners, about eighty rods. Phillips and Benton on the right. Hore Price was wounded, a wound that I think resulted in Joss of an arm, Jater un. Here one of our Gearrals sho! a priscHer who it's vins had been an ac- quaintince of li. and a soldier in the Union Army. 1 . the moral recognised Him drew bis revolver and said . watch wir there" fired, the ball entering the forehead and caure ont at the temple. The prisoner fell where he lav, mein- ing and waving his right hand to and fru in front of the wound. Our regi. ment rode over him, for ope half of his boly his in the roul-way. The shoot- ing of this men according to my recol- lection is as above, but comrade Hick. man says that one of our Gert mais ask.
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