USA > Illinois > History of the Fiftieth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the war for the union > Part 12
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ask him to order them to the rear; his answer is worthy of the immortals, "stand firm, wait for orders."
"Well it is a trying time. Yet we are busy; there is no cessation in the rapid roll of musketry that sweeps our front elvar of the enemy. To our right the tide of battle flows. The air is heavy with signs of disaster. We must fall back or suffer annihilation or worse-capture. "By the right of companies to the rear into column," is the command. and quickly obeyed ; the enemy notice our movement and are advancing. We go back. our formation pretty well observed, until we reach a clump of houses. Here a halt is made and something of a line form- od. The 52d Illinois of the second brigade is to our right, and some of the Fiftieth join with its left. The halt is only for a few moments, when we go to the rear, on through the town in company or in squads. when a line for a new formation is selec- ted and we take position. Captain Hanna and Adjutant Let- ton are especially active. and under their direction the regiment moves into line as coolly as if upon parade.
"The enemy are now within the town. All the commis- sary and quartermaster's stores are near the Tishimingo House, along the railroad. and covered with huge tarpaulins. Orders have been given to burn them. The day appears to be lost, and Rosecrans thinks he is whipped. Somehow the men do not 'think so. We know we have been pushed back. and for a time hard pressed, but if we are whipped why don't the enemy come on and finish the job. All this time the heavy seige guns under Webster, to our right and rear are at work and playing havoc with the enemy, who, now in complete range, are broken by this fresh and unexpected resistance. The two batteries left on the field. and the lost ground must be retaken, and the line is or- dered forward. There was do delay in preparation, to the com- mand "forward, guide center, double quick. march," the regi- ment responded with such alacrity that the spectacle thrilled all our hearts and filled us with an eager desire to once more bo in at what we now firmly believed would be the defeat of the enemy. How magnificently the 52d moved on the two guns in its front. And now the Fiftieth is in line on the left of the 52d.
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What a tumult is round and about us We are advancing over our old ground : death is on the wing and so are the rebels."
In the language of the his- torian of the 7th Illinois: "The Fiftieth is making a glorious charge." "But in all this rush and roar of battle with God's bra- vest and best falling on all sides. we more grandly in "all hearts resolved on vieto- ry or death."
"Thank God it was victory. for look to our front and right the enemy are on the run; panic with all her frightful train, is now our ally and drives the so lately victorious rebel host before it as go a frightened flock of sheep at note of danger. The two bat- teries are ours again ; the enemy, a broken and shapeless mass, seeks cover and protection from the guns in forts and field. What a joyous sight, and never to be forgotten. Sec thein go over the railroad and then over the ridge. A short time ago they marched with high resolve in war's wild and magnificent array: flags flattering. drums healing. Now so broken, beaten and wounded nigh unto death. We cannot pursue them past our lines, but we know the day is ours; the battle won. Our flag-so. torn and mangled with shot and shell. yet now more beautiful than ever before, floats over us in the sunlight of a great victorv.
"Pushing to the front we find many dead and wounded. and numbers who have taken refuge in sheltered places, prefor- ing to become our prisoners rather than run the chances of es capo from our fire. As the regiment in advancing. reaches our first line of battle, a rebel captain steps from behind a house and speaking to Lieutenant J. C. Rodgers, says. "I have a squad of men, about thirty. I desire to surrender, and would like a
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guard to protect them," but our business is at the front, and knowing the captain and his party will be properly taken in. we push on.
"Had the lieutenant taken charge of the captain and his men as requested. and marched them to the rear he would un- doubtedly have received favorable notice from high quarters.
1.As the line foll back to the houses the Fiftieth lost Lieu- tenant Jonas D. Corwin, company I. and private Jerry Summers of company D, killed : and many wounded."
In the retrograde movement by the Fiftieth into the town, as before stated, the men took station behind houses and other obstructions. and at this time orourred the incident as related by Private Bagley of company B: "I was falling back with my company." he says, "when reaching some houses some forty yards in rear, we stopped and commenced firing on the advancing lines of the enemy, there was a little fellow by me whom I did not know at that time. he was firing and loading rapidly; just then a ball broke my ankle. As I went down the little fellow attempted to lift me up, but it was no go, I was too heavy. All this time the battle was growing hotter, and something had to be done, so he advised me to crawl under the house and thus useape the flying bullets. With this he started back, the first line of the enemy being nearly on us. I com- meneed crawling towards the house but all at once the thought came to me. I might get in there and my wound might disable me so I could not crawl out if the enemy should set fire to the building. so I stopped. The first line as it swept over me did not stop nor pay any attention to me save that some of the Johnnie- pointed their guns at me. I raised up on my side and holding up my hands in token of surrender said, "don't shoot me. I am wounded." When the second line came along much the same creurred. Then the third line came and halted only a few steps beyond me, when back came a rebel captain and lay down behind me, using me as a barricade. Suffering intensely. I attempted to change my position by lifting my wounded log, when a shell from one of our guns burst a few feet distant from uh, a plan of which struck me in the thigh cutting a deep gach.
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at the same time tearing off one leg of the captain's pants ; that was enough for him, his valor oozed out and he incontinently ran away. Well our regiment soon charged back and the rebels took to the woods, and I was picked up and carried to the hos- pital. For twenty-six years I remained without knowledge as to who my little comrade was, but at a reunion of the regiment a, Quincy in 1888. I met him. I was giving my name to be reg- istered when up stepped a comrade and said, "Comrade Bag- ley I owe you an apology for running away and leaving you on the field. Since that terrible day at Corinth I have never been able to hear from you, and have always thought that I did wrong to leave you in such a fix." I looked at him and he was the same little fellow, somewhat heavier and a good bit older, and I said I have thought of you a thousand times, what is your name? "Why," he says, "I am Hubert of D company." I said do you remember what you said to me when you tried to help me off the field? "No," Hubert replied, "only that I advised you to crawl under the house so as to be out of the way of the flying balls." I said, so you did, but there was something more you did and I will never forget what you said. You tried to lift me up, but as 1 weighed 250 and you only about 125, you had to give it up, but as you let go of me, with tears running down your cheeks, you said "what shall I do -- you're too big and I'm too little. "
In passing to the rear the lines were broken by houses, fences and other obstructions, but reaching the next street Col. Du Bois, commanding the brigade, assisted by his aides. some on foot and others on horse back, were reforming the line on the colors of the 7th Illinois and Fiftieth, bravely held by their re- spective bearers, and supported by their guards. Here it was that the gallant Captain HT. L. Burnham of company C, stand- ing near the colors said. "Sergeant hold the colors and I will stand by you while I live" and was immediately struck by a Minie-ball in the shoulder disabling him.
Hore was Adjutant Letton gallantly directing the forma- tion as he rode up and down the street ; as also was seen some of the boys, having become separated from their companies,
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formed in groups-commanded by one of their number-taking position in the now reforming line.
In the rush and roar of the assault, the breaking of the lines and falling back of the divisions of Hamilton and Davies. as heretofore described, the baggage, commissary and ammuni- tion wagons of the brigado, and indeed of the whole army, were placed in a most perilous position. With the brigade train were many of the wounded and disabled, all under charge of Chaplain Bigger, than whom there never was truer christian or braver man. The train parked near the south edge of Corinth, was imminently exposed, owing to the rapidly changing condi- tion of affairs: the tide of battle sweeping nearer and nearer every moment. Just at this time several officers rode up to the Chaplain and one of them inquired who had charge of the train, referring to the regimental wagons. Chaplain Bigger replied he had. Whereupon the officer declared that the Union troops were whipped and instructed the Chaplain to burn his baggage at once. With the reply so characteristic of him, "We are not whipped, sir," the Chaplain moved his train nearly half a mile to the rear, and with the assistance of wagonmaster John C. Lewis and others. he formed the wagons into a strong barricade reaching from the hospital on the right toward College Hill on the left, behind which the straggling soldiers, convalescents and others formed, and advanced as a reserve to the support of the brigade. then reforming in the streets of Corinth for the last charge which subsequently drove the enemy from the field and won the battle.
The next day calling at the Tishimingo Hotel to visit some of the wounded. an officer in heavy cape passed by the guard into the dining room ; recognizing him as the officer who ordered him to burn the train he inquired of the sentinel at the door who he was, and, to his surprise, learned that he was General Rosecrans.
During the occupation of our lines by the enemy the ex- citement at the hospital was at a high pitch, and Dr. Warren, surgeon in chief, leaving the hospital in charge of Surgeon Ken-
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dall of the Fiftieth Illinois, fled for safety to Pittsburg land- ing.
Describing the awful seene as presented to the eye from the hospital. Lieut. Hazelwood says, "All that could be seen in our position were two lines of fire through which no one could pass and live."
During the pursuit of the enemy Lieut. J. W. Anderson of company B, captured a rebel flag. Without stopping he stood it up by a tree and pressed forward with his command ; when he returned the flag was missing. Afterwards the credit of the capture was given to another division.
It seems now to be the truth of history that the captured trophy was carried north by Colonel Baldwin. The glory of the capture belongs to Lieut. Anderson, but another received the credit. The war furnished many such instances however, where results obtained by brave men in the front, were appropriated by officers of rank or skulkers in the rear. During this advance seventy-two prisoners and a flag were captured by company B.
The scene presented at battery B on the right of the brig- ade after the battle, furnished startling evidence of the furious character of the assault by the enemy, and of the equally des- perate resistance by the battery and its slight support. In the ditch in front there lay twenty-two dead rebels and many woun- ded. besides among the guns were a number of rebels with bro- kep and battered heads. All bearing testimony to the hot valor which had nerved the heroie men of the battery to stand by their guns to the last, and the struggle to retake them. All the horses belonging to the battery were down, a dead or wounded mass. With what exultant shouts did the battery boys man their guns, once more returned to them, and fire upon the re- treating for, while the dreadful scene-around them told of the glory of the dead as well as of the valor of the living.
From a dry well near the little house at the rear of the battery. emerged a family of father. mother and five children, who had hastily been forced there as the bombardment began.
In explanation of the firemness of the assault by the henry. composed of the Arkansas Legion, under Gien. Caball, it.
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was learned through prisoners captured at the time that a heavy ration of whiskey was issued just before the advance to the assault; this made a sort of fictitious valor. good for an advance, but poor for marksmanship, and to this must be at- tributed the slight loss sustained from the drunken effort of the enemy to shoot straight : evidently he saw double and there- fore shot too high.
The afternoon of the day was spent in searching the field for the dead and living, and when night had come the tired but happy troops slept on the field won by their valor.
As has been seen, the place where, and the time when the armies of Van Dorn and Price would attack. rested alone with these commanders, and therefore at soveral points all possible preparations were made to receive the blow. Choosing Corinth the only course to have been pursued by the rebel commanders was to strike suddenly and with such power as, if possible, to annihilate the army under Rosecrans But the exact contrary' prevailed ; the enemy delivered an assault which, vigorous at the onset, weakened and entirely spent itself until at last it driveled out, ending in an ignominious defeat.
The truth is, the rebel army was poorly commanded ; both Price and Van Dorn were failures in a field of anything like enlarged operations. In all his career Price never won a success save at Lexington, and then by more numbers so over- whelmingly large as to simply insure a victory over the little garrison commanded by the gallant and chivalric Mulligan. With the Union forces at Corinth it was different. The whole district, of which Corinth was a part. was under the eve of Grant, and upon him devolved the difficult duty of guarding a long front from attack at any one of many points, by a force largely superior to any he might be able to concentrate. Under him was Rosecrans who had gained some credit in 1861, in West Virginia, and whose recent exploit at Juka, although bar- ren of results, had been hailed as a victory. In many respects he possessed qualifications which crowned him as an ideal Gen- eral. He was active and vigilant. Educated at West Point. he was versed in logistics. Ite could arm, food and move large
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bodies of men; and quick to strike, he was, as a rule, ready to receive the return blow. Yet with all these high qualifications. he had some great failings; he was swift to censure, and slow to acknowledge an error. Himself a high figure he grew easily jealous of the success which came to others. At Corinth the second division bore the whole battle on the Union side on the first day, and never did men more nobly acquit themselves. Unsupported, they were face to face with a largely superior force, and the losses show how true and brave they were. Yet. because on the second day, all support on their right gone, al- most without the firing of a shot at that, it is said he railed at them because unable to resist and save themselves from capture. they slowly and sullenly retired to a new and stronger position, where gathering fresh strength. they again advanced to a victo- ry as complete as it was brilliant. There is no question but that he himself was. to some extent, panic stricken that day, as has been related. and as will more fully appear hereafter. And this being so, it would seem but the act of a soldierly and an honorable man, if having in passion spoken words of ill to as brave men as ever drew sword or handled gun in any cause. ho should at the earliest moment have retraced his angry steps and restored to rightful place before the country, the men whom he had maligned even when surrounded by their dead. This he failed to do until waiting longer would have been a crime, Gen- eral Davies felt impelled to address him the following letter :
HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION. ) ARMY OF WEST TENNESSEE, CORINTH, Miss., Oct. 23d, 1862. 1 MAJOR GENERAL ROSECRANS,
SIR :- On the afternoon of October 4th, after the victo- ries of that day and the 3d. you said upon the battlefield among the piles of dead and groans of the wounded. slain by the see- ond division, army of the Tennessee, that they were a set of cowards; that they never should have any military standing in your army till they had won it on the field of battle: that they had disgraced themselves, and no wonder the rebel army had thrown its whole force upon it during the two days engagement.
My report is now before you. The effect of the official announcement which you made, is having a demoralizing effect .
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upon the brave men, and working injury to them throughout the country. It has been the basis of newspaper articles and of strictures upon the military conduct of the division.
I would most respectfully ask for the benefit of the ser- vice, and for the honor of the division, that if you have chang- ed your opinions, you would so publicly give a refutation of these charges.
I am very respectfully, your obedient servant, THOS. A. DAVIES.
To this came the following reply :
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI, ? THIRD DIVISION DIST. WEST TENN. 1
GENERAL :
In reply to your note just received, I will say that having read your very clear and creditable report of the operations of your division. I am satisfied they fought very nobly the first day, and that many of them, especially on the right, did the same on the second day, and so much so that I shall overlook the cowardly stampeding of those under my immediate obser- vation on the second day, which gave rise to the public indigna- tion I expressed in your presence and theirs. Assure the brave officers and men of your division that I will endeavor to do them public and ample justice, which will be more than all the newspaper talk to their disparagement. You will oblige me by making this letter known to the command, and you may use it publicly if you wish, while awaiting my report.
W. S. ROSECRANS. Major General.
The report referred to was made October 25th, two days after General Davies' letter, and on the same day his congratu- latory General Orders No. 125 were issued.
In his report of the first days fight it clearly appears that Davies' division bore the head and front of the enemy's advance and attack, and he refers to its valorous action in terms of unstinted praise. And in closing his record of the first day he leaves "the details of the heroic deeds of the troops of Davies' division to the accompany- ing sub-reports."
Of the next day in describing the disposition of his forces he speaks of "Davies' tried division" being "placed in the cen- ter." Of the battle when it was on he says: "I will only say
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that when Price's left bor- down on our center in gallant style, their force was so overpowering that our wearied and jaded troops yielded and fell back among the houses. I had the per- sonal mortification of witnessing this untoward and untimely stampede."
In his Congratulatory Order No. 152. he thus expresses himself: "I desire especially to offer my thanks to General Davies and his division, whose magnificent fighting on the 3d, more than atones for all that was lacking on the 4th."
Such was the vindication promised General Davies. "A vindication that would leave the division free from the unjust disparagement of certain of the public press." Such an exhibi- tion of backing and filling, of affirming and denying, and of praise and reproach has rarely if ever been witnessed.
It is enough to say in reply to his most unjust statement that no such rout or stampede occurred as by him declared to have happened, and it is a stain upon his own military charae- ter which history will only make the brighter, that he, in the moment of victory, snatched laurels justly won, from the brows of the brave men of the second division, but for whose brave and determined resistance against overwhelming numbers, de- feat instead of victory would have come.
From this part of the history of that eventful time it is pleasant to turn to the story of the battle, as told by the brave officers of the division who held command on those two event- ful days.
General Davies in his report referring to his visit to the hospital, on the evening of the first day, to look after his woun- ded, thus describes the scene, as well as his after actions: "In one room I found my three brigade commanders. tien. Hackle- man breathed his last while I was with him. Gen. Oglesby was undergoing most exerutiating pain. Col. Baldwin was sick- ened from the effects of his wounds. The Tishimingo Hotel was crowded with the wounded and dying of my command. I then reported to Major General Rosecrans, and stated to him that the services of my three Brigadier Generals were lost, many of my officers were killed and wounded, and the men worn out
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with fatigue, and that he must not depend upon my command on the following day, although the men would do all they could. He therefore ordered mo into the reserve for October }, and to take up my position east of the town near Major Gen- eral Ord's headquarters. The order was executed before 12 o'clock. About 1 o'clock General Hamilton called upon me and delivered an order from General Rosecrans that my division should occupy an earthwork on the north-west of the town, facing the Purdy road.
"In obedience to orders I moved my command to the po- sition assigned. On account of the difficulty of waking up the worn out men the movement occupied the balance of the night."
General Davies shows clearly in his report that whatever stampede there was happened to the right of his division, for after describing the break and confusion on and beyond his right, he says : "The confederates had now gained the earth- works turned the flank of the 9th Illinois in the yard of the house in the rear, and came in on my right flank between the redoubt and the house and in the rear of it, and opened an en- filading fire upon Colonel Sweeney's brigade. The troops of the 2d division, I regret to say, fell back, beginning from the right to the left, some earlier than others.
The troops of Colonel Sweeney's brigade and the reserve retired firing as they wont, the reserve 175 yards from their line, and were rallied by Captain Lovell. Most of Col. DuBois' brig- ade fell back seventy-five yards and some of it farther. The confederates took posession of the earthwork, captured the seven guns left in it and held our whole line. Some few of them advanced beyond it some fifty yards, but the troops hav- ing rallied drove back the enemy with slaughter, recaptured the guns, charged the enemy from the whole line, directing a most murderous fire upon them, punishing them most severely for their temerity and in the most splendid style, made I think a suitable apology for and corrected, unassisted, their fault. (10)
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They continued to charge upon the enemy, cheering and yell- ing, till the line had marched 150 yards in front." * * * ** * *
"The enemy did not gain the town on the line assigned to this division."
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And again the report referring to the last charge of the . enemy, says :
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"Colonel Johnson's confederate brigade now made its ap- pearance out of the woods and made a second charge in front of my line. They were received with a murderons fire, Colonel Johnson being killed and falling from his horse the brigade broke and the last of the charge against Corinth was enacted. * * *
"A new line was now formed and in half an hour from the last assault the men were in their places and I was furn- ished with four regiments to form a reserve line. The troops stacked their arms, and when it was ascertained that the enemy had abandoned the idea of future attack, the regiments bivou- acked for the night. General Davies reported his total casuali- ties at 1,001, his full force on the morning of the 3rd being 3.188 officers and men, infantry and artillery. The Fiftieth Illi- nois led all other regiments in the prisoners captured, the num- ber being, officers two, men 1-10 and one stand of colors."
In closing his report General Davies compliments the officers in his division and thus refers to officers of the Fiftieth : "Lieut. Colonel Swarthout, of the Fiftieth Illinois, behaved in a gallant manner. * Captain Hanna as usual showed himself to be a brave and gallant man, and worthy of promo- tion."
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