USA > Illinois > History of the Fiftieth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the war for the union > Part 35
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S. W. BLYSTONE,
Lieut. and Acting Adjutant.
HEADQUARTERS 50TH ILLS. INF. VET. VOLS., Rome. Ga., October 10th, 1864. Special Orders, No. 49. 1
The following named enlisted men of company B. 50th Ills. Int. Vet. Vols., are hereby detailed ou special duty as
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FIFTIETH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
« for sergeant and will report to these headquarters for duty anmediately.
Preston Lathrop. sergeant. company 1. 50th Ills. Inf.
By order of Lieut. Col. WM. HANNA. . W. BLYSTONE,
Lieut. and Acting Adjutant.
On the march to the sea the flag was borne by Corporal David Laughlin, and the banner by Sergeant Lathrop, while Serg': Frosten Lathree, Co B. the over watchful Riley and the other guards assisted. At Sa- vannah, Sergeant Lathrop becoming sick, and other changes occuring, the following detail was made:
HEADQUARTERS 50TH ILLS. INE. V. V. Savannah, Ga., Jon. 16th, 1865. Special Orders, 1 No. %. The following named enlisted men are hereby de- tailed for color guards, and will report accordingly.
Corporal Michael Sceitter. Company C. 50th Ills. Inf. Charles Warner. D. "
By order of WM. HANNA. Liest. Col. Com dy 50th Illa.
and on the next campaign the flag was carried by Laughlin and the banner by Riley, up through the Carolinas, the Grand Parade at Washington, and. more changes occurring, the fol- lowing detail was issued :
HEADQUARTERS 50TH ILLS. INF. V. V .. Washington. D. C., May 29th, 1864.
Special Orders, No. 26.
Smith Nicholson, Corporal Company C. 50th Ills.
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HISTORY OF THE
Inf. V. V., is hereby detailed as color corporal, 50th Ills. Infan- try and will enter upon the duties of such immediately.
By order of
Lieut. Col. WM. HANNA, Commanding Regt. C. H. FLOYD,
Lieut. and Acting Adjutant.
In June, 1865, the following orders were promulgated :
C. C. Krabiel, Co F.
HEADQUARTERS 50TH ILLS. INF. V. V., Ridgeway, Ky., June 19th, 1865. Special Orders, ? No. 33.
Corporal Christopher Krabiel, Company F. 50th Ills. Infantry Vet. Vols. is hereby detailed as color guard. By order of Lieut. Col. WM. HANNA, Commanding Regt.
HEADQUARTERS 50TH ILLS. INF. V. V. Ridgeway, Ky., June 19th, 1865.
Special Orders, i No. 34. Corporal David Laughlin, Company B, 50th Ills. Infty Vet. Vols., is hereby relieved from duty as color guard. and will report to his company commander for duty without delay.
By order of
WM. HANNA, Lieut. Col. Commanding Regt.
This was because company B was on detached service at division headquarters, and Corporal David Laughlin was to be promoted to sergeant and his services required with his com- pany, on the 24th of the same month an order was issued as follows :
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FIFTIETH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
HEADQUARTERS 50TH ILLS. INF'TY VET. VOLS., Near Louisville, Ky., June 24th, 1865.
Special Orders. 1 No. 35. 1 II. Corporal Adam R. Jeffrey. Company E, 50th Ills. Infty Vet. Vols., is hereby detailed as color guard, and will re- port for duty immediately.
By order of Lient. Col. WM. HANNA. Commanding Regt.
A. R. Jefrey, Co. E.
While encamped near Louisville it having been arranged. that there should be a drill by such regiments of the division as desired to enter the contest; the prize being a handsome silk banner. The regiments competing were the 7th Iowa Infantry, of the 1st brigade; the 63rd Illinois Infantry, of the 2nd brig- ade, and the Fiftieth illinois Infantry, of the 3rd brigade; the first two being respectively commanded by Major Mahon and Col. Isaminger, and the last ( the Fiftieth ), by Lieut. Col. Han- na. These regiments having been selected to represent their respective brigades after a close contest with the other regi- ments for the honor. To keep the men together until after the drill the following was issued :
HEADQUARTERS 50TH ILLS. INFTY VET. VOLS., Near Louisville, Ky., June 27th, 1865.
Circular:
There will be no more passes granted to visit the city until after the 3rd day of July.
By order of Lieut. Col. WM. HANNA.
C. F. HUBERT.
Adjutant. AFTER THE DRILL.
To the members of the Fiftieth and their many friends, the result of the drill. as indicated by the one word on page 407
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HISTORY OF THE
EXCELLED, was indeed very gratifying, and when, on the 5th of July, we beheld company B, then on detached service at di- vision headquarters, proudly bearing to our camp the hard earn- ed PRIZE, and quietly deposited it in the hands of our beloved Colonel, our joy was great indeed.
For a number of years the result of the drill, as officially reported by the officers appointed as judges, together with Gen. Corse's order promulgating the same, was to all intents and purposes lost, but happily such was not the case, as will appear by the following letter received and read at a reunion of the regiment at Camp Point, Illinois, in 1891 :
EMPORIA, KANSAS, Oct. 11th, 1891.
Secretary 50th Ills. Infontry Vols ..
Fowler, Ills .:
COMBADE:
That the old 50th Iils. Infantry Vols, was a good regiment every one in our old 2nd division knew. But I am afraid that "Prize Banner," given you at Louisville, Ky., in July, 1865, gave you fellows the ". Big Head," and made you think you were just a "little too nice," and my fears seem to be well foun- ded, for in the National Tribune of Oct. 9th, 1891, I see Col. Bane puts on con- siderable about it, and thinks it was given to you as the best regiment in the "Army of the Tennessee," while it was only given to you as the best drilled regiment in the 4th division, 15th A. C.
But as the 15th was the best corps in the Army of the Tennessee, and our 4th division the best in the 15th corps, I guess the claim is all right.
Now. that I have had my foolishness I would say when I read Col. Bane's letter I recalled old times, and having been in the Adjutant General's office under Major L. H. Evart at the time of the prize drill. I had sent out the order an - nouncing the decision of the judges, and by some means twenty years after the time in overhanling my old papers I found the "original report," with Generals Baird, Williams and Hickenlooper's names attached. When the report was handed in Gen. Corse wrote the heading attached and handed to me to copy, for the command, and by some means the original got among my private papers.
Believing that the Fiftieth Illinois would like to have the original to keep with their banner, I forward the same to you. Please acknowledge receipt of same.
Yours in F., C. & L , W.M. E. McCREARY,
Late private Co. I, SIst Ohio.
Emporia, Lyon Co , Kans. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 16th A. C.
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FIFTIETH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
The action of the judges is set forth in the following or- ders and report :
HEADQUARTERS 4TH DIVISION, 15TH A. C., Louisville, Ky., July 3rd, 1865.
The decision of the judges selected to decide as to the relativo merits of the competing regiments in this division for a prize banner having been received is hereby published for the information of the command.
By order of JOHN M. CORSE, Major General Commanding. L. H. EVART,
A. A. G.
"The undersigned members of the board selected to de- cide upon the relative merits of the following regiments,
Tth Iowa Infty Vols., Maj, Mahon commanding,
63rd Ills. Infty Vols., Col. Isaminger commanding, 50th Ills. Infty Vols., Col. Wir. Hanna commanding, which regiments contested for the "Excelsior Banner" of their division at Woodlawn Course, July 3rd, 1865, beg leave to sub- mit the following report :
"Having taken into consideration
1st. The soldierly bearing and personal appearance of the men and the condition of their clothing, arms and accou- trements ;
2nd. Their proficiency in the manual of arms; and
Brd. Their proficiency in battalion drill. we find it very difficult to decide, where all displayed such proficiency, but after mature deliberation have concluded to award the Banner to the 50th Ills. Infty Vols., Col. Hanna commanding.
"And at the same time we wish to compliment the ofli- eers and men of the 63rd Ills. Infty Vols., Col. Isaminger com- manding. upon their unparalelled neatness and soldierly bear- ing, and the very excellent condition of their arms and accou- trements.
A. BAIRD, Brevet Major General, A. J. WILLIAMS, Brevet Major General, A. HICKENLOOPER, Brevet Brig. Gen'l.
The foregoing comprise all the orders at control of the writer concerning our flags.
Returning to the closing days of service by the regiment.
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HISTORY OF THE
and referring to the disposition of our flags, it may be noted that the staff, shattered at Allatoona, had been replaced by one taken from the old flags, and thus renewed these colors were tenderly and carefully borne on the march to the sea, in the grand review at Washington, and in the ever to be remembered prize drill at Louisville, Ky., July Brd, 1865, where the Blind Half Hundred closed its ca- reer in the field with an hon- or justly won, and that the third set of colors of the Fif- tieth were returned to Spring- field and turned over to the care and keeping of the State, where they are to be seen with the rest of the flags borne by Illinois troops, while our Prize Banner, Excelsior, has been placed in the care of Colonel Hanna and is pre- served by him at his home in Golden, Illinois.
It is customary to read in histories of regimental organ- ization that when about to de- THE PRIZE BANNER. part for the seat of war there would be a flag presentation by beautiful young ladies to as equally brave and gallant young gentlemen, always accepted in glowing language with vows to defend them to the last. While no such good fortune attended the Fiftieth, yet the flags that came to it were furnished by the country it did its level best to preserve, and now as each one of the regiment goes to Spring- field, bent with the weight of years intervening since peace came to bless the land, he looks with thrilling pride upon the torn and tattered colors of the regiment in which he marched and fought, and for the protection of which so many of his comrades died. Ah, tender memories cluster around the dear banners of that mighty war, all righteous and holy on one side,
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FIFTIETH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
and as wickedly wrong upon the other. Some one standing in the presence of the old, faded and worn ensigns of the free, de- porited among the sacred archives of the State, wrote these lines :
I. Nothing but flags, but simple flags, Torn and tattered and hanging in tags, And we pass by them with a careless tread Nor think of the hosts of the mighty dead Who marched beneath them in the days gone by With a burning cheek and a kindling eye. And have bathed each fold with their life's young tide, And dying blessed thent and blessing died.
II.
Nothing but flags ? Yet me thinks at night They tell each other their tales of fright, That dim spectres rise and their thin arms twine 'Round each standard torn as it stands in line, As the word is given they charge they form And the dim hall rings with the battle storm, As once again through smoke and strife Those colors lead to a Nation's life. II.
Nothing but flags ? Yet they're bathed with tears, They tell of triumphs, of hopes and fears, Of mothers' prayers, of a boy away,
Of a serpent crushed ! of the coming day. Silent, they speak and the tear will start As westand beneath them with throbbing heart And think of those who are near forgot,
Their flag's come home, why come they not ? IV.
Nothing but flags ? Yet we hold our breath As we gaze in awe on those types of death. Nothing but flags? Yet the thought will come, The heart must pray though the lips are dumb ; They are sacred, pure, and we see no stain On their dear loved folds come home again, Baptized in the blood of our purest and best, Tattered and tory they are now at rest.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
HOSPITAL CHAPTER.
IN closing our History of the Fiftieth Illinois it is deemed fitting and proper to give an account of our Hospital De- partment, and the very efficient service rendered, and its corps of officers and attendents attached thereto. Of our chief Surgeon H. W. Kendall we record as follows : 1
Surgeon Henry Wilmer Kendall of the Fiftieth Illinois Infantry, was born Sept. 15th, 1831, in Cheviot, Hamilton Co .. Ohio. His father, Richard Gardner Kendall, M. D., was a Quaker from Norristown, N. J., and his mother was Miss Ann Prosser Brown, a Quakeress of Sculltown N. J.
Surgeon Kendall obtained his literary education at Ca- roy's Academy and Farmer's College, Mt. Pleasant, Ohio. His medical education in Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he graduated March 4th, 1853, and from Jefferson College, Philadelphia, Pa., March 12th, 1870. Moved to Quiney. Illinois, September. 1853, and was married November 6th, 1856. to Miss Frances Caroline Collins, at Liberty, Adams county. Ill. Removed to Payson, Ill .. December, 1856. In August 1861 was commissioned Major by the Governor of Illinois, and ap- pointed Surgeon of the Fiftieth Ill. Infantry, at the time of its muster into the service, September 12th, 1861, at Camp Wood. From recollections of the Surgeon and others connected with this department, we record as follows: Leaving Quincy parly in October for the scenes of active service in Missouri, our first
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SURGEON HENRY W. KENDALL.
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FIFTIETH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
stop was in Hannibal, from thence to Chillicothe. Here we remained until November 24th, having our hospital located in a large farm house near the camp east of town. While here we were severely afflicted with measles, and on that account the flowing orders were Issued :
HEADQUARTERS 50TH ILLS. INF .. Chillicothe, Mo., October 24th, 1861.
Special Orders, ¿ - No. 3. Extract. It is hereby strictly enjoined upon all to discon- tune their visits to the camp of the 39th Ohio regiment, mea- Is being at the present time prevalent in their camp.
By order of
WM. SWARTHOUT. Licut. Col. Commanding.
T. JEFF BROWN, Adjutant.
Notwithstanding this precautionary measure, the disease se increased that one hundred and eighty were down in one www.k. Many of these cases followed by pneumonia.
The latter part of November the regiment was ordered to St. Joseph, Mo., as a part of the force to check General Price's raid in North Missouri.
While here measles continued in a very violent form and other diseases appeared, and the regimental hospital being in- adequate to the necessity, many patients were transferred to the post hospital, and as a competent nurse was required, the following order was sent to company C:
HEADQUARTERS 50TH ILLS. REGT., St. Joseph, Mo., January 4th, 1862.
Special Orders, ? No. 10.
By orders received from headquarters you will de- Inil George C. Bartells of your company, company 3, 50th Ills. Vols., as extra duty man, as hospital nurse, to report to Post Hospital Surgeon, Dr. Watson, forthwith.
By order of Lieut. Col. WM. SWARTHOUT, Comd'g.
T. JEFF BROWN, Adjutant. (28)
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HISTORY OF THE
Here we remained until the latter part of January, when we were ordered to leave our sick and proceed to Cairo, Ill .. then to Smithland, Ky. With a rest here of a few days, break- ing in wild mules for the army wagons, the boys furnished sov- eral subjects for instruction in the dressing of wounds, bruis. . and broken ribs, and kept the Surgeon busy. We were then or- dered on transports up the Tennessee river. Landing below Fort. Henry, we found the gun-boats were already engaging the lower batteries of the fort when we arrived, and here in a few hours we witnessed a picture seldom seen on earth. A large shell from a rifle cannon in the fort penetrated the steam- er Essex, tearing open her boilers and scalding thirty-one men. externally and internally, turning them as white as chalk, but they succeeded in getting on shore, where all soon after died. That night the enemy evacuated the fort and retreated to Fort Donelson, where a few days later, we followed, and on Sunday. the 16th, had the pleasure of occupying the comfortable quar- ters of the rebels, which we found had already been pre-empted by grey-backs --- licc. The suffering of the men during this seige of four days, was intense, and many of the men contracted the diseases from which they have suffered through life.
Having secured good quarters we thought we were fixed for a comfortable rest, but four days later we were ordered to move immediately on board the steamer Iatan. Many of the men were suffering from the recent exposure -- resulting in camp diarrhea and attending troubles. When this order was received the rain was pouring down in torrents, and the Colonel waited for it to slack up, when we received this message from the Gen- eral : "Why in hell don't this regiment move?" The Colonel answered, "It rains so hard, General!" The General replied : "Who in hell ever heard of troops waiting for rain? You will meet something a damned sight harder than this before you go much further. March."
` This peremptory order did not meet with a very courte- ous reception from the boys, who were nearly sick, but they proceeded to the boat, and upon arrival at Clarksville, Teun., were quartered in a large tobacco warehouse. A few days later
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FIFTIETH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
proceeded to Nashville, on the steamer John Raines : remaining on the boat here a day or so, we returned to Clarksville and found more convenient quarters in private dwellings. During this time, from the cramped and dirty quarters on the boat -- with the bountiful supply of flap-jacks and river water-the Wealth of the men was greatly impaired-many of them being rendered totally unfit for duty; among them was Adjutant Brown.
In this town, Clarksville. Colonel Bane, who was a pro- slavery man. made a speech in the public square, March 17th, to the citizens and soldiers, in which he said: "When I am nonvinced that the war is prolonged to free the slaves I will auffer my right arm to be cut from my body before I will draw my sword in such a cause." Just nineteen days from that day weout that right arm, after it had been shattered by a rebel bullet, from that body and removed every drop of pro-slavery Mood from the Colonel's body. The cure was complete, there was no relapse.
The Colonel confirmed the above statement in a speech made to the regiment upon his return to Corinth to assume command, after recovery from the wound. No firmer, staunch- er friend of the Union can now be found,
The time for the Fiftieth to leave for the south drew near and the steamer L. M. Kennett was at the landing. Quite a lot of bacon had been found in a warehouse near the river, and de- tails, assisted by some contrabands, had loaded it into barges that were fastened to the boat. In these barges and about the Boat, some of the slaves had secreted themselves. After the priment was aboard the captain of the boat refused to move her until the colored people all went ashore. Such was the ar- rozant feeling at that time that they even expected to command the troops sent to punish them. The officer of the day of the Fiftieth, Captain Gooding, ordered him to move at once or take the consequences of our bullets in his body. He moved !! and ww proceeded to Pittsburg landing, on the south side of the Tennessee river.
In just one week the terrible conflict of Shiloh began.
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HİSTORY OF THE
At sunrise of April 6th, 1862, we were hastily summoned from our beds by hearing the long roll beat all along our front. Very soon cannonading began, and before we had our breakfastsan orderly arrived from the General with commands to fall into line with forty rounds of cartridges to each man, and await orders. We stood in line until nearly eight o'clock before the order came to move. As we moved out on the Corinth road General Grant, who had just come up from Savannah, overtook us and inquired of me what troops these were. Proceeding to- wards the front, we were ordered to the left, and as the line: were concentrated, and withdrawn. our department attending to as many as we could of the wounded, had them carried to the landing and, as far as possible, placed on the hospital boal -. The close of the day found us on the left of the regiment, no: far from the river. General Grant being near I asked him his opinion of the battle then in progress, at 6:30 p. m. My object being to learn if it was necessary to remove our wounded from where we had established a hospital. His reply was to the effect, "Not at all, sir; we are whipping them now." However. a charge of cannister sweeping uncomfortable close, we carefully took some of the men by the heels and slid them down the slope from the exposure.
The various opinions and speculations about the dreadful conflict at Pittsburg Landing have caused much controver- and many variations from the truth, intentionally, or from mi -. apprehension of the correlation of facts and forces, innumera- ble in their evolutions and extent. The writer took supper with General Prentiss at the front on the Corinth road the night before the conflict burst upon us at day-break that fatal Sunday morning. He heard all the conversation between the Generals commanding divisions and knows that they had not the remotest idea that an attack was contemplated, or that there was any heavy force nearer than Corinth, twenty miles distant. Some inquiry was made about firing on the pieket line during the day, but no thought of a surprise entered the minds of any. It was explained that some guerillas came in
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FIFTIETH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
wght of the picket line, only one-fourth of a mile away, and it was said at the time that we had no videts out on the road.
It has been a mystery why we were not on the north side of the Tennessee river when that sido would have been compar- atively safe, with our gunboats patrolling the river. But Pitts- hurg Landing was a series of surprises and presentments. The navigation of the river was made tedious and difficult by the Stream being filled with floating logs and timbers. It was a surprise that Buel did not meet us there, and that he lagged back. as it seemed, intentionally, a week, to allow Grant to be defeated.
It was a tremendous surprise at daylight, to find the squad of guerillas fired upon by our pickets the evening before, to be the advance guard of Beauregard's army, sixty thousand -trong, with the experienced Albert Sidney Johnson in com- mand. It was a bewildering surprise at 4 p. m. of that day to find the apparently victorious rebel army, successful at every point, suddenly halt, firing not a gun for two hours. Pollard says that. "Beauregard could not explain this halt," but this was his surprise, when his scouts told him that a large Federal force was marching to the rear of his left wing, they thought it was Buel's army. Beauregard having advanced his force in line w rapidly that his charge sounded like a hurricane at sundown. In this advance they had passed by General Lew Wallace's divi- sion that was moving on the nearest road from Crump's land- ing to a position on our right, and who were also greatly sur- prised to find themselves far in advance of our line, and to the loft and rear of the rebel line. Two rebel prisoners, wounded and captured at our right, were placed in our care for treatment, and informed me of Wallace's appearance there and of Beaure- gard's withdrawal of his left.
That night as we bivouacked on the field, the rain pour- ing down in torrents, the Surgeon and his assistant went on board the hospital steamer Iatan, to look after our wounded and perform such surgical operations as were necessary. By somebody's orders we were moved to the north side of the river, which brought us in range of tho shots and shells of the rebel
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HISTORY OF THE
batteries on the hill. While we were amputating the Colonel's right arm a shower of canister shot knocked out the sky-light immediately over our heads, scattering broken glass all about us. All that night we could hear the tramp and confusion of Nelson's division of Buel's army, crossing the river on a pon- toon and boats. With the first peep of daylight Buel's army was well over the river, and our whole line advanced with a rush that seemed to shake the earth to the center, and left the ground strewn with a superabundance of work for the Surgeon>.
At their fatal hour of 4 o'clock, on the 7th, the rebels were in full retreat from every part of the field, and our search began for our missing boys of the day before: some dead, some mangled and dying on the field, where they had lain through all of the pelting storm of the night before, unattended. At the close of this day it was estimated that we had eight thous- and men wounded on the field; for weeks the Surgeons had but a few hours rest. Those who think they know what fatigue is, have little idea of the labor, fatigue and worry there is after one of those great battles. It required every tent and the army wagons were filled with the wounded who were being prepared to be shipped to northern hospitals. When we returned to our camp ,we found it almost undisturbed, save where a few cannon shots had passed through our tents. So busy had the rebel troops been that they had no time to loot camps, and the non- combattants were scared entirely off the field.
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