USA > Illinois > History of the Fourth Illinois cavalry regiment > Part 13
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I persued at a rapid gallop for a mile or more to the plantation of Mr. A. Ingraham, where I found the enemy 's camp and his force ready to receive me. He had taken up his position within the grounds about the house, sheltered by a long row of box hedge. This embellished yard is within a park of some six acres, enclosed by a high picket fence with its entrance by a big gate at right angles with the road by which I approached.
My advance had entered the park before discovering the enemy's position and received a volley and returned it, killing two of the enemy but receiving no damage.
On coming up with the column I immediately dismounted Captain Sherman and twenty-five of my regiment and Lieutenant Smith and twenty-five men of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry to flank the enemy's left. Almost immediately, however, Idiscovered that the enemy was escaping by a rear gate and that already his main force was in a flying column half a mile to my left on the road to Port Gibson.
I instantly reorganized my column, giving Captain Beach with his squadron the advance and renewed the chase. At a mile distant I found him in position again behind a wood on the brow of a hill and increasing my pace I rushed at him with front and flank and scattered him like spray.
Leaving a rear guard, I continued the persuit at a most rapid rate for five miles. The enemy fought with
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skill and determination, wheeling into position on the head of his column at every available cover and disputing my passage of every difficult defile, but failing to injure me or stay a moment after seeing my determination not to be checked. Once only I found it necessary to dismount to dislodge them.
He had taken a position behind a convenient enbankment at a sharp angle of the road which afforded him shelter for nearly his whole force and completely commanded my approach. Had it not been that his shots were mostly over our heads my advance must have suffered severly at this point.
I dismounted two-thirds of my force, sending the horses to the rear and fighting them from such cover as was available, routing them again in less than ten minutes. Finding that the delay necessary to remount and fall into column had given the enemy the advantage of perhaps a mile distant, and being already unpleasantly near Port Gibson, which was three miles, with exhausted horses and an inadequate supply of ammunition, I concluded to persue no further and countermarched. Captain Wallace's command, Fourth Illinois Cavalry, had the front for the last two miles. Lieutenant Chapin's horse fell with him while at a high rate of speed and he was severly hurt.
Returning over the six miles of road fought over at a Tam-O'Shanter-like rate of speed I found the track strewn with most convincing evidence of the enemy's severe punishment, dead and mortally wounded men, dead and disabled horses, cartridge boxes, arms of every description, saddle bags, blankets, hats, coats-every thing that could be lost off, cast off or kicked off.
Of the enemy's dead I found nine and two mortally wounded. Judging from the fact that the most and best of our fighting was done in the enemy's chosen cover, I consider it fair to estimate that his killed amounted to at least seventy-five. I estimate his wounded at forty more. I justify this estimate by the facts known and by prisoners taken. I am informed by them that they had
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their orders to cast away their arms when no longer able to hold them, by reason of wounds, and that up to the time when they were captured fifteen or sixteen had been wounded and leaving their arms sped to the front. Of abandoned arms I found more than forty-five stand. Many of the lighter kind had been picked up.
Of the enemy's dead horses I found 3, disabled 3. I took six prisoners, four of whom I sent forward, two mortally wounded I left at a plantation. I lost one man, killed, Corporal LaFraniere of Company B, and one, wounded in the wrist, Private Cummings of the same company and three horses wounded.
The enemy's force was composed of detachments from Colonels Stark and West Adams regiments, fully three hundred strong, Lieutenant Colonel Wood commanding. The officers of my command were Captain A. M. Sherman Second Wisconsin, Captain Wallace commanding battalion Fourth Illinois Cavalry, Captain N. Parker Second Wisconsin, Captain W. M. Wood and Captain C. W. Beach Second Wisconsin Cavalry, Lieutenant Riley, Lieutenant LaFlesh, Lieutenant Woodward Second Wisconsin Cavalry, Lieutenants Chapin, Smith, Main and Crego Fourth Illinois Cavalry.
I am under equal obligations to each and all of these officers for pro.nptness, propriety and intrepidity of their conduct. I returned to camp last evening at sunset bringing my dead and wounded with me.
Respectfully your obedient servant,
HARRY E. EASTMAN, Major Second Wisconsin Cavalry.
October 11th-Lieutenant Parker returned to the company for duty, after an absence of over a year on detached service.
October 15th-Colonel Winslow's Cavalry Brigade, with eight day's rations, started out at the head of General McPherson's Army Corps, McPherson in command. General Logan and several others are along.
We went by way of Messenger's Ferry to Brownville. Here we dispersed a force of the enemy by charging them,
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after skirmishing awhile. We went on the main Clinton road and came onto a force of the enemy's cavalry directly and advanced steadily, skirmishing until nearly dark, when we fell back a short distance and bivouacked. We had two men slightly wounded. The rebels had six killed that we know of.
The next day the force started in two columns, one toward Clinton and the other toward Canton. Our regiment and the Fifth Illinois Cavalry led the advance of the Canton column. Company I was advance guard. We, the cavalry, were soon called back and ordered over to the other side. We found them engaging a force of the enemy. We were kept around on the flanks until two p. m. when the enemy gave way.
We then escorted General McPherson and staff across to the other column and took the advance again, as before. We did not go far until we come onto quite a force of the enemy, with artillery, posted on an eminence. Between us and them was a very large corn field.
We advanced with a heavy skirmish line and they opened on us with their artillery and got our range directly. We were then ordered back and our regiment was dismounted and sent to the front in the road. They opened on us with shell and soon had our range. We were entirely out of rifle range and were only expected to hold the place, so we found a safe place behind a bank and when we saw the smoke from their cannon we would lie down and the shell would burst close by, but the fragments could not hit us, then we would jump up, swing our hats and yell. It was fun. The rebels were the next day driven from that position, the cavalry operating on the flanks.
October 18th-Our regiment had the lead and Company I the advance guard. We run onto a strong picket force directly which we drove along for half a mile or so, when on gaining a raise of ground, after going through a deep cut, we suddenly came in sight of a long line of infantry in a large open field with quite a force of
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cavalry on their flanks and a battery masked behind them. They were not over three-hundred yards from us.
We halted at once without orders and the column closed up to us. We remained in this position until the rebel battery had fired three or four rounds of grape and shell and were getting our range to close for comfort, when Lieutenant Hyde gave orders to "four right about" which was executed with as much precision as on drill.
Just as the move was executed a shell came through our columns, angling and went through three sets of four's killing Grandy's horse and wounding Charlie Munnikhuizen's horse in the foot so he had to leave him and I suppose the same shell must have killed one of Colonel Winslow's orderlies when it bursted, as he was found dead near there. He was probably on his way to the front to order us back.
We commenced falling back shortly afterwards, leisurely, and the rebel cavalry followed us quite boldly at first. They did not seem to care to ride onto us for whenever we halted they would halt and wait until we moved on again. We kept the rear until three p. m. when we were relieved by the Fourth Iowa Cavalry. The infantry had left us the day before and gone in another direction, so the cavalry were all alone.
There were three men wounded in our regiment, and several horses. There was one man killed in the Fourth Iowa Cavalry and one in the Fifth Illinois Cavalry. I saw one of the rebel cavalrymen, that was in this engagement, in Natchez at the close of the war and he said they lost fifty men that day. We joined the other forces the next day and was rear guard and returned to our camp by way of Champion Hill battle field on the Jackson road.
Report of Colonel E. S. Winslow, Fourth Iowa Cavalry, Commanding Cavalry Forces Seventeenth Army Corps, to Lieutenant Colonel W. T. Clark, Assistant Adjutant General Seventeenth Army Corps:
Big Black River, Nov. 21, 1863 :- I have the honor to submit following report of the operations of cavalry under
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my command during the late reconnoissance toward Canton.
The command moved over the bridge at Messenger's ford at six a. m. the 15th inst. and passed Queen's Hill church, where Lieutenant Colonel Wallace with the Fourth and Eleventh Illinois Regiments were left with orders to report to General McPherson. The main force passed Boulton and thence to the left into Brownville where the advance had a brick skirmish with fifty rebel cavalry, driving them through and out of town at once.
Halting for orders the command of Colonel Wallace rejoined the column and the horses were fed. Pursuant to instructions from Major General McPherson, upon arrival of infantry, I moved out toward Livingston and Clinton at four p. m., finding the enemy's advance one mile from town which was promptly attacked by Captain Panolel, Fifth Illinois Cavalry, and chased about one mile, he being supported by the Fifth Illinois Cavalry coming forward at a gallop. At the forks of the road, two miles from Brownville, the advance was met by a heavy column of the enemy and driven back upon the column in confusion, while I formed the advance regiment to repel the enemy at the same time ordering into position the other regiment.
The enemy came forward in column and line attacking desperately, but after a severe fight of fifteen minutes they were repulsed and followed two miles, leaving three dead on the ground, beside having quite a number wounded.
We returned after dark and encamped for the night a mile from town. The 16th inst. we moved toward Clinton, finding the enemy in force, about four miles from Brownville, with cannon. The brigade of General Maltby being brought forward, they were forced to abandoned their position after a severe cannonading and were again found one mile farther towards Clinton, by the cavalry.
In obedience to orders I left the Tenth Missouri Cavalry, under Major Bentine with General Maltby and with four regiments moved to Treadwells near Clinton and Vernon cross roads. We again found the enemy with
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cannon securely posted in a splendid position with the infantry. My command was encamped for the night and the Fifth Illinois Cavalry, Major under Farnam, posted on a road to the left where he captured one lieutenant and eleven men of the Texas Cavalry doing picket duty.
At daylight of the 17th inst., with three regiments, I moved to the left and going within three miles of Vernon, passed again toward the right, taking the advance of General Leggett's Brigade and the army to Robinson's Mill, three and one-half miles from Livingston, where we again met the enemy in force and with two pieces of cannon.
They retreated before the firing of three guns from General Leggetts command and the advance of the cavalry.
The mill and wagon shop being burned by Colonel Coolbaugh, we encamped for the night nearby and the next morning I moved forward, one and one-half miles, finding the enemy with three pieces of cannon and a large force of cavalry well posted.
Pursuant to orders I remained in position until noon and then commenced moving slowly after the infantry, which had in the meantime gone toward Clinton. Before leaving the mills the enemy had appeared in front and on my left flank in plain view at ten o'clock a. m. with more cavalry than was in my command. This, at a distance from their artillery, and evidently well supported.
The enemy in force followed my column to a point three miles from Clinton, continually attacking my rear guard and approaching in large numbers on both flanks. We reached Clinton at 6:30 p. m., having marched seventeen miles during a continual volley.
Having the rear of the column in to camp on the 19th we were occasionally annoyed but lost only one that day. The command's lost during the reconnoissance was as follows: Fourth Iowa Cavalry two men killed, one man missing; Fourth Illinois Cavalry four men wounded; Fifth Illinois Cavalry two men wounded and one man missing;
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Tenth Missouri Cavalry two men wounded while fifty horses were killed or wounded.
The command expended seventy rounds of Howitzer ammunition and about 60,000 rounds of ammunition of the small arms. I think the enemy must have lost during the expedition at least one-hundred men killed, wounded and prisoners, of whom we captured one lieutenant and fifteen men. On the 16th the Tenth Missouri Cavalry was under fire of the enemy's cannon for six hours. All the officers of the force did their duty while I would particularly notice Lieutenant Colonel Wallace, Majors Farnam, Bentine, Townsend and Spearman as being efficient and gallant officers. E. S. WINSLOW.
November 23-Company I Fourth Illinois Cavalry was a part of five-hundred men from the Cavalry Brigade to make a night trip to Hayne's Bluff.
November 26th-We were a part of two-hundred and fifty men from the Cavalry Brigade, under Captain Wood of the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, that went on a trip up the Yazoo river by way of Hayne's Bluff. We were gone eight days.
We had a train of about one-hundred-fifty wagons which was loaded with forage at Partee's plantation, fifteen miles above Hayne's Bluff on the Yazoo bottoms. Companies H, I and K, under Captain Fisk of Company H, with some other troops, guarded the train while loading.
While there Company I was ordered to go out on a certain road to meet Major Funk's command who had come up along the ridge to our right. We had not gone far when we met about twenty rebel cavalry in the road. They fired a few harmless shots at us when we charged, running them about two miles, but they all escaped.
I have related here only some of the most important expeditions that we were in while we were on or near the Big Black river. We were kept on the go quite steadily, scouting, picketing and guarding forage trains.
December 11, 1863-We broke camp and started for Natchez, Mississippi. We arrived in Vicksburg at ten p. m. when we were halted in the streets and spent the night
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waiting orders to go aboard the boats which did not come until after daylight. We landed at Natchez the next morning without incident and camped at first on the John B. Pryor plantation, two and one-half miles east of town.
Two days later we moved inside the fortifications just north of town. While at Natchez our duties were very arduous and constant. We averaged to be all out on a scout or as guards for forage trains as often as once in three days. We had to picket seven roads every day which took forty-two men and seven non-commissioned officers (excepting a little while at first) a patrol for each of five roads, consisting of ten men and a non-commissioned officer for each road, at daylight every morning, beside a mighty detail for horse guards. The latter was done by men who had no horses.
Much of this was without particular incident and I will only relate a few of the most important ones.
January 3, 1864 Seventeen recruits arrived for Company I. The following, copied from my diary under date of January 23d, will give some idea of the reliability of contraband information:
About noon "boots and saddles" blowed and in ten minutes we were all saddled and in line. A detachment from Companies I and E, twenty-six men, under Lieutenant John Parker of Company I, were ordered to go to Washington, six miles east, as quickly as possible. It was reported there was a force of rebel cavalry there. The balance of the regiment were held in reserve at camp. We struck out at a gallop and reached Washington in about an hour.
Just before we got into town we came across a negro perched on a fence by the road, evidently very much excited. We halted and Lieutenant Parker asked him if he had seen any rebels. "Oh yes," said he, "at Washington a whole heap of them." "Well, how many," he was asked. "A thousand, " was his answer. "Are you sure there were that many, " said the Lieutenant. "Oh yes, dare was more as dat, dare was 10,000," he said. The
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Lieutenant expressed some doubt about there being so many but Sambo said, "O yes, dare was more as dat yet, dare was five-hundred." The Lieutenant then asked him if he thought we could whip them. "Oh yes," he said, "You can whip them easy, dare is a heap more of you dan dare was of dem."
When we arrived in Washington we learned that about three-hundred rebels had passed but the negro had seen only their rear guard, probably twenty men. We returned by way of Pine Ridge road. We arrived in camp at four p. m. without further incident, traveling about twenty miles.
I submit this report of General M. R. Force, as two companies of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry have received favorable mention in this report:
Report of Brigadier General Manni R. Force, United States Army, commanding First Brigade to Captain J. C. Douglass, Assistant Adjutant General, of expedition to Meridian:
Headquartersof First Brigade in the Field, Feb. 14, 1864: -I have the honor to report that in accordance to orders received last night, I marched to Chunky's Station this morning, arriving a little after nine o'clock. Learning on the way that General S. D. Lee was at the station with two brigades (General Wirt Adams and Colonel P. B. Stroke) and striking their trail one and one-half miles this side of the station, I pushed on rapidly and quietly, surprised their rear guard at breakfast, drove them across the creek, captured and burned seven loaded army wagons, burned a fine trestle railroad bridge of eight trestles and two abutments, destroyed several hundred rods of road and two small trestles, bending the rails and burning a warehouse filled with about one-hundred bales of Confederate cotton.
Our casualties are one enlisted man of the Fortieth Illinois, mortally wounded, and two enlisted men of the Forty-fifth severly wounded.
The rebels left blood on both sides of the creek and our fire made some confusion among them. They held
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with some obstancy a stockade, which commanded. the bridge, but their loss was undoubtedly small. Having but forty rounds of ammunition I was obliged, under circumstances, to be sparing in their use.
The two companies of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry, under Captain Collins, behaved handsomely. The brigade officers and men, as always, did all that could be asked. Citizens report that General Lee received orders last night to concentrate and report at Meridian today. He arrived at Chunky's Station from the northwest, coming into the road over which we went.
Sixty of Ferguson's men passed shortly before me over the road which I passed over. A portion of the force at Chunky's were seen to pass to the right on the farther side of the creek, apparently with the design of annoying us on our return. By returning on the road indicated in the order I saw nothing of them.
I am ordered by Lieutenant Colonel Strong to remain at this place and guard the wagon park of both corps, till further orders, an attack being apprehended.
Very respectfully your obedient servant,
M. R. FORCE,
Brigadier General Commanding Brigade.
February 18th-About one-hundred and fifty men from our regiment and two companies of the Second Mississippi Colored Cavalry started out at an early hour with three day's rations. When ordered to take rations when going on a scout we seldom took anything but coffee and sugar and some hardtack. We drew on the country for anything we lacked. We went out about sixteen miles on the Liberty road and stopped at Morgan's plantation and staid three or four days, making ourselves very much at home.
We were out there for the purpose of guarding other parties that were engaged in hauling cotton into Natchez. While part of our force have been kept scouting around, others have been engaged in foraging.
We took a lot of hogs while there and dressed them by singeing the bristles off over a fire made of fence rails.
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That answered quite well for soldier's fare but we could not do so neat a job as I have seen done at home, where the old method of scalding was used.
We moved to another place six miles further and staid until the 23d when we returned to our camp at Natchez without any incident worthy of note. We brought in five prisoners and nearly one-hundred head of horses and mules. A vast amount of cotton and forage was hauled in by the trains while we were out there. Fifty-four recruits arrived on the 23d for our regiment. Thirty of them were assigned to Company I which fills the company to the maximun.
Sergeant Zenophen G. Sloan of Company F died March 12th from the effect of a wound he received by being shot from ambush while we were out as protection to cotton haulers about two weeks ago.
March 12th-Menzo Wagner, nephew to Captain Hapeman, was shot last night by the Provost Guards. He deserted at Trenton, Tennessee, but returned to the regiment recently under President Lincoln's amnesty proclamation. He was under arrest awaiting his trial but had the liberty of the camp. Late in the evening he got two of the other boys to go with him, and run the guards and started for town.
It is reported that they met a citizen in a lonely place and Wagner held him up for his money. Just then some Provost Guards stepped out from a clump of trees. When the boys broke to run the guards called "halt." The other two boys stopped but Wagner kept on running so the guards fired and killed him.
There had been such work done at the place before and the Provost Guards were placed there to put a stop to it. And I rather think they have succeeded. Wagner was a good soldier-brave to recklessness.
It is understood in camp that a woman was the cause of his downfall. While we were at Trenton he was detailed as a private scout or spy and spent the most of his time in the country in citizens dress. While thus engaged he became acquainted and fell in love with a girl by
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the name of Stevens. When we left there he was ordered to his regiment but he did not report. Instead he took the girl to Canada, I think, and married her. Sergeant Toothill started to Ottawa, Illinois with Wagner's remains March 14th.
April 3d-Company I crossed the Mississippi river this morning for beef cattle. We got some at Surrett's plantation, eleven miles down the river on the Louisana side. The young men working the plantation treated us to a fine dinner, which we did ample justice to. This is a government plantation, leased by discharged union soldiers. In fact nearly all the plantations along the river for ten miles have been confiscated and leased out to the discharged Union soldiers.
April 6th-About seventy-five men from our regiment started out at eleven p. m. yesterday on the Meadville road. At daylight, about twenty miles out, we surprised a small force of rebels and captured six, including the leader. John Calvert was with the advance videttes. We had for a guide a citizen that used to live in the neighborhood. He was a union man formerly from the north.
This rebel gang had driven him off and turned his wife and child out of doors, burned his house and everything else on the plantation. When his wife was making her way to Natchez in a carriage, by their orders, they took after her whooping, yelling and shouting which frightened her so that she became deranged and is still in that condition. I got this from our guide as we were riding together.
Just at daylight we came out in the clearing in sight of John Calvert's. We put spurs to our horses and rushed up to the house ran in and caught the old fellow just as he bounded out of bed. Our guide shook his revolver under his nose, threatened to shoot him and gave him the worst tongue lashing I ever heard a man get. Calvert took it all with a pleasant grin. I expected to see the guide shoot him, he was so furious and threatened it so much. I learned afterwards that he had killed several of the
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gang and that he was now under bonds to keep the peace.
Lieutenant Hyde took Company I to a house near by where a Miss Calvert lived. I did not learn what relation she was to John.
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