USA > Illinois > History of the Fourth Illinois cavalry regiment > Part 5
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JOHN A. McCLERNAND, Brigadier General Commanding Expedition.
Jan. 31st-Our Captain did some weeding out today. There is a fleet of gunboats just completed here. Men were wanted to man them, and, not wanting to wait to enlist them, there was a call for volunteers, as I understand it, from regiments here to be transfered to the gun-boats. But the Captain took it upon himself to detail such men that he would rather spare and told them they had to go, and they went. They were mostly Norwegians and Germans that could hardly speak English.
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Some of the other companies furnished some men for the gun-boats also. Some companies did not furnish any.
Charley Walsh who was under arrest for drunkenness and attempting to kill Lieutenant Hapeman, was given the privilege to take service on a gun-boat or stand a court martial. He chose the former.
Feb. 2d-We left Cairo for good. We embarked aboard the boats, in company with General Grant's army, for his campaign up the Tennessee river. We disembarked Feb. 4th at a landing seventeen miles above Paducah, so the boats could return for other troops. We proceeded to make Fort Henry, the object of the army, by land. It took two days of hard marching to get within six miles of Fort Henry, where the army was rendezvousing. Owing to the high water of the Tennessee river, backing up in bayous, we had to take a very circuitous route, and probably traveled twice as far as we would had we gone in a direct line.
Feb. 6th-At an early hour the troops commenced moving toward Fort Henry. Our regiment had the advance and our company the advance guard. We went around in the rear of the fort, but before we got half way around, the gun-boats opened fire on the fort, and in one hour and fifteen minutes the fort surrendered. No troops were surrendered except the company of heavy artillery that manned the seige guns in the fort, about fifty in all. The balance of the troops that were camped about the fort and in the outer fort skedadd led for Fort Donaldson. We did not have time to get clear around in the rear of the fort to cut them off, although our cavalry could have made it all right. We were required to wait every little while for the infantry and artillery, there progress being very slow, owing to the high waters in the bayous and the bad roads. Soon after the firing ceased four companies of our regiment were cut off from the right of the column and started after the fleeing foe, under command of Major Mccullough.
Sergeant J. B. Cook of Company H was in command of the advance guard the greater part of this day and below
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is a very graphic account of the part they took in this affair, furnished by Sergeant Cook himself, also some comments which will undoubtedly be read with much interest:
At about eight a. m. the Fourth Illinois Cavalry moved out of camp six miles north of Fort Henry leaving about 5000 infantry and four batteries' of field artillery preparing to move and follow us. We formed the advance guard of Grant's army, then, and ever since, called the army of the Tennessee.
We moved steadily out about three miles when quite a little firing was heard in front, and the column halted a few minutes. We had present the Second and Third Battalions of our regiment, eight companies, comprising about 400 men, under Lieutenant Colonel William Mccullough.
Colonel Mccullough sent and orderly back to Captain Wemple of Company H for a platoon of men to go in advance and he sent Sergeant J. B. Cook to the front with twelve men. As the Sergeant passed his commander he secured permission to retain the few men already in advance which proved to be eight men under a Sergeant from Company F, giving Sergeant Cook twenty men in all, who had orders to keep about a half-mile in advance of the regiment.
Nothing of incident occured for about two miles when a company of Confederate cavalry showed up in our front and fired a volley from their horses which was entirely disregarded by us. Our little handful of twenty men pushed steadily on toward them in a brisk walk, without firing a shot, until they at last made a more obstinate resistance when our men fired into them and drove them rapidly back until at last they came in sight of the red clay of the enbankment of the outer works of Fort Henry. When, after our men had galloped back and forth along the earthworks and only two hundred yards distant and not being able to draw any fire, Sergeant Cook, leading his little command, dashed into the sally port of the fort and pulled down a Confederate flag, and observed the
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Confederate infantry, some two or three thousand in two different columns, about six hundred yards away moving rapidly down a long slope and disappearing in a heavy forest of timber on the road leading eastward toward Fort Donaldson.
Just at this time there came to us a federal soldier on foot, from the east along the inside of the rifle pits, who proved to be Corporal Joseph Carter of Company I of our regiment who had been a volunteer scout that day and had rendered splendid service.
Sergeant Cook immediately sent word to Colonel Mccullough that he was already inside of Fort Henry and the latter came up in about twenty minutes on a gallop with sabres already drawn for a charge. The time which elapsed while the regiment was coming up was used by the advance guard in eating a hearty dinner of ham and biscuits which the hospitable Confederate soldiers had prepared for themselves but left for our troopers.
Colonel Mccullough on being shown where the enemy disappeared directed Sergeant Cook to again take the advance with his men and send him word of anything of interest they could learn. About three miles out the Confederates abandoned two brass field guns and their stragglers filled the road. The horses of Sergeant Cook's command were by this time so much exhausted that many times the riders had to dismount in the water and quicksand to get their horses through the miry places, when Colonel Mccullough releived us from the advance guard with a detail from Company I the remainder of the day. 'The Confederate men were driven across a deep creek and the pursuit abandoned and the regiment returned to Fort Henry having been, that day, the first troops of the army of the Tennessee to occupy the enemy's works and had captured the first Confederate flag and guns for this army whose long list of battles won during the war are now recorded on the brightest pages of American history, there to be read by succeeding and admiring generations as long as American history is preserved.
We soon came upon their trail and found the. road
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strewn with the stuff they had thrown away in their flight (and fright)-guns, overcoats, blankets, haversacks, knapsacks and nearly every paraphernalia of camp. We soon came upon their rear and forced them so hard that they abandoned a battery of six guns, and many of the enemy completely fagged out and fell into our hands. A few of the enemy finally made a slight stand and the first platoon of Company I, under Sergeant Simison, was dismounted and sent forward on the left of the road. They returned with twelve prisoners, including a Major, a Captain and two Sergeants.
The advance vedettes, Bob Hume, Hiram Moulton and Myron Hare advanced in the road and overtook a lone rebel and they supposed he would surrender as the others had done, but instead, he whirled and shot Hume near the heart who fell from his horse dead. I did not go with the dismounted men but held the horses. While thus engaged I saw a rebel not very far off in the woods so I gave my halters to another man and went out and took him in. As soon as I came up he begged me not to shoot, saying that we had killed his father and "for God sake don't kill me." I assured hin that I would not shoot if he surrendered.
The other two boys, Moulton, and Hare had killed the rebel that shot Hume, both fired the same instant and both balls took effect. This rebel was the father of the one I took. Boyd Simison and I then went down the road about one-fourth of a mile where Hume's body lay and put it on his horse and brought it back.
Bob Hume had only been enlisted just a week when he was killed. He was station agent at Earlville and had gone down to Cairo to visit the boys and when the regiment left his enthusaism got the better of him and he enlisted and was the first to fall. He had not been mustered into the United States service consequently, I am told, his widow has been unable to procure a pension.
The pursuit was given up here and we returned to Fort Henry where we arrived sometime after dark.
On our way back we met some of the Third Michigan Battery boys going after the guns we had taken. We had
-
.
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already passed the guns and it was dark, so when they asked the Major for an escort he refused to order anyone to go back after our hard day's work, but if any cared to volunteer they might do so. About twenty of us volunteered but on going back we found the guns all disabled in one way or another so we did not take them. But it was reported that they brought them in the next day and history gives the Third Michigan Battery credit for taking the guns and we were "not in it." We brought in forty-one prisoners as a result of this skirmish.
The following extract from the report of Brigadier General John A. McClernand will show to some extent the part the Fourth Illinois Cavalry took in the capture of Fort Henry, Feb. 6, 1862:
The distance from Camp Halleck to Fort Henry by the route of our march is about eight miles, whereas, by the river it is only half the distance. By one o'clock p. m. we had accomplished a march of four miles when the firing of our gunboats upon the fort being distinctly heard by my men was hailed by loud shouts and they pushed on with increased eagerness hoping to reach the fort in time to cut off the retreat and secure the surrender of the enemy.
About three o'clock p. m. the report came back that the enemy were evacuating the fort and I immediately sent an order to my cavalry in advance to make rapid pursuit, if, upon investigation it were found to be true. A similar order had also been sent forward by Colonel Oglesby. Captain Stewart of my staff with a squad of his cavalry, first coming up with the enemy, boldly charged his rear while he was in the act of clearing the outer line of his defenses, while Colonel Dickey's cavalry, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Mccullough also hastened up and pursued the enemy several miles and until nightfall, successfully overtaking his rear guards of cavaly and infantry, quickly dispersing them, killing one man, capturing thirty-eight prisoners and driving them to abandon six pieces of artillery with the gun carriages and one caisson, a large number of different kinds of small arms, knapsacks, blankets, animals, in short everything
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calculated to impede his flight, which were subsequently brought into fort.
General McClernand's report of the number of prisoners taken here and my account do not agree axactly but I believe I am correct unless three of the men escaped on the road back to Fort Henry. I counted the prisoners when we started back, before it was yet dark.
General McClernand is mistaken when he says that Captain Stewart with his own company was the first to come up with the enemy. There was certainly no union company ahead of our regiment. J. B. Cook writes me that himself and Joe Carter were the first at the abandoned rebel camp where they found a rebel flag which is now in the possession of Sergeant J. B. Cook. He also claims that the Fourth Illinois Cavalry captured the first. rebel flag and the first guns captured by the Army of the Tennessee and we challenge its successful contradiction.
Feb. 12th-With a clear, cloudless sky and a full moon we started out for Fort Donaldson at about 4:30 a. m. Having no tents with us we had to bivouac and make ourselves as comfortable as possible.
Feb. 13-Today we have been supporting Taylor's and Dresser's batteries while they were shelling the rebel works. We have been under fire some but no casualties.
I take the following extract from Colonel W. H. L. Wallace's report commanding the Second Brigade, First Division :
My brigade as formed by General U. S. Grant consisted of the eleventh, twenthieth, forty-fifth . and forty-eighth Illinois Infantry, the Fourth Illinois Cavalry, Colonel T. Lyle Dickey commanding, Captain Ezra's light battery B, First Illinois Artillery and Captain E. McAllister with three twenty-four pound howitzers, the whole constituting the Second Brigade of the First Division commanded by Bragidier General J. A. McClernand and containing about 3400 effective men of all arms.
About noon of the 11th inst. while in camp at Fort Henry I received orders from General McClernand to put the infantry and artillery in my brigade on the march and
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move out three or four miles on the telegraph road toward this place.
At sunrise the next day, the 12th inst., I was joined by Colonel Dickey's cavalry and marched with my whole command by the telegraph road toward Fort Donaldson, keeping frequent communications with Colonel Oglesby's first brigade, which was moving at the same time by the ridge road. Colonel Dickey's cavalry thoroughly reconnoitering the country we marched over.
Soon after noon I came within sight of the enemy's encampment on the opposite side of the creek about a mile in advance. Having caused the road to be reconnoitered, and finding the creek impassable on account of back water from the Cumberland river, I moved to the right up the creek and effected a junction with Colonel Oglesby's brigade in the low grounds west of Fort Donaldson. Colonel Dickey's cavalry was again thrown forward and occupied the heights, thoroughly scouting and reconnoitering the ground in front. Colonel Oglesby's brigade moved up the Parish road to the south of Fort Donaldson, while I threw my brigade by its front onto the heights, dragging the artillery up the steep wooded hills.
After further reconnoitering the brigade advanced and occupied the ridge south of the center of the enemy's fortification with its right resting on the left of Colonel Oglesby's brigade. Some slight skirmishing occured here and after resting in this position for an hour or more and further reconnoitering, in accordance with orders from General McClernand, I moved the brigade from the right flank following Colonel Oglesby's brigade across the valley toward the left of the enemy's position.
By this time it was dark and Colonel Oglesby's right becoming involved in ground which had not been reconnoitered, and which was very hilly and covered with a dense growth of underbrush, I was ordered by the General commandsng the division, to return to the position at the west of the valley, which I did.
At daylight on the morning of the 13th the enemy opened fire with his artillery from the middle redoubt.
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Soon afterward, by order of General McClernand, I marched the eleventh, twentieth and fortieth regiments and Taylor's battery to the right across the valley leaving McAllister's battery supported by the forty-eighth Illinois on the ridge west of the valley and ordered Colonel Dickey's cavalry to move in the rear with detachments toward the right to reconnoiter toward the Cumberland river.
Reaching the high ground east of the valley Taylor's battery was put in position on the road leading to Dover, where the left of the enemy's line rested behind ,earthworks and entrenchments, strengthened by strong abattis in front. *
The cavalry of the brigade, Fourth Illinois, under Col. Dickey did excellent service in reconnoitering and holding the enemy in check on the right. Lieutenant Colonel Mccullough, Major M. R. M. Wallace, Captain Rockwood and C. D. Townsend of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry are worthy of particular mention for services rendered.
COLONEL W. H. L. WALLACE.
We bivouac tonight on a bluff in the woods about a mile in the rear of our line. At the foot of this bluff stands a crib of corn and several hives of honey, ergo the horses have plenty of corn and we have some honey.
Feb. 14th-We had a rough night of it last night. Soon after we had laid down with an abundance of good dry leaves for a bed, it commenced to rain, but soon turned to snow. We were in good dry beds and would have spent the night quite comfortably, but about eleven o'clock there was quite a heavy firing heard in the direction of the fort and we were ordered out at once.
We saddled up, taking everything, not knowing whither we were going and started down the hill in the direction of Fort Donaldson, but before we got to the foot of the bluff the firing ceased and we were ordered back to our bivouac, but our blankets and the leaves we had made our beds of, were now wet with the snow which was falling fast.
We left our horses saddled, some of the boys lying
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down in their wet clothes and shivering out the balance of the night, but the majority stood around the fires that they were kept blazing until morning.
We did scarcely anything today but move from place to place, all the time ready for action if we had been called upon. Tonight we moved back to Randolph Forges which is about two miles in the rear of our lines. Here we occupy deserted buildings and there is plenty of forage for our horses. Company I is quartered in a church. (We occupied these quarters until we left for Pittsburg Landing).
It will be remembered that the rebels made a fierce attack on the right of our line Saturday, Feb. 15, before daylight and we met quite a force of them that morning, soon after leaving Randolph Forges, on our way to the vicinity of our lines. I don't know. how many there were but there was quite a long column of them. They halted when they saw us and turned around and went back 'and was doubtless "scooped" with the balance of troops who surrendered the next morning.
This force had got through our line of infantry and undoubtedly would have escaped had they not run into us.
Captain Shepardson started for home Feb. 22d, ostensibly to recruit his health.
Between the 16th of Feb., the date of the surrender of Fort Donaldson, and the 6th of March, we were kept quite busy scouting and foraging.
March 2d-The Third Battalion was assigned to Major Hurlbut's Division and the balance of the regiment was assigned to General McClernand's Division. On March 6th we moved over to Iron Landing, four miles above Fort Henry on the Tennessee river, where we embarked aboard boats with other troops for Pittsburg Landing.
We arrived at the latter place March 15th. The next morning Companies I, L and M of our regiment went ashore and took a scout out about four miles where they came onto a force of about seventy five or a hundred cavalry. They gave the rebels a volley from their
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carbines, killing Major Roper and a surgeon, then charged upon them putting them to flight.
The same force went out again just at nightfall and did not return until midnight. They ran onto what was supposed to be the same force encountered in the morning. The rebels were standing in line and let our boys get within thirty steps of them when they fired a volley, which our boys returned, when the rebels broke and run. They wounded three of our men and six horses. We killed one horse and captured eight horses and saddles. One of our horses died before we could get aboard the boat and its rider, Martin Crawford, was shot through the leg, between the knee and ankle, with the same ball that killed his horse. Crawford was afterward discharged on account of the wound.
We did some scouting and foraging and on April 5th, the day before the battle of Shiloh, we, the Third Battalion, were transferred, with four of the other companies, to General Sherman's Division and moved out to our new camp near Shiloh church.
We received orders that night to be ready for a scout early the next morning in light order. We did not have to go on a scout that morning, we found plenty of rebels without going outside our own lines. Bullets were "zipping" through our quarters while we were saddling our horses. We formed a line near the church but were soon ordered back to make room for other troops.
We then supported McAllister's battery until they had to limber to the rear. The battery lost one gun here.
While we were falling back from this position a fragment of a shell struck Norman Powers in the groin, wounding him severly. He thought his time had come and sat down by a tree, laying his carbine and revolver by his side, saying he would sell his life as dearly as he could. Shortly after, he felt better and managed to get to the rear in safety and on Aug. 18th he was discharged on account of that wound.
Our regiment was kept on the field all day shifting positions often but at no time far in the rear of our lines,
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and often in range of the enemy's artillery. Two or three times we were called upon to charge the enemy 's lines, but before we got into action we were ordered back ..
At night the rebels had our camp. We occupied a position for the night to the right and rear of our line with nothing to eat for ourselves or horses since morning.
There was an alarm caused by some firing on our right front, about ten o'clock, when we were ordered into line and left there until morning, so far as orders were concerned.
After riding for some time we dismounted and laid down or sat against trees and held our horses. It rained the most of the night which did not add to our comfort.
The next morning we found an abandoned rebel camp with plenty of rations, so we had a good breakfast, after which we were sent to the river landing to gather up stragglers and return them them to the army. This duty was a very unpleasant one, for many of the stragglers were sick or were convalescents and not able to do anything, which occupied our time for some hours.
Toward night the cavalry were all massed close to the front ready to charge the enemy as soon as they were routed at Snake creek, where it was believed the final struggle would be. The retreat of the rebels was well covered, and, there being but one single corduroy road for us to cross on, it was not deemed expedient for the cavalry to charge them so we were ordered back and accomplished nothing.
I take the following extract from General John A. McClernand's report of the battle of Shiloh, April 6th and 7th, 1862:
The casualies of the first day having left me almost without a member of my staff, Lieutenants Joseph E. Hitt and Asher B. Hall of companies B and C, Fourth Illinois Cavalry, joined me next day, and performed most excellent service. While commending them for their zeal, courage and intelligence it may be added as one of the proofs of Lieutenant Hitt's exposure to danger that his horse was shot from under him.
April 8th-We have been out on a reconnoissance on
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the Corinth road under Brigadier General Sherman, with Colonel Hildebrand's Brigade. We came onto a small force of the enemy's cavalry at a hospital camp on the further side of an old windfall near Pea Ridge.
Our regiment was formed in line at the edge of the clearing and two companies of the Seventy-seventh Ohio deployed ahead among the slashing as skirmishers. At ' about one hundred and fifty yards from our line they were charged upon by a small body of rebel cavalry, probably forty or fifty. The skirmishers broke and run but the rebels rode onto them and killed fifteen and wounded several.
We were finally ordered to "fire" after the skirmishers had moved out of our way sufficiently. The firing over our horses heads while we were standing in line excited them to such an extent that our line was broken but the rebels wheeled and run back as soon as we fired We were soon in line again and pursued them a short distance.
We had two men wounded in our company. John Lobdell and Wm. Butterfield. I believe both men were discharged on account of these wounds but Butterfield afterwards enlisted.
One rebel was
killed. The fifteen of the Seventy-seventh Ohio and the one rebel were all buried in one grave before we left here.
Below is General Sherman's report of this affair, followed by the report of the rebel medical director, Lyles, in charge of the hospital camp near that place:
Reconnoissance from the Shiloh battle field, April &, 1862; report of Brigadier General William T. Sherman, to Major General U. S. Grant, commanding general in the field :
With the cavalry placed at my command and two brigades of my fatigued troops, I went, this morning, out on the Corinth road. One after another of the abandoned camps of the enemy lined the roads with hospital flags for their protection. At all we found wounded and dead.
At the forks of the road I found the head of General
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Wood's division. At that point I ordered the cavalry to examine both roads and they found the enemy's cavalry.
Colonel Dickey of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry, asking for re-enforcement, ordered General Woods to advance at the rear of his column, taking the left-hand road, whilst I conducted the rear of the Third Brigade of the first division up the right-hand road.
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