USA > Illinois > History of the Ninety-sixth Regiment, Illinois volunteer Infantry, Vol. I > Part 20
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injury was not of the regulation pattern, he having his knee- cap knocked out of position by a fall from a fence which the command was crossing while on the way to the right. After Captain Blodgett was obliged to leave the field, First Ser- geant Collier took command of the Company. Soon he was shot through the thigh, and the command devolved upon Sergeant Linklater.
In Company E, a large proportion of the casualties resulted from a single charge of grape shot, which ent out almost every man for several files near the centre. No less than twelve were killed or mortally wounded during the battle, - the largest number of fatalities in any one Company. Several of those most severely injured fell into the enemy's hands. Charles F. Hayth, whose wound was not serions, remained at a house near the battle-field to care for the wounded, and was taken prisoner the next day, enduring a long confinement. Lieutenant Funk was struck in the face, his jaw being frac- tured, and the missile passing downward into his shoulder. He was disabled for further field service.
In Company F, Lieutenant Simms, who had served safely through the Mexican War, was desperately wounded in the hip, and died at Nashville shortly afterward. William Bu- chanan and William S. Nash bore him from the field and literally carried him to Rossville, part of the time supporting I im between them. and part of the time taking him singly on their backs. James Pimley, who had but just returned from imprisonment, -having been captured at Franklin, -was one of the many killed outright. Thomas Shannon captured a Rebel Major, and was proudly conducting him to the rear, when an officer from some other command sought to relieve Lim of his charge and ordered him to the front. Shannon ohjected, and triumphantly walked away, with the remark that there were plenty more at the front, and suggested that if the officer wanted any he should go up where the fighting was and get one.
In Company G. the first man hit was William Joyce. a man-ket ball cutting his foot. In a very tempest of bullets he deliberately removed his shoe, examined the wound, and
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then, as if disgusted with himself at having spent so much time with so trivial a matter, replaced the shoe and resumed firing. A moment later Daniel Benson and Thomas Davis fell, each shot in such 'a way as to be disabled. Both were assisted to the rear for quite a distance, but not so far but that they were captured next day, and held by the enemy about ten days. Davis died soon after being paroled. William H. Whaples was killed early in the fight. William H. Wheeler was also among those hit in the first charge. It was rumored ten days later that he was alive and had been paroled, but the report could not be verified, and it is probable that he was. killed outright or died in a few hours. Corporal Hickox was twice quite severely wounded in the second charge, and Daniel Gail, received a bullet wound in the leg. George Butler was disabled near the close of the fight, and has never fully recovered. First Sergeant Aaron Seott lost a finger during the afternoon. his musket being shattered by the same bullet. He was in a kneeling posture. and in the act of capping the piece. Turning to Lieutenant Blowney, he coolly remarked that he could be of no farther service, bade him good-by and left the field. Corporal Walter Drew, although quite seri- ously hurt, refused to leave the field. and fought bravely to the last. John Corbin, when shot through the leg, insisted that he should stay and continue to fight ; but the persuasions of his comrades and the loss of blood soon induced him to accept the opportunity offered of riding back on a caisson. Sergeant Shepard was severely injured in the thigh, and got back to the rear with great difficulty, being disabled for many months.
In Company H the losses, exclusive of the captures of the following Tuesday morning, were very severe. Lieu- tenant Barnes was hit early in the engagement. receiving a mortal wound. Lieutenant Yates was one of the most con- spicuous line officers in the Regiment. doing gallant service. Being captured two days later. he endured a long imprison- 'ment. returning to the Regiment in the spring of -1865. Fir -! Sergeant Francisco was three times hit, the first bullet elig- ping his leg, the second his side, and the third his ankle.
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When the second bullet struck him he fell to the ground, and -apposed himself mortally wounded. Springing up, he started to run, but quickly fell for want of breath ; at the same time he thought he could feel the blood running from his side upon his hand. Turning to look, as he got breath again, he discovered that it was not blood, but the water from his can- teen that was running out through a pair of holes, and that the bullet had struck his waist-belt but had not penetrated his side, although for a time he was badly "winded." However, he resumed his place, and fought on until hit a third time, when he received a wound that disabled him for further ser- vice. Corporal Simons was kneeling when shot, being just in the act of firing. Turning to a comrade he said, as cheer- fully as it is possible to conceive, ""Tis sweet to die for one's. country." and closed his eyes. The two Patrick Farrells did not forget their native politeness, but each saluted their com- mander when hit, and asked permission to retire.
Company I did excellent service, notwithstanding the de- moralization of its Captain, and had five men killed or mor- tally wounded. Among the most severely wounded who survived was James Hutchinson, who at the time was believed to be fatally hurt. Sergeant Thomas J. Smith was sent to the rear with Colonel Clarke after the latter was wounded. remaining with him until his death, which occurred Tuesday afternoon while crossing the Tennessee River in an ambu- lance. He escorted the body to Bridgeport, and attended Its shipment to friends at the North.
In Company K, Sergeant Elston found himself confronted by a soldier in gray, near the close of the fight. They were but a few yards apart, but Elston demanded the surrender of his opponent with an air of authority that the Rebel was com- Pulled to recognize. It happened that Elston's musket was empty at the time, but as the man who stood in front of it was not aware of that fact, it was just as well. A moment later the plucky Sergeant was badly wounded, and demanded of his prisoner assistance to the rear, which was readily given until a wounded artillery horse came along, when the Ser-
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geant turned his prisoner over to some retreating troops, and rode back to camp.
Following the battle Jacob Elberth, of Company F, who had been detailed at the camp and taken no part in the engagement, on learning of some of the strange and terrible experiences of his comrades, uttered a cry of surprise and fell to the ground, dying instantly, of heart disease it was supposed.
Often the gun barrels became so hot that they could hardly be handled, and so foul that it was difficult to load them. There were a dozen instances at least in which muskets were shattered in the hands of the soldiers. Henry C. Payne. of Company C, had two guns ruined and used his third. Two days later he was captured, and subsequently died in prison. W. V. Tront, of Company B, was also among those who had a gun shattered. Trout assisted in carrying Colonel Clarke to the rear a short distance, and then resumed his place in the ranks.
There was no organized force of stretcher-bearers in the Reserve Corps. and as a consequence those who were disabled by wounds had to be left where they fell, unless helped from the field by comrades. As a consequence the ranks were at times somewhat thinned by the going to the rear of those who assisted their friends to a place of safety, although in some Companies not a man left from first to last, those who fell at the extreme advanced positions passing into the hands of the enemy. The bodies of all of those of the Regiment killed on Sunday were left upon the battle field unburied. But, still worse, more than thirty of the severely wounded were also left to endure the sufferings from their wounds. with the attendant thirst, and from the chilly night air. It was impossible to remove them, as nearly all had fallen in the very front of the battle, when the situation was so desperate that men could not be spared, and where the positions taken coukl not be maintained until the injured could be carried to the rear. . To them the night seemed like an age, and the sur- vivors still recall it as a hideous nightmare. Most of those who were able to travel at all made their way to Rossville.
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The few ambulances at hand were crowded to their utmost. but could accommodate only a mere fraction of the severely wounded. Wounded horses were compelled to carry one or two persons, as their strength would permit. A few ammu- nition wagons were halted and filled with human wrecks. Artillery caissons were taken possession of by wounded men. Many walked, fatigued and faint, back through the weary miles. Some, exhausted from the terrible strain, halted at a wayside house to rest. and, becoming too sore to resume the march, were made prisoners next day. There were mans touching scenes along the way, and no one can fittingly de- seribe the devotion manifested by comrades for their wounded friends. In some instances men were carried in blankets for miles ; in other cases they were borne upon the back, or two comrades would support a third between them, toiling on wearily through the hours, and along the road that was at once so strange and so long. None had ever been over the road before, and they only knew in a half-certain way that it led to Rossville and rest. And many of these were not strong, robust men, but boys, tired, hungry, campaign-worn, slender in stature, though mighty in courage and devotion to duty. They had been lions while the battle lasted, but now that the night had come and the fighting was over, tenderly hunted up their fallen comrades and, at fearful cost of nerve and strength, aided them back along the road to safety. A score of men lost their haversacks or canteens, bullets having ent the straps that held them ; others had bullet holes through their accoutrements. or found their cartridge boxes shattered. while a majority could point to bullet holes through their hats or clothing. Nearly every one had shared the narrow escapes vi the battle, and the killed and wounded by no means em- braced all of the real heroes of that eventful day.
Of the 419 who went into the fight more than 130 never again marched with the Regiment ; for, in addition to those killed, many were permanently disabled, or died in Rebel prisons. Toward night on Sunday the fiag of an Alabama Regiment was passed over by the troops of the Brigade, and it is claimed that its capture is entirely due to the NINETY-
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SIXTH, but so eager were the soldiers in pursuing the Rebels: that it was not cared for at once, and fell into the hands of other troops or of some officer who never officially accounted for it. The work of the Surgeons was most trying. Some- times a half hundred wounded would be clustered about them, each needing attention. There were but few ambulances, and when the battle closed and the troops fell back to Rossville, some of the severely wounded could not be carried. Warned by the officers to do so, Surgeons Pearce and Evans went back to Rossville, where they resumed their work, spending most of the long night in extracting bullets and binding up the lacerations of the scores of victims of their own and other Regiments. Next day they went to Chattanooga and thence across the river. Their work was most trying, but patiently and tenderly, for days together. they plied their humane task, sleeping little until all were made as comfortable as the unto- ward circumstances would permit.
The experience of the wounded after the battle was often trying. During Monday the buildings in Chattanooga were crowded to their utmost capacity, but word was sent that all who could walk or ride should be taken to the north side of the river, and by Tuesday only a few of the seriously wounded remained. On Monday night hundreds of the maimed lay in the grove just above the river bank without other shelter than their blankets. Next morning an ambu- lance train was ordered to Bridgeport, and a wagon train fol- lowed. each vehicle being loaded with wounded. But many were still left. Some made their way back on foot to the hospital tents, stationed from one to three miles in the rear. and a day or two later those thought to be able to make the trip were taken by teams to the railroad. The first teams were able to go by the river road, a distance of about thirty miles, but within a few hours the Rebels held the opposite bank, and made this route impracticable. As a consequence. the trains were obliged to make a circuitous route, traveling more than sixty miles. The road was exceedingly rough, and the trip usually occupied the greater part of three days, two nights being spent in camp. Thousands of wounded soldiers-
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were jolted over this long, stony road, and at nightfall, when a halt was made, or next morning, before the train started. shallow graves were dug in which to bury those who had died n route. From Bridgeport rude hospital cars were provided, . most of the wounded being sent to Nashville, but a few to points farther north. The sufferings on the long trip and in the hospitals were severe, but, as a rule, they were borne with a cheerful fortitude, as remarkable as had been the bravery of the heroes in the battle.
The Regiment had fought its first and greatest battle. In the supreme moment it had been found able and willing to meet the demands made upon it. Its long casualty list could be pointed to as an evidence of its valor. Its survivors were battle-tried, and worthy of the high name accorded the com- mand. It was now ready for the hard service still before it, and resolutely it again set its face to the enemy, resolved to defend as gallantly, in the future battles, its tattered battle tlag and the cause of which that flag was the emblem, as it had at CHICKAMAUGA.
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CHAPTER XI.
PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF CHICKAMAUGA. BY GEO. HICKS, CAPTAIN COMPANY A, NINETY-SIXTH ILLINOIS VOLUNTEERS. EXTRACTS FROM AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN KINGSTON, JAMAICA, WEST INDIES.
Prefatory Note to the Editor.
KINGSTON, ISLAND OF JAMAICA, January 12, 18-6.
DEAR COMRADE :
It would give me great pleasure to prepare, for the forthcoming History of our Regiment, as requested, a full and complete account of the important part the Regiment bore in the great battle of Chickamauga : but it will be quite impracticable to do so in a manner at all adequate and satisfactory. I should need to refer to many general and special reports, to which I have not accers, and, especially, I should wish to go over the incidents of the engagement with representatives of each Company, -which is utterly ont of the question.
Instead, therefore, of attempting what, at the best, would be very defective, I beg to send you, as a contribution, simply, toward an account of the action of our Regiment in that battle. some extracts (revised) from an address delivered here twelve years ago, in which I gave my personal recollections of Chickamauga.
You will notice how much is omitted that should enter into a full statement of what was done and what was suffered by the Regiment in that battle ; for I have made no attempt to describe in detail what was meritorious and worthy of special note in each Company. Of necessity, my recollections deal specially with the soldiers of the Com- pany of which I was then the commander ; and you and all of our comrades will under- stand that when I make particular mention of any of these it is because they come vividly within the scope of my recollections, and not because I wish them to be con- sidered more eminently worthy of mention than soldiers in other Companies. In fact. in all that is commendable they are to be regarded as types of forth to be found in every Company.
I have endeavored to be so faithful in what I have set forth that I trust those who read my recollections of the battle will feel that there is no occasion to make any ahate- ment from such words of praise as my heart and jadgment have prompted the to utter.
I am, yours sincerely, GEO. IlIcKs.
C. A. PARTRIDGE, EsQ., Waukegan. Ill.
PRELIMINARY.
* *
* *
SHALL I tell you what sort of men were the Volunteers who enlisted with me? Some were farmers, owning and cul- tivating their own homesteads ; many were stalwart sons of farmers ; a number were clerks in public offices and in mer- cantile houses ; others were mechanics ; several were school teachers ; some were studying for a profession ; a few were day laborers. Some were heads of families, leaving wife and
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children at home; but the majority were young men from eighteen to twenty-five years of age. Nearly all were men of intelligence and character. Doubtless some, partaking of the general excitement and moved by the popular impulse, enlisted without seriously counting the cost ; but by far the greater number volunteered from an imperative sense of duty to their country and to the cause of humanity, both of which they felt to be imperiled. What noble hearts they were ! How worthy of highest enloginm !
Of the many, let we speak especially of two, with whom I had become intimately acquainted prior to the war. These young men were bosom friends, heart companions-much alike in their outward circumstances of life, as well as in their principles, sympathies and tastes, and closely associated in Christian labors. Both were educated, intelligent, cultured ; and their presence would have graced any drawing-room in the land. Each was the eldest son in a large family, with brothers and sisters looking up to him for guidance, and each was the stay and staff of a widowed mother. It was not without serious thought, and many an anxious prayer, and the most solemn conviction of duty, that those widowed mothers could give up their first-born, and those young men could break away from such home ties, and abandon the bright prospects of life opening before them, to venture all upon the field of battle. The Governor of the State and the President of the Republic were pleased, in the course of the war, to honor me with military rank : but the highest honor I received was when such mothers entrusted their sons to my charge and wach sons chose me to be their Captain in the war. One of these young men was made my First Sergeant# and the other Was chosen to be Quarter-Master Sergeant of the Regiment. + *
* * * *
Ten such Companies as mine constituted a Regiment. ours thing the NINETY-SIXTH Illinois Infantry. As a rule. from !! ree to six Regiments constituted a Brigade, three Brigades 2. Division, three Divisions a Corps, and three Corps an Army. The Army of the Cumberland, in addition to its three Corps.
· John G. Schaefer. + William S. Bean.
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comprised a Reserve Corps of three Divisions, and to this Reserve Corps our Regiment was attached.
For nearly a year we were soldiers without seeing a battle. We had enough of marching over the hard pike roads of Ken- tucky and Tennessee ; we had plenty of drilling ; plenty of rongh campaigning ; now and then a little skirmishing ; but no hard fighting. Our turn came at last, and after that it came often and continuously. Our turn came at the battle of Chickamanga-a battle which the soldiers of the NINETY-SIXTH Illinois will remember as long as they remember anything.
If we judge by the number of killed and wounded, the battle of Chickamanga was the severest battle in the West, and, next to Gettysburg, the severest battle of the war. For us of the NINETY-SIXTH Illinois it was, beyond all comparison. our great battle.
I shall try to tell you something about that battle-to describe that which is well-nigh indescribable. What I saw of the great battle was confined to a limited part, for the bat- tle was fought in the woods, and no one actively engaged with his Company or Regiment could see much beyond his own Regiment or Brigade. For one, during the battle, I found I had very little leisure for any observation beyond the range of my own immediate duties. Therefore, if I attempt to describe what I saw of the battle, I must speak chiefly of my own Company and Regiment ; and if I venture to speak of a soldier's feelings in entering into and going through a battle, I must of course rely chiefly upon recollections of my own personal experiences. So I must beg that, for the time being. you will kindly allow me to forget that I am a stranger in a strange land, and permit me to speak as freely and with as little reserve as if I were addressing a private circle of indu !- gent and intimate friends.
MARCHING TO THE FRONT.
Gen. Bragg, with his Confederate Army, had retreated from Tennessee into Georgia, where he occupied the strong- hold of Chattanooga. Gen. Rosecrans, commanding the Army of the Cumberland, followed with three Corps under Gens.
WILLIAM F. TAYLOR. CAPTAIN COMPANY E.
SUIVANTES MAILEN
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Thomas, McCook and Crittenden, while the Regiments of the Reserve were stationed at various distances in the rear, guarding railway lines. By dividing his forces and executing a flank movement, threatening the enemy's communications, Rosecrans compelled Bragg to retreat from Chattanooga. While the enemy was retreating, followed by Rosecrans, rein- foreements from the East and South were hurried forward to ngthen Bragg, who soon was able to turn at bay and a ume the offensive. Rosecrans, falling back toward Chatta- novoga, en leavored to bring together again the three Corps, which were widely separated, and urgent orders were sent to the Reserve to hasten to the front.
As soon as the orders were known we were all on the alert, and speedily put ourselves in marching order. We made forced marches over the Cumberland mountains and down into the Tennessee Valley. I well remember how weary at one time were the soldiers, plodding on from early dawn until ing after dusk ; then, after a hurriedly prepared supper, lying down upon the ground to snatch two or three hours of sleep; then, aroused by the bugle, cheerfully resuming the march, pushed steadily on through the hours of the night and into the new day. So we hastened to the front, eager to bear our part in the conflict and share in the anticipated victory. skirmishing along the slope of Lookout Mountain, leaving Chattanooga a little to one side, we passed on a few miles farther to Rossville, at the foot of Mission Ridge, about mid- way between Chattanooga and Chickamauga Creek. We had t .ched an important point, for Rossville Gap was one of the ' o available avenues of approach to Chattanooga from our ont. Here we halted and rested for a day or two, while the ree Corps to the front were endeavoring to form a junction rad establish a line of battle on the bank of Chickamauga Teck, where they might withstand the confident onslaught of Bragg's largely reinforced army.
On Friday, the 18th of September, 1863, the distant can- to nading indicated that the expected battle had begun. Dur- as the day our Regiment was ordered to prepare for action ; " ... sick and those disabled by the long march were left at
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Rossville, with the tents and luggage ; our musicians also left drums and fifes, that they might be free to assist the wounded ; the soldiers took three days' rations in their haversacks, and forty rounds of ammunition in their cartridge boxes, and marched ont to feel for the enemy. My Company being on picket duty, and not relieved until next day, did not partici- pate in this movement. The Regiment encountered a small force of the enemy's cavalry, and suffered some loss in the brief skirmish which took place. The Regiment lay in close proximity to the enemy that night.
On Saturday my Company rejoined the Regiment. The Brigade was deployed in line-of-battle, taking up a defensive position to repel any assault that might be made with a view to obtain possession of Rossville Gap. Some of the Regi- ments had, for a brief time, a sharp encounter with a force of the enemy, but the attack was successfully repulsed, and was not repeated. During the day we were under the spasmodic fire of artillery, which inflicted no loss upon us. We remained in line of-battle, prepared to resist any attack, and the hours of Saturday wore on, uneventful to the Regiment ; but the distant cannonading, heavy and continuous throughout the day, gave evidence that the battle elsewhere was severe.
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