USA > Illinois > History of the Ninety-sixth Regiment, Illinois volunteer Infantry, Vol. I > Part 25
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Some of these wounds were slight, and did not disable the recipients. A few, however, proved severe. When Sergeant Vincent was shot, all thought that his wound was necessarily fatal, and supposed they would never see him again ; but he was so full of courage and manly strength that he soon recov- ered, and, notwithstanding the loss of an eye, returned to the Regiment, doing gallant service and carrying the colors in several engagements. Corporal Swanbrough's wound was received while carrying the colors. He had been the only one of the Color Guard to escape at Chickamauga, and was now among the first hit. His wound disabled him for only a few weeks. Lieutenants Moore and Townsend were each dis- abled for a time, but not permanently. Indeed, not one of the entire list of wounded was absent from the command for more than a few months.
Our Brigade captured two pieces of artillery and a large number of prisoners ; and when we reached the top of the mountain the next day, we found in the abandoned camp of the enemy a great variety of stores and supplies which they had left behind in their precipitate retreat.
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
That night bivouac on the "nose " of Lookout will never be forgotten by the men who tried to court sleep amid a chaos of rocks, swept by a keen northwest wind. We longed for our knapsacks, but they were miles away and a thousand feet below us in Lookout Valley. Camp fires seemed indis- pensable, but they were a dangerous Inxury, for certain sharp- shooters on the rocks above us, like the "King of Shadows," loved " a shining mark," and more than one camp-fire group, while cooking their much-needed supper, were disturbed by officious offers of the enemy to settle their coffee with lead. But shots in the dark are uncertain ; and, in spite of Rebel pro- tests, we speedily promoted old Lookout, putting shining stars on his shoulders and decorating his rugged breast with a slop- ing sash of camp fires, very comforting to us, and a blazon of victory to our comrades in the valley.
But when we sought sleep that night we were made to realize that rubber blankets form a poor protection against cold ; that rocks are uncomfortable pillows, and that though a slightly sloping bed may be favorable to slumber, yet when it rises fifteen or twenty degrees above the horizontal line, sleep will be in inverse ratio to the steepness of the slope. But so great had been the fatigues of the day that though our pillows were no softer than those pressed by the head of Jacob of old, and our bivouac was rougher than the ancient Bethel. yet we snatched sleep enough for a soldier from the jaws of difficulty, and were ready in the morning for whatever might lic before us.
The morning of the 25th dawned clear and beautiful. Boreas had wielded his windy besom so diligently during the night that not a wisp of fog or cloud clung to the crest of the mountain, nor cobwebbed a corner of the rocky ravines. But fog had served us so well the day before that we were almost in love with it, and we began to wish that the vapory army which had departed during the night might return again to assist us. All illusions as to distance and danger were now dispelled. From where we lay the crest of the mountain wa- startlingly near, and the unassailable strength of the position was only too evident. Point Lookout and the palisades on
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THE FLAG ON THE MOUNTAIN.
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either side frowned above us, and so close at hand that to all appearance an army of schoolboys might have stoned us out of our position. As the light increased we watched anxiously for some evidence of hostile presence on the rocks above us, but as we saw neither futter of flag nor flash of steel, nor glimpse of moving gray, and heard not so much as the snap- ping of a twig on that summit which had been the especial seat of battle thunder the day before, we began to suspect that the eagles of war had forsaken their eyrie, and that by a bold climb we might gain the deserted nest.
The NINETT-SIXTH might properly have claimed the honor of making that climb, for they had hugged the base of the precipice during the battle. But time and the elements, sup- plemented by the tornado of shot and shell at Chickamauga, had so riddled the regimental colors that they could hardly be distinguished from the flag of the enemy ; and as there was at hand a regiment with a stand of colors new and bright, our Brigadier, who was a Kentuckian, with pardonable partiality, gave the honor to his native State. General Whittaker asked for volunteers from the Sth Kentucky to plant the Union flag on the mountain by climbing a narrow rocky stairway which leads up to the point through clefts in the rocks. Fifteen men at once volunteered, and began the ascent. Looking back on events we now know that there was no danger in the enterprise ; but looking up at the little band of brave men as they reached the base of the upright roeks that morning and began to climb that stony stair, we feared that they might be devoting themselves to captivity or death.
But onr suspense was short. Our eyes were soon glad- dened by seeing our flag waving from Point Lookout. Never did it seem so grand as when the sun kissed its silken folds on the apex of that ragged cliff, and never was our national banner greeted with such cheers as then stormed the mouu- tain from all sides to hail our victorious flag. All the breath which we had spent the day before in climbing the mountain seemed to come back to us, and we poured it out in cheer after cheer, which surged around the crest of Lookout, and rolled down into the valley in cataracts of sound.
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But the men who had fought the battle had many comrades who united with them in cheering over the victory. The multitudinous shout of a great army came up to us from below. Fifty thousand throats hailed Lookout under his proper flag, and the mountain monarch seemed proud of his new honors, and nodded to all the hills around to prolong the shout and multiply it with echoes. The shout ran up the Tennessee to our extreme left. and told Sherman, who was then preparing to attack the northern end of Missionary Ridge, that another victory had been gained.
To our Regiment and the Sth Kentucky was assigned the honor of holding the mountain, while the rest of our Brigade went with Gen. Hooker toward Rossville Gap to assist in storming Missionary Ridge. In a short time we were com- fortably reposing on the upper part of Lookout, near its north- ern end, taking in the magnificent view which it commands.
At your feet lie parts of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. while in the blue distance far to the east dim summits loom up, whose rocky roots strike under the soil of the two Caro- linas. Here, on your left, is Lookout Valley, out of which we climbed yesterday. Over against you is Sand Mountain, standing on a line with Lookout, the two mountains looking like mated monsters, who, if properly yoked, might draw a whole State after them. Yonder, toward the north and west, is Raccoon Range ; and here, beneath yon, a great loop of the Tennessee incloses Moccasin Point with beadwork of silver, and within that loop lies our former camp ground, so close at hand that we wonder the Rebels did not shell us out of it.
To the right of the Point the river sweeps northward in a semi-circle as graceful as Ulysses' bow of shining horn ; and Chattanooga, the fair Penelope who has been so rudely wooed of late by Southern suitors, grasps the bow near its centre. and stands waiting for deliverance. She will not have long to wait, for Ulysses is here, and before night that inverted bow will flame from tip to tip with bolts more terrible by far than those which sped from the twanging bowstring of the ancient hero, and at sunset our Ulysses will stand in this moun- tain hall without a rival.
277
THE BATTLE OF MISSION RIDGE.
1863]
Off toward the east stretches Missionary Ridge, frowning like the wrinkled front of Mars. It is a false and schismatic gospel which is now preached from that ridge, but before day- light shall fade, the feet of them that bring good tidings shall climb its smoking sides, and their evangel, though turbulent and fierce in its utterance, will yet bring liberty to the oppressed and peace to our land.
Chattanooga Valley, which lies between us and the Ridge, seems calm and level, as viewed from this elevation ; but go down into it and it breaks into a ground swell of hills and ravines, a battle field which carpet knights would not care to tread.
Two-thirds of the distance across the valley from where we stand rises Orchard Knob, a fortified hill somewhat higher than its fellows, and on it Gen. Grant now stands to direct the battle which has already begun. Gen. Sherman, having crossed the river on a pontoon bridge near the mouth of North Chickamauga Creek, is now assailing the northern end of Missionary Ridge. The distance is so great, and the obstruc- tions to vision are so many that we cannot see the movements of the troops ; but Lookout is busy catching battle sounds in his rocky palms, and tossing them back across the valley ; and we know that in the midst of that tumult men are climb- ing the outlying hills at the northern end of the ridge, with a storm of iron and lead beating in their faces.
It is noon, and with occasional pauses the storm of battle on our left still rages. It is three o'clock, and our centre begins to stir a little, as though impatient of so long a delay. Gen. Hooker has been toiling across Chattanooga Valley all day, repairing burned bridges and overcoming various obstruc- tions ; and now he is ready to strike the ridge at Rossville Gap. and roll the Rebel line back toward Sherman.
It is half-past three, and the centre has not yet moved ; but the air over Orchard Knob seems tense with suppressed thunders, and they must soon utter their voices.
It is twenty minutes to four-and hark ! Bridge's Battery over yonder is speaking in a very significant way. Six guns,
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
fired in regular order. like the tolling of a mighty clock, say to listening ears, " The time has come."
The valley below ns gives birth to an army. Arising from the entreneliments, where they have been lying for hours, our men, with cheers, begin a charge, which, if successful, will carry them over a mile and a half of uneven ground, exposed at every step to a terrible artillery fire, and then up a ridge eight hundred feet high, seamed with three lines of works filled with resolute foes.
For a little distance a screen of timber conceals our advanc- ing line, but now it appears in the open valley, stretching in a magnificent line from Rossville Gap off toward the Tennes- see. And now Missionary Ridge becomes volcanic along its entire crest. Seventy pieces of artillery are playing on our line, and the air over their heads is dotted with white, circular clouds, born from the fiery hearts of bursting shells ; making that "the valley of the shadow of death" to many who will not climb the ridge with victorious feet. Brave boys ! it was in their hearts to do it; and we will crown them as victors though they fall in the early stages of that glorious race.
But our artillery is not silent. Orchard Knob, which gave the signal for the battle to begin, confronts its huge antagonist with miraculous audacity, and slings shells as though it were little David standing in the valley of Elah, and yonder wrath- ful ridge were the forehead of Goliath. Forts Wood and Negley fire their guns so fast that they seem bent on empty- ing their magazines along the enemy's line before sundown ; and Moccasin Point, though almost out of the fight on account of distance, sends its compliments over the heads of our troops, done up in hard packages, to be distributed by "free delivery " when they reach their proper destination. Fort King speaks with a royal voice ; Fort Palmer shouts like a giant, and every gun along our line hurls iron defiance at those flaming batteries, which pay no attention to anything save that line of Blue which is steadily sweeping towards the base of Missionary Ridge.
Well might the heroes of all time covet the privilege of standing here to view the grand spectacle. Here is all the
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A MAGNIFICENT SPECTACLE. 279
pomp and magnificence of a great battle within easy view, and vet so far removed that all the horrors of wounds and death are eliminated from the scene. Ilere is a panorama of war four miles in length, a panorama where the guns paint their own smoke as it rolls in sulphurous clouds from their hot months ; where the fire is not streaks of pigment on canvas, but leaps and flashes like the live lightnings of heaven ; where lines of men move forward, and battle flags flutter, and the sound of the battle-ah, who can paint that !- filling the valley with unceasing roar, and enlisting every echo lurking in sur- rounding hill or mountain to add its voice to the astounding tumult. If we could forget that our comrades are marching under those sulphurous clouds which are now flecking the whole valley and raining jagged fragments of iron out of their deadly bosoms on the defenceless heads of our brave men, we could enjoy to the full the scenic grandeur of the spectacle. But with the close sympathy of comradeship we join in the charge ; the hot breath of the batteries blows into our faces ; the iron hail of battle smites against the rocks of Lookout; and Missionary Ridge is not four miles away, but close at hand, daring us to climb its embattled sides.
Look at that line now ! for we cannot join it except by sympathy. It moves forward as though the guns in front of it were firing blank cartridges, and it were taking part in a harmless sham battle. There is no straggling, and the line is nearly continuous from right to left. No doubt conflicting emotions agitate thousands of panting breasts along that line ; but to us it moves forward as though not a man of them all could feel fear, and nothing could stop them save the hand of God.
Now they near the base of the ridge, and with a triun- phant dash they capture the first line of works. If their endurance were equal to their courage they would climb the ridge at once, but even heroes must take breath, and they panse for a time before putting their lives in jeopardy on the high places of the field.
Sense of time is lost at such hours, and seemingly before the heart can beat sixty strokes they are on their feet again,
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
and have begun the perilous ascent. And now there comes across the valley the quick, sharp rattle of musketry, which soon deepens into a continuous roll, more dreadful to experi- enced ears than the loudest cannonade. It tells us that the tug of war has come at last ; that foemen are looking into each others' faces ; that angry eyes are glancing over deadly tubes and selecting individuals out of the struggling mass to aim at ; that every man who faces that slope will have to pass a score of bullets on his way to the crest, and that many of them will never reach the crest through that downrushing tempest of lead. The marvel is that any of them dared to face it and lived through it ; for twenty-eight balls were counted in one small tree after the battle.
But to us who view the battle from Lookout, that grand line moves slowly but steadily up the ridge, takes the second line of works, and, as though that were not worth a pause, presses resolutely up towards the third and last line. That line is not at all like the trim lines-of-battle often seen in pictures, but irregular, scattering. bent upward here and down- ward there ; a very crooked line drawn across a very rough page, dotted with flags at the points of highest elevation-an altogether unmilitary line-except that it will go forward.
The sun is now balancing level rays across the back of Look- out, and what our men do to win the day they must do quickly. Yes, and they are doing it! The grand old Army of the Cumberland are bent on taking a look over towards Chicka- mauga from the crest of Missionary Ridge before the sun goes down, and though Bragg himself is putting men into the entrenchments above them they will not be denied.
Yonder is a flag within a few rods of the works ! It flut- ters and disappears! Another Color Sergeant is added to the honorable roll of the many who have fallen to-day carry- ing the flag. Now it is up again in new hands and forward it goes-it is at the works-on them-and part of our line goes surging over the crest of Missionary Ridge. But not at that point alone, for the whole line gains the crest at nearly the same time, and when all have done so well it would be invidious to make comparisons.
281
THE RETURN TO NICKAJACK.
1863]
As our Regiment did not take part in this engagement except by viewing the picture which has been faintly outlined on these pages, a general description of the battle is not neces- sary. Suffice it to say that it completely delivered Chatta- nooga from the presence of the enemy, and shattered their strength to such a degree that we enjoyed nearly two months of almost unbroken quiet.
We remained on Lookout Mountain for a full week after the battle. For summer weather ours was an ideal camp ; but winter was now at hand, and when strong winds played leap frog over the back of the mountain. and cold clouds trailed their gray hair through the trees which sheltered our camp, we began to think longingly of our comfortable cabins in Nickajack Cove. There were plenty of tents and blankets. as the camp equipage of two Rebel Brigades had fallen into our possession, but the position was too exposed to permit of comfort. During a severe wind storm one night a tree was blown over, falling across one of the tents and fracturing a leg for Lieutenant Pool, of Company A, and disabling him for several months. Corporal W. H. Richards, and one or two other members of the Company were also considerably bruised.
We soon took up our line of march for that sheltered nook among the mountains, going down the west side of Lookout. and early in December we were back in our shanty city and snugly established in winter quarters.
The winter was unusually severe, both North and South : but we had abundance of wood close at hand, we were well housed, and as we had direct railroad communication with the North, our men fairly reveled in boxes from home filled with a bewildering variety of articles.
Shortly following the battle of Chickamauga, the mails brought a Captain's commission to one of the many whose lives had passed away, -First Sergeant John G. Schaefer, of Company A, one of those who had successfully passed the examination of the Board designated to choose officers for the. Regiments of colored troops then forming in that department. During the autumn and winter, Sergeant Wallace Tear, of
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
Company K, who, after the battle, had been acting as Sergeant Major of the Regiment ; First Sergeant Richard Garrett, of Company E : First Sergeant John H. Collier, of Company D ; First Sergeant J. M. Woodruff, of Company I, and Lovett S. Rivenburg, of Company E, were each accorded promotions as Lientenants in Colored Regiments. Quartermaster Jeffers was also assigned to duty at Chattanooga, and subsequently, on the recommendation of Gen. Grant, appointed an Assistant Quartermaster in the Regular Army. A little later Captain Allen B. Whitney, of Company B, resigned, and First Lien- tenant E. J. Gilmore was promoted to Captain, and Second Lientenant George H. Burnett to First Lieutenant.
During the early part of September, Mrs. J. C. Smith. wife of Major Smith, went south, intending to visit her hus- band, then on duty at Murfreesboro, but as the army was advancing she remained in Nashville for some weeks. Accom- panving her were their three little boys. Following Chicka- mauga she spent much time in the hospitals, rendering such service as a thoughtful, patriotic woman could to the many sick and wounded in that city. She was startled, in October. to find that her own children were prostrate with the dread disease of small-pox. Her experience was a most trying one, and one of the boys-little Freddie Parker Smith-died No- vember 4. The father could not leave the front, and alone she consigned her loved one to the ground. Late in Decem- ber she took the two remaining boys with her to Nickajack .. spending about a month at the headquarters of the Regiment.
Among the incidents of the camp at Nickajack were the wounding of Captain Taylor, of Company E, and J. E. Clark- son, of Company D. A negro, found outside of the lines. was arrested and taken to camp. At headquarters he was searched and a revolver taken from him. The gun was of a peculiar make, and as Lieutenant Colonel Smith took it out it was discharged, the bullet striking Captain Taylor, passing through one leg and into the other, lodging in such a way that it could not be removed. The Captain was disabled for quite a time, and still feels some ill effects from the wound. The injury to Clarkson, which was of a similar nature, but less serious in its effect, was received while eleaning a revolver.
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A NEW STAND OF COLORS. 283
Colonel Champion obtained a leave of absence early in the- winter, and spent some weeks at his Illinois home. Several line officers and enlisted men also obtained furloughs, usually for thirty days, and visited their families or attended to busi- ness matters at their homes.
During the period covered by this and the preceding chap- ter, the losses to the Regiment were not wholly incurred in battle, or as the result of wounds. George J. Cooper, of Company B. died of disease at Louisville, Ky., November 18 : Mason C. Beecher, of Company D. died at Nashville, Tenn., September 27 ; Arnold Willett, of Company D, died at Nash- ville, Tenn., October 28; Andrew Farrier, of Company D. died at Murfreesboro, Tenn., December 2 ; Samuel Fenn, of Company E, died at Stephenson, Ala., October 10; John Harding, of Company E, died at Evansville, Ind., December 24; William Mathew, of Company E, died at Chattanooga, Tenn., October 14; George Sidner, of Company F, died at Nashville, Tenn., November 12; John G. Thrasher, of Com- pany G, died at Shellmound, Tenn., December 11; L. C. Crowell, of Company HI, died at Chattanooga, Tenn., Novem- ber 3; William J. Forbes, of Company I, died at Pleasant Valley, Ill., November 20; Butler Newton, of Company K. died at Nashville, Teun., November 7.
January 1, 1864, a pair of new flags from Lake and Jo Daviess Counties were presented to us by a committee consist- ing of Judge J. D. Platt, L. P. Woodworth and Edgar Scace. of Jo Daviess, who received in return our tattered battle flags, which were separated and taken one to each county. It was a matter of regret that, owing to some disarrangement of plans, the Lake County members of the committee were not present. The new flags were very beautiful, with their gilded lettering shining on their unsullied silken folds ; but the old flags, though torn and soiled, had a beauty which the new did not possess, for had they not passed through Chickamauga, and had they not led us over Lookout ? We parted with the rolls of glorious rags with regret, and resolved to make our new flags famous when we should enter on another campaign.
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
CHAPTER XIV.
-Good-by to Nickajack-A Leisurely March over Historic Ground-The Camps at Tyner and Ooltewah-Building Houses for a Day-Blue Springs Reached - Frequent Scouting Expeditions - Engagement Near Dalton-Sergeant Harriman Killed-More Wounds and Captures -Taunts from the Skirmish Line-Ten Hours under Fire-One Hun. dred Miles in Six Days-An Accidental Shot- - A Ready-Made Camp- Frequent Furloughs-Captain Rowan and Lieutenant Earle Return from Prison-Drilling Renewed-Reading Clubs Formed-Vaccinat. ing the Regiment -- Scurvy and the "Potato Squad "-Deserters Drummed Around the Lines-The Army Concentrating-Waiting for the Order Forward !
TOWARD the end of January the weather became mild and pleasant, and on the twenty-fifth the Regiment was not greatly surprised by an order to be ready to march next day, the reported destination being Cleveland. Tenn. The health of the Regiment had been excellent, and many even of the severely wounded from the recent battles were again with the command. The prospective excitement of a new campaign helped in some degree to overcome the regret at leaving that camp in the mountains, but as the column marched out of the .core at nine o'clock of Tuesday, January 26. many a linger- ing look behind was cast at that strangely built city on the hillside. The other Regiments of the Brigade being at Shell- mound. the NINETY-SixTa and the 40th Ohio marched only about four miles and camped on the banks of the Tennessee. Lieutenant Colonel J. C. Smith was still in command of the Regiment. Col. Jesse Il. Moore, of the 115th Illinois, was temporarily in command of the Brigade, Gen. Whittaker having gone to Kentucky to take his seat in the Legislature of that State. Gen. D. S. Stanley was in command of the Division. It is. perhaps, worthy of note that the Regiment left Nickajack just one year from the day they marched from Danville, Ky.
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