USA > Illinois > History of the Ninety-sixth Regiment, Illinois volunteer Infantry, Vol. I > Part 27
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Wednesday, April 13. Sergeant Frank Wier, who had been acting Sergeant-Major for about five months, was per- moted to First Sergeant of Company A, and Sergeant C. A. Partridge of Company C was detailed as acting Sergeant- Major, and subsequently appointed to the position which had been made vacant by the death of Sergeant-Major Quin. The same day the Regiment marched to the railroad track and presented arms in honor of their late commander. Gen. Granger, as he passed on the train bound for Nashville. Gen. Howard visited the Regiment in the evening, making personal inspection of the camp.
Although there was little known of the matter in the Reg- iment, quite a spirited contest was going on to determine who should be appointed to the position made vacant by the pre- motion of the Quarter-Master, Stephen Jeffers, to be a Quar-
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ter-Master in the regular army. A majority of the line officers signed a petition to Governor Yates asking that Lieutenant Blowney, of Company G, be given the place. Colonel Chan- pion requested that his brother, Myron B. Champion, who had recently enlisted in Company K, be appointed. Lieuten- ant-Colonel Smith, then in command of the Regiment, asked that Lieutenant Moore, of Company I, who was temporarily filling the position, be regularly commissioned. Influential friends in Illinois asked that Hospital Steward Ferguson be promoted. Numerous papers endorsing the several aspirants were filed with the Governor, and after some delay the com- mission was issued to Hospital Steward Ferguson. Lieuten- ant-Colonel Smith appealed the case, and the Department Commander, Gen. George II. Thomas, decided that the com- mander of a regiment had the right to name his stati' officers, and accordingly declared Lieutenant Moore to be the Quarter- Master of the Regiment. At the same time he recommended that Hospital Steward Ferguson be assigned to duty. with the rank of First Lieutenant, in any existing vacancy. The only vacancy existing when the decision came was in Company HI. and to this Company he was assigned. So much time was consumed by the correspondence that Lieutenant Ferguson was not mustered until the following October, although his com- mission dated from the death of Lieutenant Barnes, October 2, 1563. Lieutenant Moore's appointment as Quarter-Master was dated April 16, 1864. Quarter-Master Sergeant George Jeffers, who had been appointed to the position upon the death of the gallant Bean at Chickamauga, voluntarily relin- quished the position to accept a detail with his father, the late Quarter-Master. He was succeeded by Sergeant B. F. Shepard, of Company G, who, although still suffering from wounds received at Chickamauga, had recently rejoined the command. Corporal Swanbrough. who had so gallantly car- ried the Regimental colors at Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain, was made a Sergeant to fill the vacancy caused by Shepard's promotion.
There had been more or less scurvy among the men all through the late winter months, there being not less than
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fifty well defined cases in the Regiment at one time toward the close of April. But by united efforts on the part of the officers, enough vegetables were secured, as a part of the rations of the men, to relieve this trouble somewhat ; but still there was considerable sickness, and one or two men from every Company had to be sent to the hospital, while others were hardly fit for active service. Tho vegetables received were generally potatoes and sour-krant. The limbs of the men were swollen and became very sore, their gums would be swollen, their teeth loose, and they would suffer from general languor and depression. The Surgeons had what was known as a " potato squad." composed of men who were kept almost exclusively on a vegetable diet.
During the stay at Cleveland there was quite a religious interest in the Regiment, and also in the 40th Ohio, whose camp was near that of the NINETY-SIXTH. Preaching was held almost nightly in the camp of the 40th. These meetings were continued until the advance of the army, and were renewed whenever opportunity permitted all through the memorable battle summer that followed.
About this time a petition, asking the Governor of Illinois to again commission Rev. Horace G. Woodworth as Chaplain of the Regiment, was endorsed by nearly all of the officers of the command ; but through some delay or misunderstanding the appointment was not announced until May 20, by which time he had made other engagements and could not accept the place.
Saturday, April 23, in obedience to orders from Gen. Whittaker. the NINETY-SIXTH joined the Brigade at Blue Springs. Just before this move, Lieut .- Col. Smith was called to Chattanooga to serve upon a Board to examine the claims of citizens against the Government for property destroyed by the army. The command of the Regiment devolved upon Major Hicks for a few days and until Colonel Champion wa- relieved from duty as Post Commander, which occurred April 28. Colonel Smith remained on this duty only about a fort- night and rejoined the Regiment as it neared Resaca.
The camp at Blue Springs was in a plat of heavy timber
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PREPARING FOR A NEW CAMPAIGN.
where there was but little material for building. and the camp was quite in contrast with the recently vacated quarters at Cleveland. The men knew, however, that it was but for a little while that they were to be in camp. For some time past applications for furloughs had come back disapproved, and the entire Fourth Corps had been concentrating about Cleveland. The Regiments that had been home on veteran furlongh were coming to the front again, many of them recruited to the maximum immber. the 35th Indiana of the Second Brigade having returned with about 1100 men. The Fourth Corps occupied the left center of the grand army now concentrating for the forward movement. Up to this time it had been undecided as to the campaign, it being expected that Gen. Johnston, who was in command of the Confederate forces abont Dalton, would take advantage of the absence of the Regiments on furlough, and of the widely scattered con- dition of the Union army, and assume the offensive. Cleve- land was known to be the weak point in the Union line, and it was thought by the Generals in authority that an attack might be made at that point at any time. But now this danger was passed ; the army was reunited and strengthened until there were within supporting distance almost 100,000 men. It was stripping for its grand advance. All baggage that could possibly be dispensed with was ordered to the rear. Even the Company desks, which had always hitherto been kept within reach so that whenever a camp was made they could be brought up. were ordered stored, the officers being directed to carry blanks with them sufficient for all needs for some weeks to come. Four wagons were allowed to each Regi- ment for a time, but even these wagons were frequently unloaded. their contents being piled some where in the woods, and they sent to the rear for Quartermaster's stores for the supply of the army. On their return the teamsters would be wat to hunt up their original baggage. load it again and take it as near to the front as possible. The Soldiers knew that the enemy had an immense army in their front and were now certain that they were to be the attacking party, instead of being called upon to occupy the defensive, as had been
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thought would be the case a month before. Drilling was kept up daily and camp regulations were very strict during the stay at Blue Springs.
Sunday, May 1, the Brigade was called out and formed in a hollow square. In the center of the square was a little group of men, two of whom were evidently prisoners. They were not Confederate prisoners, however, but men who had deserted from the Union army. One of these men was mounted on a box in view of the entire Brigade, when a soldier, detailed for the purpose, stepped up to him and shaved his head. The sentence of the other deserter was read, after which they were both marched around the lines bare headed and with cards pinned on their backs marked "deserter, " the band accom- panying them and playing the " Rogue's March." There could have been little fear at that time of desertions from among the veterans of the army, for the men who had fought at Stone's River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge were not likely to desert at this time. But there were in many of the Federal Regiments a large number of newly enlisted men, of whom a small percentage had been influenced as much by the generous bounties, then offered for recruits. as by patriotie motives, and this episode was intended to serve as a warning for all who might want to leave the ranks and return home, to first obtain permission. One of the men who was obliged to submit to the indignity of being drummed around the lines was a member of the 40th Ohio. He fully redeemed himself in the estimation of his comrades by his bravery in subsequent battles, and lost his life at Kenesaw Mountain.
Up to this time there had been no organized detail of stretcher bearers, but before entering upon the campaign men were selected from each Regiment to act with what was known as the "Ambulance Corps," being provided with canvas stretchers, and instructed how to care for and remove wounded men from the battlefield.
Michael Meres, of Company I. died at Bridgeport. Ala .. Feb. 15, and Louis C. G. Goatiea, of Company A, died at Cleveland, April 12. Jolm Baker, a recruit who had enlisted February 24. died at Camp Butler, Chicago, Il., March 20.
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1564 ; and Wesley D. Manlon, also a recruit, who enlisted about the same time, died at Camp Yates. Springfield, III .. March 2.
The Armies of the Union, East and West, were now mar- shaling for a grand advance. Gen. Grant had taken personal command of the troops in Virginia, and had assigned Gen. W. T. Sherman to the command of the Military Division of the Mississippi. The latter had, near the northern line of Georgia, the Army of the Cumberland, comprising the Fourth. Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps, under the immediate com- mand of Gen. George H. Thomas, and numbering about 60,000 men. The Army of the Tennessee, comprising portions of the Fifteenth. Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps, under Gen. J. B. McPherson, and numbering 24,000, was approach- ing from the West ; and the Army of the Ohio. comprising the Twenty-third Corps. under Gen. John M. Schofield, and numbering about 13,500 men, was marching from the vicinity of Knoxville. Guards were disposed to protect the long lines of communication in the rear against the depredations of local guerillas and bushwhackers or the raids of the enemy's cavalry. Gen. Sherman had been so fortunate as to obtain the plans url specifications of the railroad bridges between Chattanooga and Atlanta, and pioneers and engineers had about completed duplicates of every piece of timber in every structure. These were piled beside the track, ready to be loaded upon the trains and run to any point as soon as an advance was made and a bridge found to be destroyed. Immense supplies of food and ammunition were being piled up in the rudely constructed constructed warehouses at Chattanooga. The preparations were stupendous. The vast army was possessed of a quiet confidence in the leaders whose master minds had planned the preliminaries so wisely and on so grand a scale, and calmly waited the order to advance.
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CHAPTER XV.
The Army Concentrating-The Atlanta Campaign Inaugurated-From Blue Springs to Catoosa Springs-Obstructions in the Highway -- Two Partial Sunstrokes -Advauce on Tunnel Hill -The Strong Fortifications Found Empty -Looking Across the Valley - Early Réveille-Brass Guns rx. Brass Bands-The Demonstration Againis. Rocky Face Ridge-The NINETY-SIXTH Unslings Knapsacks and Takes the Skirmish Line-Moving Against the Palisades-To the Right and into Buzzard Roost Gap-A Gallant Advance -- The Enemy Mistakes the Regiment for an Army -- Almost out of Ammunition --- A Bloody Sunset-Night Permits Retreat and Rest-Nearly a Half Hundred Casualties-Deserved Compliments-Shelled out of Camp- The Rebels Evacuate the Dalton Line.
MAY 5 had been fixed upon as the day for the inaugura- tion of the active summer campaign of 1864, for the armies. both East and West. Gen. Grant had assumed command of all the military forces of the United States, but chose to per- sonally operate with the larger army, then between Washing- . ton and Richmond. Gen. W. T. Sherman, by personal con- sultation and through correspondence with his chief, had discussed and formulated plans for the forward movement from Chattanooga, agreeing to keep the enemy in his imint .- diate front so occupied as to prevent the sending of Rebel reinforcements from Georgia to Virginia. On the other hand. Gen. Grant had given assurance that the army under Gen. Lee should be given ample occupation in Virginia, so that they should have no troops to spare for the use of Gell. Johnston.
As the plans neared completion for what has gone into history as the Atlanta Campaign, and the day approached for its inception, all was activity along the line of the Tennessee River. That portion of the Army of the Tennessee which had been in -the vicinity of Huntsville, Ala., moved, partiy by rail and partly by marching, to Chattanooga, and thence. via Rossville, to Lee & Gordon's Mills, or a little farther south.
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ARRIVAL AT CATOOSA SPRINGS. 303
arriving in position as the right wing of Gen. Sherman's command during the early days of the month. The Army of the Ohio marched from the neighborhood of Knoxville, by way of Cleveland. to Red Clay, and became the left wing of the vast army simultaneously with the movement of Gen. McPherson's forces. At the same time the three large Corps comprising the Army of the Cumberland moved out to their assigned position as the centre of the mighty force.
On the part of the Nisgry-SixTh the movement began at noon of Tuesday, May 3, when, with other troops, it left its camp at Blue Springs and marched over the ground made so familiar by the numerous scouting expeditions of the pre- vious February, halting for the night a mile south of Red Clay, on the Georgia line. The Regiment numbered a little more than four hundred men as it set out upon this memora- ble campaign. The route taken was the one known to the command as the "long" road, and the distance marched during the afternoon was twelve miles.
Wednesday May 4, the march was resumed shortly after sunrise. but the command being in the rear of an immense wagon train and the road obstructed by timber that had been felled by the Rebels, progress was slow, only ten miles being traveled. although nearly the entire day was consumed. The weather was excessively warm, and two of the soldiers- George A. Bangs, of Company B, and William S. Nash, of Company F-were partially sunstruck, but fortunately neither of them were so prostrated as to be disabled for more than a week or two. Throughout the day skirmishers or flankers were kept out, but there was no fighting, although Rebels were seen in the distance. That night the Regiment took its place in the long line-of-battle, its position being near Catoosa Springs. The next day there was no movement of the centre save a -light shifting of position along the general line occupied on Wednesday evening. Rebels were seen hovering at the front. atal a Tew harmless shots were exchanged by the pickets. Toward night the enemy made a vigorous demonstration, forving back the advanced line on the left. A barricade of rail, was constructed, behind which the troops lay in line.
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Each Company was required to have a roll call every hour or so. but despite this fact many of the curiously inclined ven- tured to make brief visits to the hotels and other buildings of the famous watering place a half mile distant from the posi- tion of the Regiment.
Friday, May 6. the NINETY-SIXTH was detailed as a picket reserve. The day passed without especial incident of note. although the enemy were several times in plain view. By night all of the forces were in line, and the grand army of Gen. Sherman ready to move toward Dalton and Gen. Jolli- ston's veteran army. All knew that an advance meant a bat- tle. True. the Union army largely outnumbered the Rebel forces, but the position at Dalton was an exceedingly strong one for defense ; and, in a country where almost every citizen was an active seout or spy, and with the enemy's shorter lines of communication, the advantage of preponderating numbers was not so great as it would have been in a more level and less hostile country.
Saturday, May 7, the army moved forward in force. Réveille sounded at half past three o'clock, and before sun- rise the troops were on the march. Very soon skirmishing began, the first gun being fired just as the sun was climbing over the eastern hills. The Rebels fell back and their fire- were still burning as the Union forces passed their camps of the night before. Innumerable trees had been felled across the road, but men with axes and levers and teams cleared the way with a rapidity that was surprising. Company A was on the skirmish line, and expended considerable ammunition in forcing the Rebel rear guard back. At a little past nine o'clock line of-battle was formed, the troops moving in this order to the top of a ridge, where a brief halt was made. The NINETY-SIXTH, which had been in the second line, now took the front line on the right of the Brigade, and again advanced. The formidable works of the enemy were soon in view, and the stubbornness of their skirmishers a little before created the impression that a stand would be made. It was therefore with some trepidation that the command left the timber and marched across the open field toward a line of heavy ritle pit-
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THE TAKING OF TUNNEL HILL.
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that all knew might be full of armed men merely awaiting the signal to pour a destructive volley, at short range, from behind their heavy intrenchments. But the suspense was not long, for as the skirmishers neared the works it became apparent that the enemy had fallen back toward Dalton. General and Staff Officers rode to the front, the line-of-battle following and occupying the abandoned works at eleven o'clock, the NINETY- SIXTH being the first to cross the parapet. A line of breast- works facing southward was at once begun, the men work- ing industriously notwithstanding that the weather was exces- sively warm 'eavy timber was cut and the works became very pordable as the day wore away. The line was occu- pied throughout the afternoon and the succeeding night. Skirmishers covered the front, but were not seriously engaged, although musketry and artillery firing could be heard in the distance. The flags of the Signal Corps of either army were fluttering from the hill tops, and to right and left extended the long lines of blue, in plain view until nightfall, and easily traced by the gleaming camp fires as darkness closed in.
Sunday, May 8, had not dawned until the army was awake and standing to arms, for at three o'clock the réveille sounded. At eight o'clock the troops were marching toward the valley that lay between Tunnel Hill and Rocky Face Ridge, the latter being a long range of hills or mountains, whose name indicates the character of the side which faced toward the veteran Army of the Cumberland. Near the railroad the line halted, the Division to which the Regiment belonged remaining idle most of the day. Looking along the stony ridge, and to the right, a gorge could be discerned, through which the railroad wound its way and back of which was Dalton, where were Gen. Johnston's headquarters. The ridge itself was fortified, and along its crest and through the gorge lay the Rebel line-of-battle. The skirmishers of the enemy and several batteries of artillery were thrown out in advance of this narrow pass, -known as Buzzard Roost Gap, -and a lively skirmish fire, with frequent salutes from the Rebel artillery, gave evidence that it would be no easy task to drive the occupants of this strong line from their position by direct
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I. .
assault. There was some maneuvering but no general for- ward movement on that part of the line until the afternoon was well advanced. At four o'clock Gen. Howard. com- manding the Fourth Corps. rode along to view the position of his forces, and shortly afterward ordered a band to come out from the timber in the rear and play a few selections. The opening of this musical programme was "The Bonnie Blue Flag." which was followed by "Dixie, "-selections claimed at the time as the exclusive property of the alleged Confeder- acy, but rendered national when, with numerous other trophies. they fell into Union hands at Appomattox a year later. The men in gray, as if to manifest their appreciation of the open- ing numbers, swarmed from the groves that dotted the valley and from the heavy timber along the base of the ridge, and gave a vigorous vocal response. Then followed "Hail Column- bia " and "Yankee Doodle," to which the lines of blue made answer with a cheer that ran for miles to left and right. The latter tune was repeated in double time, which proved to be Gen. Howard's signal for a vigorous shelling from the bat- teries, continued for some moments. Then the infantry advanced down the valley, in magnificent order, the long lines sweeping forward toward the enemy. The occasional shots of the skirmishers grew into an almost constant clangor. and the Rebels were pressed back along the entire front for a mile or more. The artillery firing was by no means all upon one side, for shot and shell came plunging through the groves and along the fields with fearful sounds, but fortunately with little damage to the men toward whom they were hurled. For a time the band seemed to be the target, but the concert ended very abruptly when "the diapason of the cannonade" was so forcibly interjected, and the musicians betook them- selves to the timber before the range had been secured by the artillerists from Dixie. But the forward movement was intended merely as a reconnoisance and not as an attack, and as the position of the troops was most uncomfortable, owing to the continuous and close firing of the Rebel artillery, a halt was soon ordered, and at dusk the main line drew back nearly to the works left in the morning. Throughout the night an
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incessant skirmish fire was kept up, and there was little sleep- ing at the reserve posts.
Monday, May 9, was a most trying one to the NINETY- SIXTH. At three o'clock the men were again in line. Shortly after daylight the Division moved into the valley, sweeping forward to the position reached the night before. There was some moving to right and left, but at about eight o'clock the Regiment was taken from the line and ordered to pile its knap- sacks. Companies A and B were deployed as skirmishers, and the others moved near them as a skirmish reserve. Soon Companies G and K were deployed, and moved to their assist- ance. From their elevated position the Rebels could plainly see every movement and they resolutely resisted this advance. But there was no wavering, the skirmishers going at a run to the timber at the foot of the ridge. A rail fence was encount- ered, the reserves throwing it to the ground ; this passed, the timber offered some protection. Up the steep slope, running from tree to tree. halting a moment behind rocks and then pressing on, the skirmish line made its way until quite near the rocky palisades, which were readily seen to be wholly inaccessible. The main line kept near them, advancing as ordered, sometimes boldly and in line, and again crawling up the steep incline or moving to right or left a few rods to avoid the more exposed positions. From their sheltered position the Rebels could take deliberate aim at the men in blue below them, and the exposure of a head or foot from behind a tree or rock was the signal for a volley. But resolutely the line held its exposed place, giving shot for shot. Fred Brainerd, of Company B, and James Vaughn, of Company K. were killed in their places. Beri Serviss, of Company K, had a limb shattered, necessitating amputation. Every few moments some one was hit, but there was no faltering. and the Regi- ment did all and more than it had been ordered to do. Be- tween four and five o'clock in the afternoon orders came to move by the right flank. The march was promptly begun, the right bearing down the hill. as Buzzard Roost Gap was neared. When they had advanced so far that the left was fairly past the southern end of the northern ridge the line
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
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