USA > Illinois > History of the Ninety-sixth Regiment, Illinois volunteer Infantry, Vol. I > Part 33
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Tuesday, June 21, brought little respite. Daylight re- vealed the fact that the Rebel main line was frightfully near. The Regiment was upon a hillside sloping toward the enemy, and almost at the verge of the timber. In its front was a straggling cornfield, dotted with girdled trees. Its works were partially entiladed from Bald Hill. So close was the enemy that a hat or a hand raised above the head logs was sure to bring a volley of musket balls. Skirmishers were posted in hastily constructed rifle pits, or behind trees, but
" The Historian of the 40th Obio declares the night fight of June 20, at Kenesaw, the "everest, next to Chickamauga, in the experience of that Regiment. With the NIKETY- SIXTH there were fewer slight wounds than in several other engagements, but more fatalities than in any other one day's experience, except at Chickamauga, and, consid- ering the smallnees of the Regiment, the number of casualtles was very large. Eight were killed or mortally wounded. A singular fact is that all of these were from the Lake County Companies. A number of those wounded were permanently disabled.
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
thirty or forty yards in advance. To add to the discomfort. the day was rainy, and as the men were obliged to lay in the muddy trenches their situation was most disagreeable.# Coffee could not be made on the line, nor brought from the rear, except at night. Hard tack and raw salt meat was the only diet. Major Hicks, who had been worn out in the campaign. and sent to the field hospital to recuperate a day or two before, came up early in the day, and took command of the Regiment. The musketry was spirited all day, and casualties numerous on either side. About ten o'clock two batteries opened upon the Regiment with fearful energy, and for an hour it seemed as if the position must be vacated. The dis- tance was so short, and the range so close, that destruction to the entire command seemed inevitable. Shells screeched and screamed and exploded in the treetops, and upon the ground. Girdled trees were struck, and their dried branches broken off' by the shock and hurled backward toward the line. At times it seemed as if retreat must inevitably result. After a time the men concluded to change their tactics, and opened fire upon the batteries with musketry from the main line. The effect was soon manifest, for one after another the cannon ceased firing. the showers of Minie balls driving the artillerists from their positions. Toward noon the First Brigade charged the hill at the right of the NINETY-SIXTH, which they had taken and lost the night before. The Union batteries played upon this hill for a half hour before the advance. The Rebels had a line of works, but so gallant was the assault that it proved irresistible. The charge was in plain view, and so near at hand that the members of the Regiment were able to give material assistance by firing obliquely toward the Rebels. both before they left their works and after they began their retreat. This movement partially stopped the enfilading fire. which had been so severe, especially upon the skirmishers of the NINETY-SIXTH, during the early part of the day. The casualties, which were mainly sustained by the skirmishers.
* Gen. Sherman telegraphed Washington on the 21st : "This is the nineteenth dsy of rain, and the prospect of clear weather is as far off as ever. The roads are impas- sable, and fields and woods become quagmires after a few wagons have crossed, yet we are at work all of the time."
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were as follows : First Sergeant F. A. Weir, face ; Sergeant C. Il. Berg, right arm ; F. J. Robinson, left leg, by three ballets ; Theodore Hopp, left hand, -all of the foregoing in Company A,-Sergeant Samuel B. Payne, Company C, shot through, and died a month later ; Henry Sneesby, Company C, face ; Charles Spaulding, Company D, thigh ; Dominick Burke, Company D, face ; Wm. R. Buchanan, Company F. mortally ; Sergeant George Dawson, Company I. head ; Peter Damphouse, Company 1, arm ; Wm. W. Hughes, Com- pany K. hip.
Wednesday, June 22, the positions were unchanged. The Rebels again gave the Regiment a terrific shelling, but could not drive it out. The main works and the skirmish line had hoth been strengthened, and as the men kept out of sight, firing under their head logs, and exposing themselves but little, the casualties were less numerous. Orlando Phippin, of Company E, was wounded in the head; Corporal James Junken, of Company E, was wounded in the neck, and died next day ; William Joyce, of Company G, was wounded in the head. After dark the Regiment, with the rest of the Brigade, was relieved and moved to the rear and right, march- ing nearly the entire night, and relieving portions of the Twentieth Corps, on Culp's Farm, early on the morning of Thursday, June 23. A heavy engagement had taken place on this ground the previous day. The enemy's fire was sovere throughout the day, but at longer range than that to which the Regiment had been so recently exposed. Toward night, after a terrific artillery fire of an hour's duration, a charge was made by the Brigade, and the Rebel skirmishers were driven in, about one hundred of them being captured, many of them by the NINETY-Sixrn. The 84th Indiana captured an eminence somewhat in advance of the rest of the Brigade, but soon exhausted its ammunition. and was withdrawn. The advance on the part of the NINETY-SIXTH was most gallantly made. Frank Redford, of Company E; Robert Burbridge. of Company HI; and Ross P. Rayne, of Company K, were mortally wounded, all dying within a few hours. James Donehue, of Company G, on duty at Brigade Headquarters.
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
as an Orderly, was wounded in the leg. The main lines were now about one-third of a mile apart.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday the Regiment did not move. Heavy firing occurred at intervals, but only the skirmishers were engaged upon that part of the line. The men shielded themselves as best they could, and, as the weather had im- proved, and the ground become partially dry, they were far more comfortable than on the line occupied earlier in the week. Occasionally during the early part of the night the skirmishers of the two armies talked back and forth across the brief space separating them. or met midway between the lines. One evening, after the Rebels had assaulted at a point where some Union regiments which they supposed were made up largely of recruits, were located, and had been driven back with severe loss, a big Confederate called out : "Oh, Yank! what troops were those that repulsed us ?" " Do you really want to know ?" was answered back. "Yes, of course." came in reply. "Well, it was a brigade of niggers," called out the Yankee. The Rebels were angry, and fired a volles to show their indignation, following the volley with a torrent of oaths. Quiet was soon restored, when a Yankee called out : "Oh, Johnny! I forgot to say that the niggers were supported by hundred-day men." In came more bullets and profanity, and then another period of quiet, which was broken by another call from the Yankee: "Honest, boys. it was the Invalid Corps that you charged." There was no more talking that night, but lots of ammunition was wasted. In these occasional conversations a favorite question was to ask the Rebels how far it was to Atlanta, and the replies were as varied as can well be imagined. The General Officers in either army frowned upon these interviews, but could not wholly prevent them, as the soldiers in the ranks felt that it was their war rather than a contest between high officials. The fatigue of laying in the skirmish pits for twelve or twenty- four hours was terrible, and either side was usually willing to declare a truce for a few hours during the night, especially if the lines had been confronting each other for a succession vi days, with no prospect of an immediate movement. Usually
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one side or the other would call out: "Oh, say ! Stop tiring a little while !" If the proposition was favorably received the musketry would soon cease for quite a distance along the line, and the men would crawl out from their pits and sit upon the grass or ou the head logs of their little forti- fications. At times there would be little or no talking. When the officer or non-commissioned officer in charge thought the truce had lasted a sufficient time he would so indicate to his men, and some one would call out: "Oh, Johnny ! hunt your holes, now ; we're going to shoot !" and in two minutes the desultory firing would be renewed. These affairs were honorably conducted. and seldom was a shot fired until warn- ing had been given. In trading between the lines the men went unarmed. The Rebels were always anxious to get coffee, but it is to be feared that they sometimes found the quality poor, as the Yankees not unfrequently boiled their coffee whole. extracting what strength they could without grinding, and then drying it for trading purposes. Tobacco was much sought after by the Yankees. In exchanging newspapers it was the custom to part with those of the most remote date possible.
The men almost insisted that these amnesties were a neces- sity, so severe had become the physical strain, and as the officers of lower rank were as much in need of the respite as were their men these truces were repeated nightly until the twenty-seventh.
Gen. Sherman at last tired of his tactics, and resolved to make a change of plans. Keeping up a show of moving to the right, he concentrated a portion of the army near the centre, and prepared , to assault the enemy's fortifications. Preliminary to the charge, on the morning of Monday, June 27. the NINETY-SIXTH, with the other troops of the Brigade, moved three-quarters of a mile to the left and formed in column just in rear of the Union works, with orders to support the Second Division. The experience was a trying one. Almost before the reserves were in position, the bugle sounded for the charging columns to advance. The response was prompt and gallant, two Brigades of Gen. Newton's Division rushing forward from the immediate front of the NINETY-
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
SixTH, and attempting to push through the tangled abati- which covered the Rebel front; but in vain, for the barriers were so formidable that they could not be passed. The Rebels. standing behind their strong earth-works, and peering under- neath their head logs, gloated over their victims, mowing them down by hundreds as they came up to the line where the tangled bushes were so interwoven as to absolutely fence out the storming party. Again and again the veteran troops attempted to go forward, and for nearly two hours the musketry and artillery gave forth a continuous roar. Farther 'o the right Gen. Davis' Division made a similar attempt. starting from the works where the NINETY-SIXTH had lain for three days, but they, too, were driven back. At length Gen. Sherman became satisfied that success could not result, and ordered the troops to return. Many could not leave their advanced position, but lay there until nightfall, while some who attempted to run back were shot before reaching the works. The losses were frightful, and the gains of little moment. It was calculated that fully 2,500 were killed and wounded, among the former being Gen. Charles Harker and Col. Daniel McCook, the officers in command of the Brigades which led one of the assaults.
The part taken by the Regiment in the day's fight was not conspicuons. It lay in reserve all through the charge. mov- ing to front or rear, or to right or left, under a pitiless fire, as ordered, prepared to rush forward at the signal to be given when the advance had broken the Rebel lines-a signal that was not to be made. Men fell all about ; artillery horses. standing near at hand, were wounded, and, mad with pain. dashed toward the lines; but strangely enough not a man of the Regiment was disabled. During the afternoon the Regi- ment was moved a short distance to the rear, and allowed to rest where there was but little danger, an experience so rare at that time as to be most welcome.
Tuesday, June 26, the Regiment remained in the wood- until dusk, when it moved to the scene of the terrible fighting of the day before. For some reason difficult of comprehen- sion, the troops were ordered to retain a position across the
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depression between the two lines of works, so close to the enemy as to be exceedingly dangerous. To this exposed line the Regiment marched, under cover of the darkness. The orders were given in a whisper, and every man was charged to maintain silence. The night was comparatively quiet, but there was no talking or trafficking between the lines. Many of the dead still lay along the hillside, but the wounded had been gathered in by daring men during the previous night. Skir- mish pits were constructed, a greater part of the Regiment working all night.
Wednesday, June 29, the early hours were full of the noise of musketry, but ere long there came a hush, for near at hand a white flag fluttered in the breeze. It soon became known that Gen. Sherman had asked a truce, and that permission be granted him to bear off and bury the dead from Monday's fight. The flag was received, and four hours' time granted for this humane work. It becoming apparent that the task could not be completed within the period named. an exten- sion was granted and the truce continued until five o'clock. During this time the men of either army flocked between the lines by hundreds, but neither side ventured, or was allowed, to pass a designated point. The enlisted men talked freely with each other, exchanged newspapers and other commodities, and at parting shook hands, wishing personal good luck, but pronouncing anathemas against the canse to which they were respectively opposed. Many distinguished officers from either side met on the neutral ground, several of them renewing acquaintances formed at West Point.
At five o'clock the details whose duty it had been to gather and bear away the bodies of those who fell in the disastrous charge announced that their task was completed. the men in grey retired beyond their heavy fortifications, the men in blue withdrew to their works, each side called to the other the ominous words, "Are you ready ?" and the duel of the morn- ing was resumed. At dark the NINETY-SIXTH was relieved, and marched back to the timber in rear of the main line, and bivouacked. During the night a terrific musketry broke out almost immediately in front, and bullets flew around the camp,
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, IL.L. V. I.
but without injury to any one in the command. All sprang to arms. but in a few moments the firing lessened and all was usually quiet.
Thursday and Friday passed without any especial event on that part of the line. Gen. Sherman continued to shift his forees from left to right, and was preparing to cut loose from the railroad and swing to the rear of the Rebels, closing down to the Chattahoochie, and striking them on the move if pos- sible. But his movements were divined by the wary Johnston. and the expected opportunity for an open field fight was never given.
During the evening of Friday, July 1, the NINETY-SIXTH again took the extreme front line, relieving the 45th Ohio. and occupying the position held during the previous Wednesday. The night was uneventful, but next day, to cover his move- ment to the right, Gen. Sherman directed that an incessant skirmish fire be kept up, and all through the hours the roar of musketry resounded in front and to right and left of the position. The enemy was compelled to keep out of sight. and but few shots were returned. At dark the Regiment wa .- marched to the left, relieving other troops in their trenches. Many had lame arms and shoulders from firing their muskets so constantly, and all felt that important events were at hand. Gen. Whittaker, who had been relieved from the command of the Brigade, was succeeded by Col. Taylor, of the 40th Ohio. The two men were strikingly different in their characteristics. The General was fiery, impulsive. passionate, fond of display, scrupulously neat in his attire, and accustomed to maintain a headquarters superior in its furnish- ings to most of the Division and Corps commanders. Col. Taylor was quiet in language and demeanor, simple in his habits, familiar with his men. careless of dress and satisfied with a shelter tent if no better could be conveniently provided. He was not disposed to trust the details of his camp or picket lines to subordinates, but attended to everything possible in person. Often he would walk along the lines, dressed in a soldier's uniform and leading his old gray mare, while his staff officers and orderlies, mounted in superb style, would
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follow behind, their faces betraying their feelings, which were clearly that they were a useless appendage. But the Colonel's bravery and coolness were well known, and the men had entire confidence in his judgment. He issued few orders, and usually saw, in person, that they were obeyed. The Brigade was well handled by him, but it is understood that he never enjoyed his promotion or learned how to make his staff officers as nseful as the average brigade commander. Certain it is that he has never ceased to have the best wishes of the men of the old .. Iron Brigade."
Sunday, July 3, found Kenesaw Mountain and the long line of Rebel entrenchments abandoned. There was great rejoicing, for the three weeks, from Ackworth to this point, had been full of hard and dangerous work. The Regiment numbered less than two hundred effective men, although a few others were present as pioneers, musicians, etc. But little clothing had been issued. and nearly all were ragged. The men had grown thin and haggard, and very many then on duty were in reality fit subjects for the hospital. But it was necessary that all who could should keep in place, for the casualties in Gen. Sherman's command during the two months preceding had aggregated. by the conservative figures of army reports. 7,530, while at least an equal number had been sent to hospitals because of sickness. The NINETY-SIXTH had shrunk almost one-half. indicating that its casualties exceeded that of the average regiment, and confirming the belief that the figures given for the army were entirely too low.
Pursuit of the Rebel army began at once, even though the day was the Sabbath. the heat excessive. and the army in great need of rest. The Regiment, with other troops, pushed out across the heavy breastworks, marching through the outskirts of the pretty village of Marietta, and following the railroad. The day's march was about six miles, and the camp for the night in a corn field.
Monday, July 4, the pursuit continued, the army hammer- ing away at the heels of the retreating foe, and pressing them to a line of works at Smyrna Camp Ground. The Brigade to which the NINETY-SixTu was attached led in a charge upon
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
these works, and drove the enemy in considerable confusion. capturing a few prisoners. The losses in the Division aggre- gated fully one hundred. The day had been a genuine Fourth of July in its noise, but the firing was of shotted cannon, and in place of the harmless cracker, had been the hurtling Minie ball. At night the Regiment took a front line. under fire. the men working like beavers until morning, in constructing fortifications, only to find that the enemy had again retreated to another line of works. Gen. Sherman, in his Memoirs, confesses that he was greatly surprised to find the Rebels again entrenched north of the Chattahoochie, and says of their line, it " proved to be one of the strongest pieces of field fortification I ever saw." A thousand slaves had been at work a month or more on these lines. the inner one of which was about five or six miles in length.
Tuesday, July 5, the Regiment again pushed forward, reaching the Chattahoochie river, where a pontoon bridge, some wagons and a few prisoners were captured. The posi- tion occupied was out of the reach of musketry, and the men enjoyed the opportunity of washing their clothing and putting up tents, which was possible on Wednesday.
The remainder of the week was spent in camp. At inter- vals the batteries played upon the Rebel lines, with great vigor, their fire being responded to with corresponding earnest- ness. Friday evening a terrific artillery duel was indulged in. During Saturday night the last of the enemy crossed to the south side of the river. Many of the men visited the signal hill at Vining's Station, and took their first look at Atlanta, nine miles distant. It seemed quite near, but two long months were to elapse before the Union Flag should float from its spires.
The operations about Kenesaw Mountain had been at- tended by the following
CASUALTIES.
Field and Staff.
WOUNDED .-- Colonel Thos. E. Champion. face ; Lieutenant Colonel John C. Smith, shoulder ; both being practically disabled for further field service.
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Company A.
WOUNDED .-- First Sergeant F. A. Weir, face ; Sergeant C. H. Berg, right arm ; Francis J. Robinson, left leg ; Theodore Hopp, left hand.
Company B.
KILLED OR MORTALLY WOUNDED .- Captain E. J. Gillmore ; Sergeant William D. Whitmore.
WOUNDED .- Erastus T. Cleveland, left hand ; Orskine L. Ferrand, left hand ; David Wells, left hand.
Company C.
MORTALLY WOUNDED. - Sergeant Samuel B. Payne.
WOUNDED .- Corporal Henry P. Barnum, face, disabled for further service ; Henry Sneesby, face.
CAPTURED .- William H. Ehlers.
Company D.
KILLED .- Louis Brochon, Philip R. Clawson.
WOUNDED .- Corporal Alex. R. Thain, leg ; Abner I. Chandler, abdo- men ; P. P. Melindy, leg ; James McCann, leg ; Dominick Burke, face ; Charles Spaulding, right thigh.
CAPTURED .-- Sergeant Michael Devlin, Albert Barney.
Company E.
MORTALLY WOUNDED .- Corporal James Junken, Frank Redford.
WOUNDED .- Corporal John II. Pooley, left leg ; Orlando Phippin, head ; Wm. G. Oberlin, face and eye.
Company F.
MORTALLY WOUNDED .- WII. R. Buchanan.
WOUNDED .- Edward Hancock, ankle.
Company G.
KILLED on MORTALLY WOUNDED .-- Captain David L. James, Chris- topher Booetcher, James L. Knox, Dennis Shupe. Reuben Smith.
WOUNDED .-- Corporal Walter Drew, left arm, amputated ; Christian Knopf, right foot, disabled for further service : William Joyce, head ; James Donohue, leg.
Company H.
KILLED. - Robert Burbridge.
WOUNDED .-- Corporal M. J. Penwell, left hand.
Company I.
WOUNDED .- Sergeant John B. Reynolds, neck; Sergeant George Dawson, head ; Corporal Harrison Gage, back ; William Bell, left hand ; Peter Damphouse, right arm.
Company K,
MORTALLY WOUNDED .- Ross P. Rayne.
WOUNDED .- Corporal W. W. Hoover, left shoulder ; James Hicks, right hand ; W. W. Hughes, right hip ; Win. J. Edwards, left leg; Har- mon Dean, head ; George C. Morse. head.
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HISTORY OF THE 96TH REGIMENT, ILL. V. I.
INCIDENTS ABOUT KENESAW MOUNTAIN.
The casualties in the 46th Georgia, one of the regiment- that charged the position held by the NINETY-SixTH and other troops in Whittaker's Brigade during the fight of June 20, must have been very numerons, as many bodies were left between the lines. Indeed, nearly a month afterward, Cor- poral Henry Gage, of Company G, visited that region to call upon friends in the 15th and 45th Illinois, and wrote home that from thirty to fifty bodies were still unburied. The stench from that part of the battle field was terrible during the two weeks in which the armies confronted each other, but the lines were too close to permit of any work being done by burial parties except under a flag of truce, which was never sent out at that point.
Several men used the bayonet during the night fight of June 20, -- more, probably, than at any other engagement in which the Regiment participated.
Old letters report but nine or ten men able to carry mus- kets in some of the Companies of the NINETY-SixTH, about the time the line was abandoned by the enemy. Indeed, the entire Regiment, counting only effective men, was then but little larger than a full Company at muster-in. Every man was a soldier, however, and the command was equal to any emergency likely to arise.
Dighton Granger, of Company B, who had recently been detailed as teamster, drove a wagon load of artillery ammu- nition up to a battery on the front line during an artillery duel and held his team in place for some time when the officers considered it too dangerous to permit their men to unload the wagon, but fortunately the outfit escaped damage.
George Barth had a bullet through his coat, Fred Worth one through his blanket, Joseph Roth one through his pants and poncho, Edward Rix had his clothing cut, Frank Rahling had his hat shot through, Corporal W. H. Richards had one bullet strike his knapsack and another spoil the lock of his gun. George Bowman had a ball through his cartridge box and
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