USA > Illinois > History of the Ninth Regiment Illinois Cavalry Volunteers. Pub. under the auspices of the Historical Committee of the Regiment > Part 37
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About the 1st of September, 1864, they commenced moving the prisoners from Andersonville to Charleston, S. C. I went about the 10th of the month. My partner, Ferdinand Miller, was too sick to go. Poor fellow, he died about a week after I left him.
At Charleston we were placed around the court house, the rebels thereby, hoping to prevent the Union forces from shelling the city; failing in this they moved us to the fair grounds.
We were kept here about a month or six weeks, and then taken to Florence. This prison was like Andersonville, and the fare and treatment was worse than any I saw anywhere else.
Thus far my health had been good, and I had stood the rough fare of the prisons without any signs of weakening, but while going from Andersonville to
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Cantleston eighty of us were put in a tight box car, and the doors closed. We almost smothered, as the night was sultry. I was overcome with the beat, and did not feel well after this. When we reached Florence the weather was grow- ing cold, and the frosts were very heavy every morning. My shoes were gone, shirt gone, breeches were worn off to the knees. In this plight we were compelled to stand in the frost for half an hour every morning for roll call. The veins of my legs had turned black, and my teeth were loose from scurvy, and I was going down rapidly, when there was a special exchange made of the sick and wounded, and I was sent to Charleston; thence to Annapolis; about the middle of December, 1864, was furlouged home for thirty days, then reported to Annapolis, and was sent to Chicago, and mustered out May 15, 1865.
ANDERSONVILLE PRISON, GEORGIA. [By D. L. Talcott, of Company I.]
Andersonville prison was established during the winter of 1863-64, and the first installment of prisoners arrived the latter part of February, 1864. It is some sixty miles south of Macon, Ga. It was formed by hewn pine logs, twenty- five feet long, five feet of which were planted in the ground, standing side by side, forming a wall twenty feet high and extending the entire circuit of the prison, sentry boxes were placed at intervals along the top. It proved an im- passable barrier between the prisoners and liberty. The space enclosed was about twenty-seven acres. The stockade was the longest from east to west and the ground sloped from each end toward the center which was a quagmire and over which flowed a small filthy stream of water, the said stream having first washed through the rebel camps, consequently it was unfit for bathing even, but it was the only water supplied for drinking and all other purposes until during a rain storm in August, 1864, when a spring o clear, cold and sweetest of waters broke out on the north side between the quagmire and the summit of the bank and near the western line. The spring seemed a Providential dispensation and by many prisoners was ever after called Providential Spring. About a red from inside of the stockade was an established line three feet high, made of light strips of timber, called the dead-line, which to touch or pass was death at the hands of the sentinel above. No shelter was furnished and very few bad even a blanket to protect them from the weather. Clothing was never issued and the scenes of men in rags and filth beggars description. The food was unfit for human beings. It consisted principally of coarse corn meal, ground, cob and all, with an occa- sional scrap of meat and sometimes a few buggy cow peas. These meager and poor rations were issued irregularly and in such small quantities that it is a won- der that a man survived thirty days of such dietary. A pack of bloodhounds was kept to track and pursue escaped prisoners and very few succeeded in escaping. Outside of the prison stockade was another small stedhace called the lespital, but little better for the sick than was the prison. Most of the inmates of this " hospital" lay npon the ground without even straw for a bed and often without a blanket. Old worn-out flys and tents were provided for shelter. They were a better protection from the rays of the sun than from rains and chilling blasts.
The prevailing diseases were seurvy, diarrhea and gangrene. The medi- cal treatment was comparatively worthless, and did probably as much harm as
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good. Each medical officer seemed trying or pretending to do work which would require at least from twenty to twenty-five to do. Filth and vermin reigned supreme, the ground in many places appearing to be alive with maggots. The festive gray-back covered the earth and every thing above it. Flies swarmed over everything, depositing their eggs in the wounds of the living, and in the mouths of the dead. The death rate was terrible. Of forty-six thousand prison- ers who passed through the gates of Andersonville, during its existence of fourteen months, over thirteen thousand died, and are buried there. The average of deaths daily was thirty. This great mortality was not referable to climatic causes or to the nature of the soil and waters. It was a cold blooded premeditated plan to un- fit every Federal prisoner for bearing arms again. Every comrade should feel proud of the record of the Union prisoners. The Ninth furnished its share of the victims. We who went through the fiery furnace of Andersonville prison cannot command words to express the horrors, the torments, the sufferings which we endured. We were daily offered personal liberty, clothing and food, if we would only take the oath of allegience to their government, and enter its service either as soldiers or laborers. We scorned their offers, refused life itself, pre- ferring death to dishonor. Oh, it took grit to die by inches. It took nerve for one to suffer day after day with no star of hope to encourage.
There is no question but that Federal prisoners, by resisting these offers, took greater chances of death than those of our soldiers in the army. Proud are we of the fact, that despite the inhuman treatment and the daily invitations given them, but few deserted the old flag or proved disloyal to their country.
No tongue or pen can ever describe the awful sufferings inflicted upon the loyal and heroic men in those Southern hell-holes.
CHAPTER XXVI.
SKETCHES BY CAPTAIN H. M. BUEL, II. A. HAWKINS, W. H. HECKER, GEO. W. OLMSTED, T. M. EATON, E. P. OTT, P. B. BOWSER, S. D. CLEL- AND. G. M. KELLEY.
ITALIE following are extracts from letters received from Captain HI. M. Buel, Company G, and will be read with interest by his old comrades.
[By Captain Buel.]
The reason we were in an Illinois regiment instead of an Indiana one was owing to the following facts : I went to La Porte, Ind., with the Fourth Indiana Battery, intending to enlist with them if I could not find any cavalry, but meeting Lientenant Huntington, was informed that Colonel Brackeit was raising a cavalry regiment by authority of the President to be called "First Western Cavalry," and wanted me to go back to Valparaiso and help him raise a company.
Having had good success in recruiting I brought my men to Chicago; arriving there on the 14th of September, 1861, spent the night at the Briggs House, and the next day marched to Camp Douglas, and was assigned to some barracks just evacuated by an Illinois regiment.
We were the first company to arrive in Chicago, but Captain Burgh was first to go into camp with his company on the morning of the 15th, and his being the first company filled was given the letter A. Before the regiment was full enough to muster the President issued an order that all such troops should be mustered as State troops in the State where they rendezvoused. as complaint was made by the Governors of the several States that it was taking their men away, and the draft would come harder. You see the men who were home making money, and grumbling all the time about the war were afraid they would be drafted.
We were credited to the State of Indiana, and some of the boys made a big fuss on account of being obliged to muster into an Illinois regiment. A camp of instruction was formed, and we did duty in beating up for volunteers. February 17th we started for the front, arriving at St. Louis on the 19th; went into camp at Benton Barracks, and celebrated Washington's birthday by a street parade and listening to a speech of General Strong, a drizzling rain falling all day.
March 1st, left Benton Barracks for Pilot Knob, Mo., arriving there on the 2d, and on the 7th started for Greenville; camped the first night on Marble Creck. The 8th we reached Marshes' Mill and were soon on the road again, stopping at 11 r. M. at Bailey's, and remained there until the 11th on account of rain and high water, then resumed our march and camped in a pleasant little valley, where we procured hay and corn from a "Secesh." March 13th we arrived at Reeve's
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Ferry, Black River, swam our horses across, and the wagons were ferricd over. The regiment remained here until the Sth of April doing picket duty and forag- ing, A severe storm of wind and rain blew some trees down, killing one horse for Major Humphrey, and one from my own Company G.
April 8th, camped at Vandever's (a Union man) farm, and on the 9th at Pow- er's Mill on the Little Black River, remaining here and scouting around until the 21st, when we marched to Martins on Logan creek.
The next day arrived at Currant River, crossed this stream on the 24th, and on to Pocahontas on the 28th. May 1st, moved on to Davisonville on the Black River in Arkansas; May 2d, crossed the river, and camped at Clear Lake; the Brd at Lawrence, and the 4th we camped at Bird's Point. That night Captain Buel was ordered to take fifteen men and go back twelve miles to capture Cap- tain Childers and Dr. Worley, two noted rebels, but, however, we failed to find them. May 5th, the regiment marched to Jacksonport on the White River. May 5th, Companies G and M were sent back to Bird's Point under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Sickles to do guard duty, where we remained till the 16th, when these two companies wejoined the regiment at Jacksonport. May 28d we crossed the river and established "' Camp Tucker" on the 27th Colonel Sickles was ordered with a part of the regiment to Augusta, Company G was the last to cross the ferry, and by the time we were over the others were out of sight. The Colo- nel missed the road to Augusta and went to Cache Creek; Company G kept the right road and marched along that day. In the afternoon we met Lieutenant Shuttles- worth and his command drawn up in line across the road. We charged into the rebs and scattered them, and continued the chase four miles. That night we staid at Shuttlesworth's house, went on to Augusta and remained over night, fe- turning the next day again staid over night at Lieutenant Shuttlesworth's house returned to Camp Theker, May 30th, where we found the other part of the com- mand, they having had a severe fight at Cache River. June 2d we were obliged to leave Camp Tucker on account of the gunboat shelling us out, but the only damage they did was to scare one of our mule teams, which ran away, upset the wagon, and scattered things generally.
The regiment moved back from the river a few miles to Gallaway's, where we remained a short time, and then returned to Camp Tucker. June 26th we left with General Curtis' army for Clarendon; on the 27th left Jacksonport, and camped at night at Village Creek; July 1st, marched as far as Dr. Pickett's, here some one burned the Gin House, and General S. Steele ordered Colonel Brackett with his regiment to watch and guard the ashes as a punishment. After about half an hour we were relieved and went back to camp, General Steele hav- ing by this time found out that it was not any of our men who tired the " Gin." It was here that General Curtis first gave free papers to the darkies. July 3d, we marched to Augusta and celebrated the 4th in the general way. On the 9th we arrived at Clarendon, where we had been told we should incet transports and gun- boats with a plenty to cat and drink that was good, but we were disappointed for there was nothing of the kind there. On the 11th we broke camp for Hel- ena, arriving there July 14, 1862.
About the 17th of September a part of the regiment went down the river as far as Laconia, crossed through the cant brake to White River and back to Hel-
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ena, an eight day's trip. While going up the river Captain Buel's horse jumped overboard and swam up the left bank of the river, where the rebs were. We per- suaded the Captain of the boat to go over on that side. We put out a plank, and the horse seemed glad to be led aboard again:
Captain Buel was in command of a part of the Ninth on the 8th of March, with Major Walker, Fifth Kansas Cavalry, passing through La Grange and Mari- ana, Ark., to Big Creek, where he burned two houses, and had to build a bridge in order to cross the stream, and while doing so, a Vidette was killed. April ith, left on transports for Memphis, Tenn. ; marched to Germantown on the 13th; while here we received our first rifles. May 21st, had a skirmish with the rebs at Byhalia, and on the 23d, another fight at Senatobia; drove the rebs to the Tallahatchie.
June 7th the regiment marched to Potterville, and on the 8th to Byhalia and Mount Pleasant, and after an uneventful trip returned to Germantown on the 9th. On the 16th of June again moved out on a scout into Mississippi, skirmishing more or less, but nothing of special importance occurring, returned to camp June 23d. July 16th another scout, this time north across Wolf River, through Hickory Withe and across the Hatchie, returning by way of Fisherville, Simms and Collierville. August 13th the regiment moved out and reported to Colonel Wallace of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry at Collierville commanding the brigade. On the march to Grenada, built a bridge across a stream, passing through Coffee- ville and Water Valley on the 17th, arriving at Grenada a little before dark.
The rebels had burned the bridge, and our regiment being in advance forded the river below the old bridge. Here we destroyed a large amount of corn and. other property; back in camp the 22d.
October 4th we had a skirmish with the enemy at Lockhart's Mill, and on the 8th, at Salem, participated in the fight which lasted from 12 M. till dark. Company G with other companies of the Ninth were ordered to the front to support the bat- tery, and were under a heavy fire from the enemy's artillery and infantry. We were with Colonel Hatch in pursuit of the enemy under the rebel General Chalmers. and at Byhalia, Miss., and participated in the engagements for three successive days. At Wyatt we were the support of the Ninth Ilinois Infantry. The cugagement lasted until dark, when the regiment was ordered to advance and take possession of the houses in the town occupied by the enemy. We drove him across the river, they leaving all their dead on the field, and we also captured a number of prisoners, and also prevented them from destroying the pontoons; re- turned to camp October 16th, having marched over three hundred miles, and participated in five engagements.
January 17, 1864, Company G, under command of Captain II. M. Buel made a charge on a large rebel force at the Coldwater. Teun. The brigade at this time was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace, of the Fourth Ilinois Cavalry. We had one man wounded: Lieutenant S. O. Roberts lost his horse, shot while in pursuit of the enemy.
February 11th the regiment under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Burgh left White's Station. Captain Buel in command of the First Battalion made a charge into Aberdeen, remaining there all night and nearly all the next day; cap- tured a number of prisoners, and among them some Confederate officers and a 25
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good many stands of arms and horses and mules in large numbers, arriving at West Point ou the 20th, fighting on the way; remained there all night but did not unsaddle. On the morning of the 21st the fight began, which lasted for four days, front and rear, and after a hard march we reached camp at Germantown, February 25th.
[Contrilnited by S. D. Clekmd.]
November 27, 1862, Major Burgh with one battalion of the Ninth marched with Generals Washburn and Hovey into Missisippi on a scout, taking with them three days' cooked rations. The command embraced about fifteen hundred cav- alry and between three and four thousand infantry. General Washburn com- manded the cavalry, and General Hovey the infantry. The cavalry pushed on ahead, marching across the bottoms, reaching the mouth of the Coldwater on the evening of the 28th, having captured a number of prisoners during the march, he found a company of the enemy on the opposite shore, and guarding the ferry. They were all gathered around the camp fire, dancing and having a good time, when we sent a shell through their fire. They were completely surprised, and left on the inn at once, leaving about thirty stands of small arms, which we can. tured. The 20th was spent building a bridge, and the infantry having overtaken us, the prisoners, some fifteen or twenty, were turned over to them. The cavalry then started on a forced march for Grenada. Marching all night, passing through the little town of Charlestown, halting about twenty minutes to feed, then marched until noon of the 30th, then halted again, then forward reaching Hardy Station ou the Memphis & Grenada Railroad, stopping long enough to bura the railroad bridge and a train of cars; forward again to within one and a half miles of Grenada, where we burned out two culverts, and tore up the track of another road. While we were at work two trains of cars loaded with rebel troops came into Grenada, but we finished our work right under their noses, and then, as there was getting to be too many enemies, at 5 P. M. we countermarched on our track. About 8 P. M. it commenced raining, and kept it up till next day; again feeding our houses near Charlestown, where we halted some time for a rest, and all slept well right through the rain pouring down upon them, with 1.0 protection but a rubber blanket. We- had marched eighty-five miles without stopping, and had been hard at work destroying railroads, and had been forty- eight hours without sleep, thirty-six of which were in the saddle.
AttA. M., December 1st, we started and marched through Charlestown to a little stream called the Tacona, where we found three regiments of infantry en- camped, the rest having been left to guard the bridge over the Tallahatchic. When we arrived about sundown, jumped off our horses, made a little coffee, and had just dipped out a cupful, when word came that the pickets were sur- founded. The coffee had to be left. We charged down the hill to the river, but the enemy were on the other side. A few shells drove them off and they trou- bled us no more that night. We then made a twelve-mile dash to Panola, where a force of fifteen hundred Confederate troops had camped just before our arriv- al, but on account of the cannonading at the river the night before, they had left.
December 3d found us in the saddle in the road to Oakland, distant fifteen miles. No incident or opposition until within one mile of town, when we heard
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a single shot in front, and on a hill a little to our left. The first Indiana cavalry with their battery of four steel guns was in the advance, with the Ninth with their two howitzer's next. No attention seemed to be paid to the shot (evidently a signal) but the command moved on until near the edge of town. The enemy was secreted in a dense grove of young oaks that still held their leaves. There we were met by a shower of balls which rather demoralized the First Indiana, and being followed by a charge by the rebels that they were driven back before they had a chance to form, leaving two of their guns in the hands of the enemy.
The Ninth was ordered into line on the left of the road, and came into posi- tion in good style under Major Burgh, and opened on the enemy with their guns. The first fire brought down some of the horses on one of the captured guns, thus preventing its being carried off. We then gave them such a hot fire that they left the field. The rebels gave us one shot from the gun they had captured that struck the tree under which I was standing about ten feet above my head. Officers and men begged the privilege of charging the enemy to retake the other gun, but Gen- eral Washburn would not give the order, so they got off with it much to our dis- gust, The Indiana boy's had previous to this always called the Ninth, "Gunboat," in memory of our retreat at Jacksonport from the rebel gunboat, but this put an effectual stop to that, for when that name was raised we always asked them, "if they did not want us to go to Oakland and get that other gun," and it always acted as a stopper. The boys in charge of our guns deserve special mention as being very efficient, as cool and collected as if on drill. A number of the Indiana boys were wounded, but we came off free. We took as prisoners, one Colonel, one Chap- lain, one Major, two Lieutenants and a number of privates, two of the latter being mortally wounded. .
We felt our way slowly into town, which was made with considerable cir- cumspection on account of a masked battery of dummy guns, which we felt com- pelled to flank. Here we lay in line of battle all night, then marched back to the Mississippi River, December 6th, at night, and was obliged to camp in the mud, which was frozen bard ere morning, and the command suffered intensely from the cold, and Sunday morning, December 7th, we were carried over the river to camp at lielena, and thus ended one of the hardest trips I was ever on with the regi- ment. The weather was very wet and miserable most of the time, the roads bad, aud our work almost constant day and night from start to finish.
December 11th Lieutenant Bailey, of Company L, was taken prisoner while visiting some ladies outside of the lines. December 24th, ordered over the river again, marched through rain and mud to Moon Lake and on to the Coldwater, and then hurried back to Helena, reaching camp the evening of Christmas day, not a jolly Christmas by any means.
January 10, 1863, the regiment moved with a large command mostly on trans- ports down the Mississippi to the mouth of White River and up that stream as far as St. Charles, Du Vall's Bluff, and one gunboat going up as far as Des Arc, arriv- ing back at Helena January 21st, where we found our old camp occupied by negroes with the small por, so we had to seek new quarters and built again, some of the boys digging into the side hill making a regular dug-out habitation.
On the 7th of April the regiment moved up to Memphis, Teun., on the steamer Illinois, and soon after went into camp about two miles from the landing. April
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10th Major Burgh returned to the regiment, and as a part of the result of his trip we soon after received new tents, horses and carbines. April 13th, went to Ger- mantown, Tenn., and there camped with two tents to each company, and raining like fun.
At the fight at Wyatt on the Tallahatchic, October 13th, the Sixth Illinois Cavalry opened the ball and was followed by the Ninth Illinois Infantry, then the Ninth Illinois Cavalry was brought into action. We were within two hun- dred and fifty yards of the enemy's line, and the fighting was very severe until about 7 P. M., when they fell back over the river, trying to destroy the bridge, but we drove them from it and held the river.
It rained very hard all the time of the fight, but the men paid no attention to it, but kept up the fight in good shape. The enemy left fifteen dead upon the field besides those they carried off. The next morning a force was sent over the river a mile or two, but finding no enemy returned, and we started back joining General Sweeney and the infantry, and camped for the night. The boys were shooting hogs for supper, and some rebels in the neighborhood took it for a fight, and about thirty of them came dashing up the road to help them. Before they were aware of where they were the pickets gave them a volley, which brought down some of the foremost men, and then charging them took about fifteen of the rest prisoners with their horses and arms.
October 15th the command split up and went through the country burning all the forage to be found; camped that night at Quinn's Mill, and returned to camp the 10th.
December 4th, a severe fight at Moscow, Tenn., in which our Sergeant Major Fitzpatrick and General Hatch were wounded; December 8th, re-enlisting for the veteran organization.
December 22d the regiment started for a scout, Colonel Burgh in command, after Forrest, who was north of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. Companies A and G were at La Fayette. December 27th Forrest struck the railroad at that point, and attempted to cross Wolf River. The two companies held him for about two hours, when they were forced to fall back. It was here that Joe Kell, one of our best boys, received a ball through the right shoulder that crippled bim for life Reinforcements were asked for from Collierville, and about sisty of us were gotten together and made the trip of eight miles in short order, meeting the boys about a mile out of La Fayette on a run, and the rebels after them, raising & yell, our party dismounted and deploying into the woods, and the other boys ral. lying, we drove the enemy back into the town, but as Forrest was said to have fifteen hundred men, and we only about one hundred and fifty, they soon had help enough to send us back on the road to Collierville.
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