USA > Illinois > History of the Thirty-fourth regiment of Illinois volunteer infantry. September 7 1861. July 12, 1965 > Part 12
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The dead from the engagement of the 27th were not buried until the 20th. It became a necessity, for the enemy as well as ourselves, that they should be buried. The bodies were in a terrible condition, and the atmosphere was almost unbearable. Many bodies were as close to the lines of. the enemy as to ours, and the excessive heat made conditions as bad as they could be. A truce was established on the morning of the 29th, and a guard line composed of men from both armies was established midway between the lines, and all on the farther side were brought to to the guard line and delivered to our burial party. The officers and men fraternized on the most friendly terms, and exchanged
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commodities with each other, principally tobacco and coffee. The officers and guards of both sides had difficulty in restraining their men from crowding the guard line. Among the Confeder- ate officers who came out to the front lines were Gens. Cheat- ham, Hindman and Cleburne. The men of both sides who were not engaged otherwise, sat on the head-logs of their respective works as quietly and peacefully as two farmers on a rail fence, on opposite sides of a road, discussing crops and prices.
Capt. William Parker, of the Seventy-Fifth Illinois, took the opportunity to inquire for his brother, a major in the Con- federate army, and through the courtesy of Gen. Cleburne, C. S. A., he was sent for and the two brothers had the privilege of a visit during the truce.
The grewsome task was completed and the graves mostly marked with pieces of board from cracker boxes, and at four o'clock in the afternoon everybody was out of sight and the racket began again. The men in the trenches were cramped for room, and were unable to sleep except in the most uncomfortable posi- tions. No one dared show a hand or head above the rifle-pits on either side. The hot sun beat down on them by day, and the dews or rain at night. The trenches became muddy and disgusting. All cooking had to be done in the ravine in rear of all of the lines of breastworks, and then be brought up to the front.
One of the men of Company I, who was scarcely compos mentis as the result of a sunstroke earlier in the campaign, after cooking supper returned through the lines with frying-pan and coffee-pot in his hands, and walked unobserved out between the picket posts and stepped down inside the main line of the enemy. They enjoyed the coffee and kept the man, but were courteous enough to immediately report the case to his company. His name was Edward O'Donnell, and he died a prisoner in Ander- sonville, September 4, 1864. Col. Allen L. Fahnestock, of the Eighty-Sixth Illinois, of the Third brigade, in writing upon the battle of Kenesaw, says: "There was a soldier with a tin bucket in his right hand who stepped over our works and marched over to the rebels. I ordered my men to shoot him, but before they
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fired he stepped over their works. I supposed he was a spy. but in a short time they called over to us to know why we sent that ---- fool over to them. The man was insane. He belonged to the Second brigade of our Division."
The three nights and two days during which the regiment occupied the front line of rifle-pits were full of annoying and exhausting experiences. There was scarcely fifteen minutes at a time that there was not firing from the lines in front, and the substantial intrenchments behind which we were concealed did not give entire security from danger, as some men were hurt from bullets glancing from the trees in our front.
On the- evening of July 2d, 'at about six o'clock, a battery three-fourths of a mile distant and nearly in position to enfilade our trenches, opened fire, and laid their shells in our midst with a cordiality not appreciated at the "terminal station." Lieut. Slaughter, of Company F, had prepared a trench in rear of his company, about the size required for burying a dead man, but considerably deeper than was customary for that purpose. He found it a safe refuge in which to sleep, secure from the musk- etry fire froin the front. The first shot from the battery pene- trated the earth and passed through the lieutenant's "boudoir" at a point which would have severed his body had he been "at home."
The firing continned for nearly a half hour, and at a good range and elevation, the shells dropping in between our lines of rifle-pits, but no one was hurt in the regiment. At about two o'clock in the morning of July 3d, a skirmish-line fire was opened furiously for about five minutes, and then suddenly ceased and was heard no more. It was a proceeding with which we had become familiar, and knew that another strong position had been vacated in favor of the "Yanks."
At the first dawn of day, the men in the front lines went out as self-appointed inspectors of the Confederate defences. It was the unanimous verdict that we had never seen such an abso- lutely unassailable line of works. The one hundred or more lonely graves between the lines spoke of the heroic effort to
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accomplish the impossible that is sometimes required of the man in the ranks.
At ten o'clock we were once more on the line of march towards Marietta, about six miles east of our late location. It is only the soldier who has passed through such scenes as had been our lot to experience within the previous six days, who can appreciate the emotions of the heart and mind as we marched away from the spot where was encountered the tornado of deadly missiles, hurled from the short distance of one hundred to one thousand feet, and from which there was at first no protection. Every tree and bush, and the head-logs on our own as well as on the parapets of the enemy, the "cheval du frise," and even the head-boards that marked the graves of our fallen comrades, were all torn and tattered by the tens of thousands of bullets that passed from one line to another. We had lived through it all as by a miracle, and now, as we moved on to new dangers, we felt that perhaps in a few days a smaller remnant of our comrades might pass by the fragile head-board of many other graves -- whose they should be only known to Him who knoweth all things.
We moved out as far as the Military College at Marietta, and halted some time to permit the passage of the Fourth Corps, and then continued on in a southerly direction until the lines of the enemy were developed. Many squads of prisoners were picked up during the day. The Seventy-Fifth Illinois became quite heavily engaged in our front, and lost several killed and wounded. Capt. Hale being one of the killed.
The Fourth of July was spent in bivouac, making a line of i kapits, and on the following morning the regiment took the land of the Division, with Company A on the skirmish line. Orders from brigade headquarters forbid laying off the blouse, but required them to be worn. The day was hot and swelter- a. and the line of march was through the very dense pine Dibrush where no breeze could penetrate; the road was od, requiring a frequent right or left wheel as rapidly as it I be thi le. As a consequence, the men were boiling exter- 1
nally, and when the word was passed that the command was on
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the wrong road, the boiling "struck in," and manifested itself orally, the only saving condition being the possibility of trans- ferring the skirmish line by the left flank to the proper road, instead of countermarching. At this juncture, Company F took the skirmish line and pushed forward until two o'clock p. m., when the enemy was encountered a mile and a half from the Chattahoochie river. The regiment went on picket at dark, and had a quiet twenty-four hours, except an occasional shot from the sharpshooters, and was relieved at dark by the One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio, and returned to position with the brigade.
Reveille turned the camp out at three o'clock a. m. on the 7th, and everything was made ready to march, but it was only one of war's alarms, and we made a line of intrenchments and put up bowers over our "pup tents," and occupied this position until the 17th of July. The brigade band, from which we had heard nothing for a long time, in the cool of the evening gave some concerts, which were well attended by an appreciative audience.
The maxim that "familiarity begets contempt" wasillustrated in the case of the band concerts. Several of them had been given without calling forth any protest from the distant portion of the audience, and we began to conclude that the savage breasts with- in hearing had been so effectually soothed that we inight enjoy our vespers without molestation. Some courts reverse their opin- ions when sufficient cause makes such action justifiable, and three or four thousand soldiers, duly assembled in compact order around the center of attraction, suddenly reversed their opinions as to the peaceful purposes of our neighbors, when the ear-split- ting crack of a piece of artillery dropped in upon them, followed immediately by the swirling, hissing shriek of the shell which flew through the tree-tops overhead and exploded far in the rear. An uproarious shout of laughter arose from the crowd as every man broke for the cover of his own rifle-pits; the music stopped on the half note, and the fragmentary parts of the disrupted tune have remained seceded ever since.
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Another shot from the same quarter buried itself in the parapet in front of Company A. The position occupied by the regiment was a line running east and west, the right of the regiment resting on a road in front of the position mentioned by Gen. Sherman in his Memoirs, vol. 2, page 66, and the negro mentioned by him came out on the road to our regiment and was fed by some of the men. Blackberries were plenty between the lines, and were common property to both "Yank" and "Johnny," who met on friendly terms but with due regard to territorial rights.
On Sunday, the 17th, a general movement was begun. One Division of the Fourth Corps moved down the east side of the Chattahoochie, clearing the outposts of the enemy from their advanced positions, and the Third Division of our Corps put a pontoon bridge across the river. Our Second Division marched at five o'clock a. m. to the river and waited until the bridge was completed, then crossed and began deploying a new line of approach to Atlanta, distant about eight miles. Position was taken in front of the lines of the enemy and trenches made in a very dense woods with abundant underbrush. The Fourteenth Corps moved to the right and formed a new line on the 18th, encountering some opposition, but nothing serious. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who had so successfully handled the army in our front, was relieved from its command, and Gen. J. B. Hood superceded him and soon began to take the aggressive. He brought his troops outside of their works and made fierce and desperate charges on any of our troops where there seemed an opening to gain an advantage.
Our Third brigade became quite heavily engaged on the 19th, in attempting to advance their lines. Our brigade went to the support of the Third, the Thirty-Fourth in the advance, with Company A on the skirmish line, and charged through a cornfield to the edge of the timber on a hill. One man (A. A. Worrell) of that company was wounded in the bottom of his foot while lying down on the skirmish line, with his head towards the enemy.
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On the 20th, the brigade was put in position to enfilade the lines of the enemy, fortified, and kept up a skirmish fire all day. A furious onslaught was made for an hour or so on Gen. Hook- er's Corps and Gen. Johnson's Division of the Fourteenth Corps, and Gen. Newton's Division of the Fourth Corps. The enemy retired within his works, leaving his dead and many wounded on the field. Hooker's Corps fought outside of parapets, and lost about 1, 500 men.
The 21st was employed by the army generally in concen- trating the lines and feeling for new positions, fortifying those already taken and being watchful and alert everywhere, ready for any sudden assault which Gen. Hood might see fit to make. The lines in our front were abandoned in the night for another farther to the rear, leaving a few dead and wounded to fall into our hands on the morning of the 22d, when our Corps advanced. At about 10 o'clock in the forenoon, the "grapevine" dispatch started its usual course, to the effect that Atlanta had been abandoned. Our Fourteenth Corps moved forward, bearing to the right, feeling the way cautiously over about three miles of territory, halting on an elevated piece of ground from which we could see the church spires and tall buildings in that much-cov- eted City of Atlanta, southeasterly and about four miles away.
The Thirty-Fourth, as usual, furnished the skirmishers for finding the outposts of the enemy, but was relieved at dark. Our Corps formed line and fortified at once, along Proctor's creek, in position at the right of the army, our regiment being the extreme right except our brigade battery, which occupied a well-intrenched location, with their right slightly refused and in good position for sweeping a wide scope in front and flank. During the day the "battle of . Atlanta" was fought on the left, several miles from our position, and Gen. McPherson was killed. The uproar was fierce and continuous, and plainly heard by us during the whole of the engagement.
We remained in this position until the morning of the 28th, enjoying the freedom from close confinement to the trenches and the opportunity to attend to personal matters, writing let- ters, mending and washing. The nights were cool and refresh-
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ing, allowing restful sleep, invigorating in effect. A reconnoit- ering party was sent out to our regimental right front, in charge of Capt. Amos W. Hostetter, of Company I, on the morning of the 25th. The enemy occupied the woods in front of us about a half mile, and had sharpshooters in trees, awaiting an oppor- tunity to get in their work. As soon as the captain and his squad were within sure range, they were fired upon, and he was mortally wounded. The stretcher-bearers were sent for and brought him back, bearing him gently on their shoulders. As he reached the head of the regiment he began speaking to the men, bidding them farewell, and so continued on down the line through all of the companies which he passed. It was a pathetic scene. The captain was held in high esteem by everyone with whom he came in contact. He died the following day and his body was sent home. It is reported that his Newfoundland dog laid down on his grave and remained until it died.
On the 27th, the Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps passed to the right over the road a few rods in our front. Gen. O. O. Howard, who had just been put in command of the Army of the Tennessee, owing to the death of Gen. McPherson, stopped during a shower in our front and dismounted. His orderly produced a rubber coat, and helped the General by pull- ing his empty sleeve through the sleeve of the rubber coat. The proceeding, simple enough in itself, created several rubber-necks in the self-invited audience.
On the 28th, the Division, under command of Gen. James D. Morgan (of the First brigade) during the temporary illness of Gen. Jeff C. Davis, was ordered to march by a circuitous route in the rear, to the right of the Army of the Tennessee. We started out on the Turner's Ferry road, and about noon struck the Skillet-Town road and halted for dinner, moving again at one o'clock, soon taking the Green Ferry road. The ever-pres- ent Wheeler's cavalry were watching the flanks of the Confeder- ate army, and made their presence known by a few shots at the head of column and following our movements in flank and rear. Sergt. May, of Company D, was taken prisoner while foraging for green corn, a short distance from our marching column. At
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three o'clock, we received orders to leave the road and march straight to the right of Gen. Howard's position, which we were able to do by following the sound of the guns. The enemy burst out suddenly on the lines in Howard's command, and got as sud- den a reply from the artillery in position, but they pressed forward close to the lines and were repulsed with great slaugh- ter. Five different times they rallied, and each time met a dis- astrous repulse. Our lines were behind rifle-pits, and Gen. Hood was doing the charging with such persistent bravery that Kenesaw was evened up, and a large balance was scored in our favor. It was the usual misfortune that our Division did not get up in time to strike the enemy in flank and capture thous- ands. War history is full of lost opportunities for annihilating the other party. If we had not made so great a detour we would have been on time, but Gen. Morgan had never been over the roads, nor at the right of Howard's lines. Neither he nor any- body else knew just where to go nor when the enemy would strike. We did not reach our intended position until eight o'clock at night, after putting in a hard day's march. The losses of the enemy were severe. Gen. Logan, commanding the Fif- teenth Corps, in his official report stated that their losses in his front were not less than six or seven thousand men.
The Division moved to the front in the morning of the 29th, and in the afternoon our brigade advanced in line outside of the pickets of the Fifteenth Corps. Companies A, F and B, of the Thirty-Fourth, were deployed on an extended skirmish line in front of the brigade, with instructions to find the enemy quietly and without bringing on an engagement. After advancing about three-fourths of a mile, the red clay of the rifle-pits of the picket posts was seen, and careful reconnoitering sought out the strongly intrenched lines of battle farther to the rear. Many of the dead were unburied when we passed out to the front over the ground upon which the enemy showed such persistent determination to break the lines in their front. In one place, 128 had been brought together for burial, and still others lay where they fell. We began a line of rifle-pits and got them pretty well done by six o'clock. At dark the skirmish line was relieved by the
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Ninety-Eighth Ohio, and returned to the rear lines, near where many of the Confederate dead had been buried, but a good many were still unburied, and the night air was heavy with the stench arising from the battlefield. The movements of our army were continuous in some portions, principally from the left to the right, and gradually drawing nearer to Atlanta.
On the 31st, our Division moved two miles to the right, to . support a portion of the lines which were fortifying. The advance of the Division had five men wounded while skirmish- ing. We went out "light," leaving our "ponchos" in camp, and got thoroughly soaked by one of the characteristic thunder- showers that so frequently diluted the contents of the haver- sacks. We returned to camp before dark. . The losses in the two armies for July were as follows: The Confederates, 1, 341 killed, 7, 500 wounded, and not less than 2,000 taken prisoners; total, 10, 841. Our loss was: Killed and missing, 3,804; wounded, 5,915; total, 9,719.
Gen. Sherman, in his Memoirs, gives a concise and accur- ate statement of the conditions at the beginning of the fourth month of the campaign, as follows:
"The month of August opened hot and sultry, but our posi- tion before Atlanta was healthy, with ample supply of wood, water and provisions. The troops had become habituated to the slow and steady progress of the siege; the skirmish lines were held close up to the enemy, were covered by rifle-trenches, or logs, and kept up a continuous clatter of musketry. The main lines were held farther back, adapted to the shape of ground, with muskets loaded and stacked for instant use. The field bat- teries were in select positions, covered by handsome parapets, and an occasional shot from them gave life and animation to the scene. The men loitered about the trenches carelessly, or busied themselves in constructing ingenious huts out of the abundant timber, and seemed as snug, comfortable and happy as though at home. Gen. Schofield was still on the extreme left, Thomas in the center, and Howard on the right. Two Divisions of the Fourteenth Corps (Baird's and Jeff C. Davis's) were detached to the right rear and held in reserve."
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The Thirty-Fourth began the new month of August by send- ing five companies on picket, and was relieved on the 2d by the One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio. The Fifteenth Corps ad- vanced its lines somewhat on the Ist, with slight loss. On the 3d, we lay in camp, and the next morning the Division, in light marching order, with spades and picks, went four miles to the right and held position until the next day, and camp was moved up and our rifle-pits were made as secure as seemed to be neces- sary. The lines of the enemy were not far away, and ours seemed closer than they desired. They used artillery upon us more while in this position than usual, and of heavier caliber. Our "pup tents" were pitched in two rows for each company, at right angles to the line of parapets. The frequent showers made the trenches muddy and wet, to such a degree that the men occupied their tents, preferring to take the chances on a shell rather than the certainty of discomfort in the ditches. Several men were hit, one losing a leg, and later his life; another had two ribs broken, and others were injured in the regiment, and a good many in the Division. Five companies of the regi- ment went on picket on the 7th. New adjustment of the lines
was made on the 8th, about a half mile in advance and facing
more to the east, parallel with the lines of the enemy. Rifle- trenches were made in front of a small open field with ground sloping to the rear, and strong defences with embrasures for two pieces of artillery were made on the front line, and guns brought up. The front lines of the enemy were about eighty rods dis- tant, across a ravine in which there was a dense underbrush, reaching up close to our lines. Skirmishing was lively in this position, the two pieces of artillery joining in. One of the gun- ners was an expert, about every third shot knocking a head-log off the works, and then the other piece, and the skirmishers, made it unsafe for those who were disturbed by the first shot.
The Ninety-Eighth and One Hundred and Twenty-First Ohio moved to the right in light marching order, aud crowded the front lines as far as could be done safely without bringing on an engagement, doing, however, considerable skirmish firing. There
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was rain in the afternoon and at night, making everything nasty and uncomfortable.
The regiment relieved the Seventy-Eighth Illinois on the front line on the evening of the 10th, and remained on duty until two o'clock on the morning of the 12th, doing an unusual amount of skirmish firing in the meantime. Two of the "Vets" were wounded, Ben Wolf, of Company F. and C. H. Slocumb, of Company A, both of them "old reliables." This position was about six and one-half miles from Atlanta, three miles from Eastport, and two and one-half miles from the railroad terminal point for trains.
Considerable discontent was created in the regiment by the rumor that the officers whose terms of service expired September 7th, intended being mustered out. While their right to do so could not be denied, it was supposed that those who were influ- ential in the re-enlistments the previous December would stay by the old organization to the end. Col. Carter VanVleck, of the Seventy-Eighth Illinois, was mortally wounded by a musket ball in the head, on the rith, but lived until his wife arrived at the hospital tent put up on his account a short distance in rear of the lines. He was an excellent officer, and highly esteemed in the brigade. The Division remained in the same position until about the 19th of the month, when a general movement towards the right was begun. In the meantime, the relations with the enemy were sometimes friendly but generally otherwise, and then the skirmish-line industry was prosecuted with energy and vindictiveness. Maj. Gen. John M. Palmer, who had been in command of the Fourteenth Corps the last ten months, resigned his command of the Corps, owing to an order of Gen. Sherman placing him temporarily under the orders of Gen. Schofield, commander of the Twenty-Third Corps. Brig. Gen. Jeff C. Davis, our Division commander, was put in Gen. Palmer's place, and Gen. James D. Morgan, of the First brigade in our Division, succeeded Gen. Davis.
On the 19th, one brigade in each Division of the Fourteenth Corps was extended so as to occupy the trenches with a thin line, and the remainder of the troops withdrew farther towards
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