USA > Illinois > Military history and reminiscences of the Thirteenth regiment of Illinois volunteer infantry in the civil war in the United States,1861-65, pt 1 > Part 18
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snatched from the grave and borne back to homes of loved ones, and to health, which soon sent them again to the front with unabated patriotism and a new lease of life.
When those steamers brought back those soldiers to rejoin us, their holds were filled with, not only munitions of war, but with provisions for the army. We had known what it was to be hungry, without knowing whence was coming the food to feed that hunger. Comrade Hevenor, had written in his diary, at "Camp Starvation " on April 22d last, -" To- day we had but a small piece of corn bread to the man, and nothing to cook for supper." But as we looked from our hill- side camp at those boats on the river, we knew that abundant stores of provisions were in their holds, and even piled on their decks. This made us feel as if we had never been hun- gry, and never should be.
And those "ironclads," we had never before had them to lend us courage ; but now, their tremendous enginery of war gave us a most delicious sense of security.
Notwithstanding the well known fact that millions of gov- ernment rations were now in the commissary department, the boys were just as eager to hunt out any concealed stores as though we were still at "Camp Starvation "; and, in one sense, it was their duty to prevent such stores from being used by the rebels. As a case in point, Comrade Chapel records that-"Last night (July 21st) some of the boys found where an old rebel had stored fifty thousand pounds of sugar, one thousand dollars' worth of champagne, and a lot of lard ; and they went there and took all the liquor and lard, and as much of the sugar as they wanted. We took one hundred and fifty pounds of the sugar for our mess. So we shall not be out of sugar for awhile."
The fact is, the boys had much rather have that old reb's sugar, even though it was no higher than sixteen grade, Dutch standard, than twice the amount of crushed government sugar.
The reader has not followed this history for fourteen months of time, and fifteen hundred miles of distance, without having learned or recalled the daily details and routine of
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camp life; and to tell again of our life at Helena, which in no essential differs from that at Rolla, would be a needless reiter- ation of a twice-told tale ; and only new incidents and experi- ences, which seem to call for special mention, will be allowed to clog the onward march of events.
It will be recalled that, a little while back, there are re- corded some extracts from a report of the rebel general, Thomas C. Hindman, to his superior, in which he tells how he ordered his subordinate, General Albert Rust, to poison the water which the Yankees would be obliged to drink. The law of compensations may not fully even up things in some cases, but may come pretty near an average in the long run. Gen- eral Hindman had a fine mansion in Helena, and it was soon occupied by General Steele, for his headquarters ; and two, at least, of the Thirteenth boys, David Hitchcock and Asa B. Munn, were installed as clerks, and nights, took a grim satis- faction in unrolling their mattresses on the parlor floor, and metaphorically, fairly "reveling in the halls of the rebel Montezumas."
About the middle of August the regiment drew full new uniforms.
On August 15th, our State colors came to us from Illinois, and were displayed for the first time on August 18th, at brig- ade review, General Carr being the reviewing officer; General Curtis was also present.
August 28th .- Companies E and G went foraging up the St. Francis river, returning on the 30th, with plenty of cotton and corn.
September Ist .- Comrade Chapel records drawing tea and sauerkraut for the first time.
September 10th .- Companies A and F and two companies from the Fourth Iowa, with cavalry and artillery, started on an expedition up the St. Francis river, gone four days, but bringing back no results of importance.
On August 22d the " Tyler " came down bringing heavy guns for the fort now being built here by negro labor.
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August 26th .- Some of our boats returned from a trip to the mouth of the Yazoo river, when they met, coming out, the rebel steamer, "Fair Play," which was bound for Little Rock, by way of the Arkansas river, with arms and ammu- nition for Hindman's army. There were on board five thou- sand new rifles and a battery of field artillery. It may put us out some, but we are going to try and use these things and so save General Hindman the trouble. The one hundred pris- oners which we took at the same time concluded to go North to some of the watering-places for the season.
CHAPTER XVII.
CAMP LIFE AT HELENA. - EXPEDITIONS TO VARIOUS POINTS .- PREPARATIONS FOR VICKSBURG. - THE THRIRTEETH APPROACHING ITS FIRST BATTLE.
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OLDIERS in active service, as well as sailors, develop a remarkable fondness for pets among the brute creation, and they even introduce them to the battle-field.
I saw, on one occasion, near Vicksburg, a battery of guns hurrying into position for real work, the horses in a gallop, and the cannoneers being bounced about in their seats, holding hard to prevent being thrown off ; and at the same time two squirrels and a coon fastened by small chains to the "limbers," who seemed not at all put out.
General Curtis' love for pets developed itself in getting up a headquarters train of white mules; sixteen teams, each of six white mules, carefully selected as to size and other good points, and the train presented a very beautiful appearance. His " ships of the desert," however, attracted fully as much attention as did his mule teams. In Oriental countries, camels have been termed "Ships of the desert."
Some years before the war, some parties imported several camels, for use on the "great American desert "; but the trouble with an American desert is, we soon develop it into the very richest of farming lands, then gridiron it with rail- roads, and the camel's occupation is gone.
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Some of General Curtis' scouting parties accumulated sev- eral of these camels and brought them into Helena, and the incongruous sight was common, to see a Yankee soldier riding. a camel through the streets of an American town.
One of the boys told me that after he had one day been riding one of those camels about the streets of Helena, his dreams were so strangely confused that he saw whole pha- lanxes of the most beautiful houries from Mohammed's seventh heaven, going through the motions of the manual of arms and the evolutions of battalion drill.
When General Curtis was relieved from the command of the Army of the Southwest, and sent again to Missouri, it was understood that he took along the camels with him, and left them on his place at Keokuk, Iowa, the general's home.
Among other accumulations from the rebels, for our own convenience, was the large "wharf-boat," which was so con- spicuous (not exactly a landmark, but water-mark), which we had for so long a time at Helena. This wharf-boat had been lying at Eunice, Arkansas, and Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Raynor, of the Fifty-sixth Ohio, which had been attached to our brigade, had been sent down to capture and tow up the boat to Helena. The boat being very large and heavy, the task was slow and difficult but was accom- plished in six days and reported to headquarters on Septem- ber 3d and the boat turned over to Quartermaster Winslow.
General Orders ! HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF THE SOUTHWEST, October 7th, 1862.
No. 50.
I. - The undersigned assumes command of this army.
II .- The following is announced as the Staff of the Brigadier-Gen- eral Commanding :
Major Louis D. Hubbard, Third Illinois Cavalry, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.
Surgeon S. C. Plummer, Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, Medical Director.
Lieutenant G. P. Brown, Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, Topograph- ical Officer.
Lieutenant L. Shields, Fourth Iowa Infantry, A. D. C.
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Lieutenant John E. Phelps, Third United States Cavalry, Acting A. D. C.
Captain Greene Durbin, United States Volunteer, Chief Quarter- master.
Captain G. I. Taggart, United States Volunteer, Chief Commissary.
Major John McConnell, Third Illinois Cavalry, is announced as Pro- vost-marshal General.
E. A. CARR, Brig .- Gen. U. S. Vol.
Five days after the issuance of the above " general order," assuming command of the Army of the Southwest, General Carr puts on record his friendship for, and trust in Colonel Wyman. In a communication to General Curtis, command- ing the department, on October 12th, 1862, General Carr says :
* * I would be glad to have new troops. I think I can handle them. And I think that our organization had better be changed, -I, to retain command of my division for reasons which you will appreciate ; but with a few more troops I could give Washburn, Wyman, and Vandever a divi- sion each, or at least give Washburn and Wyman a division each, and put Vandever under Washburn."
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This confidence in and appreciation of Colonel Wyman's abilities, is of especial interest to us as coming from a gradu- ate of West Point, and officer in the regular army of the United States ; but perhaps a still greater interest attaches to it for us, from the fact that this is the last recorded effort, from any source that Colonel Wyman's meritorious services should be acknowledged by promotion.
On November 7th, the old blankets and gray overcoats, which were left at Springfield, Missouri, just about eight months before, again came safely to hand, but the old gray overcoats we were not allowed to wear any more, we were now to have new blue overcoats instead.
Those old blankets and coats reminded us strongly of many things that had happened since we parted company, before we started out on that dreadful Arkansas campaign.
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GENTILE VERSUS JEW.
Ben Hadad Lazarus, a Dutch Jew, had a stock of sutler's goods in a tent on the levee, at Helena, Arkansas, at the time that the Thirteenth regiment was camped there, in the summer and fall of 1862.
Close by a large wharf-boat did duty as both wharf and warehouse, for the unloading and storage of the army supplies from the steamboats from St. Louis. From this wharf-boat, mule-teams would haul the stores to the different commands, as they were needed ; the details of men for loading and un- loading were furnished by the different companies in turn.
A good deal of the custom that came to our Hebraic mer- chant's store, came from those details of men, working at the wharf-boat.
Ben Hadad Lazarus was endowed with his fair share of Jewish thriftiness, and lost no occasion of calling the attention of the soldiers, to his " schplendid schtock of cigars, tobacco, und clodings, vich he was giving avay at such ruinous price as never vas."
The boys had bought some, and confiscated some, but knew very well that what they had honestly paid for, had been at a profit which would fully make up for what they had confiscated.
This went on for some time, until, in comparing notes, they came to the conclusion that the Jew was ahead in the deal, and that they had been overreached, both in the quality and price of the goods. The boys of Company I held a secret sanhedrim, where it was unanimously declared that it would be demoralizing to allow such a condition of things to exist ; the more especially as the above-mentioned Ben Hadad Laz- arus, it was found, was selling wine and champagne to the officers, while the men might not have it; and it was the sense of the sanhedrim, that the enlisted men were measur- ably responsible for the morals of the commissioned officers, and it was urged that no permanent reformation among the officers, could be hoped for under the "Jewish dispensation."
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It was voted that Daniel Shaw take the matter under ad- visement, and if possible, suggest a remedy. This secret sanhedrim kept no records, and its work could only be judged by the light of after events.
This sutler's tent was necessarily of large size, but of the usual pattern, of a horizontal or ridge-pole, and an upright pole at each end, to support the ridge-pole, and their lower ends set about four inches in the ground. It had the usual tent-pins at, and between, the corners.
The sutler himself always slept in his tent, having no other guard. The tent fronted the north, with its rear toward the wharf-boat. Just inside the front entrance, close by the west wall of the tent, on some shoe-boxes laid on their sides, the sutler spread a small mattress, which, with plenty of blankets, one of which folded for a pillow, made quite a comfortable bed ; under this pillow lay a loaded revolver, while the Jew dreamed of his scattered race being restored to the land of their fathers.
On the eve of the day on which Company I was to furnish the wagon-detail, Orderly Sergeant Frank Thoma, notified the following as the regular wagon-detail, with special instructions : Tom Whitecraft, Dan Shaw, Bob Shuster, Orson Hamlin ; and an extra detail as follows : Dan Shaw again ; Theoderick Pool, George Sutherland, Ed Vining, Sidus Helmic. The latter probably the largest man in the regiment, except Cap- tain Brinkerhoff, and of giant strength.
During the extrenie hot weather, early details were com- mon ; and then the men lay by in the middle of the day.
On a certain morning, only two hours after midnight, an army wagon with mule team arrived near the wharf-boat, so quietly that even the guard at the boat did not notice it. Four men got out of it, upon which, the driver on the saddle- mule, turned his team about and stopped them, without speaking a word, or using the whip. He then dismounted and quietly patted and softly stroked the animals as though to prevent any vocal demonstrations, which otherwise they might indulge in.
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Meanwhile, of the four men who got out of the wagon, Sidus Helmic quiety stationed himself at the sutler's front tent-pole, with both hands clasping it four feet from the ground. Edward R. Vining, stationed himself in the same way, at the rear pole. "Curly," or George W. Sutherland, took his position at the northeast corner, with an open jack- knife in his hand, where he could command two tent-ropes. Thomas Whitecraft controlled the southeast corner, in the same way.
NOT A WORD HAD BEEN SPOKEN.
No sooner had these several dispositions been made, and not a minute to spare, than from the man by the team, a low whistle was heard ; when, as if automatically, the four east side tent-ropes were cut ; Helmic and Vining raised the tent- poles and lowered them over to the west, carrying the tent with them, which completely covered up the sutler and his bed, and which woke him and drew from him the exclama- tions-"Great Israel ! Vot der Teufel ish dot?" which, undoubtedly would have been quickly followed by cries of murder ; but just then the giant Helmic threw himself on top of the Jew, who, though a large and powerful man, even if free to handle himself, would have been no match for Hel- mic's vast strength, who now tightened his embrace on the Jew, at the same time saying to him emphatically, but sotto voce,-"Avast there, you landlubberly son of a gun ! put two or three reef points in that jaw hamper of yours, and belay !"
Before the war, comrade Helmic had been a sailor on the "high seas," and now, when he got excited or very earnest, his phraseology was apt to smack of the "briny deep."
While uttering the above caution, he had covered the Jew's mouth with his left hand, with the tent-cloth between, and had managed with his right to gather up enough of the front of the tent to allow of his reaching under and removing the revolver from under the pillow of the Jew, who would no doubt use it if he could, possibly with deadly effect.
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In scarcely more time than this narration has taken, all of the goods the boys cared for had been loaded on the wagon, the exact locality of everything in the tent being previously known to the boys ; the driver (who may have been Daniel Shaw) seeming to know or care nothing but to keep his mules quiet.
The stores, consisting of all that the sutler had of wine, champagne, cigars, tobacco, canned vegetables, nuts, raisins, and canned fruits, were packed in shoe and dry-goods boxes, driven briskly to camp, and distributed among the proper par- ties, and the empty boxes taken and deposited close in the rear of the quarters of the Fourth Iowa regiment, with which we were on terms of intimate friendship.
Helmic continued to hug his Jewish bedfellow until the team must have reached camp, when he suddenly sprang from the prostrate Jew and vanished in the gray shadows of fast approaching morning ; but not so quickly but he could dis- tinguish a gurgle-like confusion of English, Dutch, Sanscrit and Talmudic profanity, from beneath the folds of the pros- trate tent.
As soon as possible the goods were unloaded, and the reg- ular working detail, consisting of the same driver, Daniel Shaw, Robert Schuster, Theoderick Pool again, and Orson Hamlin, jumped into the wagon, and were driven at a lively pace down to the wharf-boat, where they arrived just as it was daylight. They were astonished to find everything in confusion on the levee, the sutler's tent lay prostrate on the ground, citizens and soldiers were vociferously telling and asking what had happened.
The Jew almost rent the air with lamentations about hav- ing been robbed, plundered and almost murdered.
It was with the greatest difficulty that our wagon-detail could calm the Jew sufficiently to learn from him what was the nature and extent of his loss, and regretted that they had not arrived earlier so as to have prevented such an outrage.
The warmly expressed sympathy of our men did not seem to have much effect on the Israelite, who flatly told our boys
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that he believed some of the wagon-details had done the work, and swore that he would lay the matter before Gen- eral Wyman, the brigade Commander, and see if he could not get justice done. The boys knew very well that an investi- gation would ensue, and had some little misgiving as to how the matter would end.
Theoderick Pool had a remarkable mustache ; black, long, and commanding, which he cherished as the apple of his eye, and he was satisfied that if a search should be made, the Jew would most undoubtedly recognize the mustache as belonging to one of the sympathizers on the wharf that morning. He was also well aware that if Colonel Wyman should notice him at all, he would inevitably notice the absence of the mustache; and which, of itself, would be evidence against him. He chose the last, as the least of the two evils; rightly judging that the Jew would be inexorable, but Colonel Wyman might be lenient. He hurried to his tent and shaved off the danger- ous hirsute ornament, secretly mourning its loss almost as much as did the Jew the loss of his goods. He took some flour and mixed it with grease, and thoroughly rubbed his face with it so that the marks of recent shaving should not tell against him.
Before noon the storm broke, and the strain on the boys was tremendous. Colonel Wyman, General Willis A. Gorman, commanding the Post, and two staff officers of the latter, the Jew, and the provost-marshal, appeared in the camp of the Thirteenth, all mounted, and looking black in the face. The boys, however, by this time had so effectually covered up their tracks that the most thorough search would hardly succeed in finding anything incriminating. Colonel Wyman ordered Colonel Gorgas to have the men "fall in," in their company streets, and remain there until an inspection of quarters had been gone through with ; Colonel Wyman, ad- dressing the Jew, then said : "Mr. Lazarus, of what do you complain ?" Upon which the Jew went into a detailed account of how about twenty men had robbed him, while two of them stood over him with cocked revolvers, compelling
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him to silence. . During this soul-thrilling narration, his lam- entations were as extravagantly loud and boisterous as ever were those of "Shilock," while bemoaning and bewailing the loss of his " ducats and his daughter."
Sergeant Thoma was ordered to produce liis order-book, with the list of the wagon-detail. The Jew was asked if he recognized any man there, as he saw them on the levee for a load of forage? He acknowledged that he could not ; that one of the men who came after forage, had a very long mustache; but he did not now see him. He was asked if he should know the mules of the forage team? His reply was, "Why, mine dear Sclieneral ; how should you expect me to know von mule ven all de mule look schust like doze oder von? und ven I see von mule, I could schvear dot I see all der mule in der vorld ; und ven I see all of doze mule in der vorld, I could schvear dot I see no more as von mule ; so helup me, Moses."
General Gorman now broke in by calling to Colonel Wyman, to whom he said : "Colonel Wyman, I regret to say that this army has acquired an unenviable reputation for plundering, robbing, and burning property. When I took command, it seemed to me the most undisciplined mob I ever came in contact with. The material is splendid, but the polit- ical demagogues in it are enough to damn the best army on God's earth. I charge you to sift this matter to the bottom." Upon which he drew himself and his bridle-lines up, and cantered away, followed by his staff.
Just where General Gorman could discover any politics cropping out in this matter, it is hard to see. The outrages may have developed a racial prejudice, but hardly one of politics.
Colonel Wyman personally conducted the search of the tents of the Thirteenth and while passing down the line of Company I, suddenly turned towards the men in line, and snapped out : "Pool, since when have you been without a mustache ?" Pool felt a little shaky in the knees, but man- aged to assume coolness, and quickly replied, " Why, Colonel, the boys have been laughing at me for three weeks, about my
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baby face." The Colonel passed on, swearing that if he could find the culprits, he would hang them to-day, and shoot them to-morrow.
A formal search was made through both our own and the Fourth Iowa regiments, but in vain. Too many of both men and officers were cognizant of it, and beneficiaries.
As to the boxes in which the plunder of the sutler's tent had been taken to camp, and then deposited where, if found, the Fourth Iowa would have another opportunity of sharing in the losses, but not burdened with the profits of the Thirteenth Illinois, an early riser in the Fourth had discovered the tell- tale boxes, and quickly divining their significance, had removed them to a little ravine close by, and had covered them with some loose brush, where they were successfully concealed until after the search, and were then broken up, one by one, for kindling-wood.
This particular act of confidence on the part of the Thir- teentli towards the Fourth Iowa, was typical of that beautiful spirit of fraternity which was always shown by the former ; and their history shows that the Thirteenth cherished this spirit towards their old neighbors, cven to the grave. (See Chaplain Needham.)
The guilty ones were never found.
SICK FURLOUGHS.
" Those thirty days' furloughs in the States of enlistment though politic. are very unmilitary." (Sherman to Mc- Pherson. )
There is no class of people in whom the love of home is greater than soldiers. That great general of infantry, Field- Marshal McDonald, a Scotchman, would not permit the national and other Scottish tunes to be played by the bands in Napoleon's campaigns, as it so aroused the longings for home in the hearts of the Scottish soldiers, that they were liable to desert, not by squads alone, but by companies and regiments.
In the camps at Helena, Arkansas, I saw literally, thou- sands of men wasted away to death's door, by homesickness
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alone ; and scores of them went to their graves with no other disease.
The commanders and surgeons were equal to the situation, and furloughs and leaves of absence were granted as fast as steamers could be procured to take the sick up the river.
These men nearly all returned in a few weeks' time, robust, cheerful, and courageous as at first, and never had a recurrence of the old malady.
DINING IN A HEN-ROOST.
On December 9th, General Willis A. Gorman arrived at Helena and assumed command and selected the large wharf- boat as his headquarters. In addition to the storage room on the lower deck, was a large saloon and various small offices and state-rooms on the upper deck. The saloon was used for the office, and contained the desks of the Assistant Adjutant- General, and of the clerks ; it was also used as a dining-room for the General and his staff.
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