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 6
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August 7th .- Three days before the battle, President
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ILLINOIS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
Lincoln says to our Secretary of War: "I see by a private report to me from the Department, that eighteen regiments are already accepted from Missouri. Can it not be arranged that part of them (not yet organized as I understand ) may be taken from the locality mentioned (Southwest Missouri and put under the control of Mr. Phelps (Hon. John S. ) and let him have discretion to accept them for a shorter time than three years, or the war, understanding, however, that he will get them for the full term if he can ? "
Nobody, except, perhaps, General Sherman, not even Mr. Lincoln, yet realized the magnitude of the war.
August 8th .- Two days before the battle, Governor Claib. Jackson, of Missouri, says to Mr. Cabell ; "Your dispatch communicating the welcome intelligence that the Confederate Congress had appropriated one million dollars for the defense of Missouri, has been received. * *
* * I issued .on August 5th (five days before the battle) a declaration of inde- pendence, a copy of which I inclose."
The above mentioned one million dollars, seems to dwarf into positive niggardliness the sum asked for but just a little while before by our chief quartermaster, from the govern- ment, with which to run his department. He asked for ten thousand dollars.
Whether the Confederate million, mentioned above was a Federal price, a Confederate price, a price Sterling, or merely a Sterling Price, we are not informed ; but most likely, the latter.
August 9th .- This day, General Fremont said to Hon. Montgomery Blair : "The contest in the Mississippi Valley will be a severe one. We had best meet it in the face at once. Who now serves the country quickly, serves her twice."
August roth .- This was the dark, dark day at "Wilson's Creek," where were engaged and defeated, of Union troops, the Sixth and Tenth Missouri Cavalry, Second Kansas Mounted Volunteers, one Company of First United States Cavalry ; First Iowa ; First Kansas ; First, Second, Third and Fifth Missouri ; detachments of First and Second United
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HISTORY OF THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT
States Regulars ; Missouri Home Guards ; First Missouri Light Artillery ; Battery F, Second United States Artillery.
Union, two hundred twenty-three killed, seven hundred twenty-one wounded, two hundred ninety-one missing.
Confederate, two hundred sixty-five killed, eight hundred wounded, thirty missing.
Union Brigadier-General, Nathaniel Lyon, killed.
The Thirteenth Illinois was represented in this battle by Lieutenant James M. Beardsley, of Company D, who with a detail of two men from each of the ten companies of the regi- ment had been sent forward from Rolla to guard a train of provisions and other supplies. This detail probably started from Rolla on Sunday, the 4th of August. The historian has failed, so far, in finding any proof that they started on the day mentioned, but has seized on a clew found in an old diary of Captain Blanchard, kept at that time, and which has the following entry :
"Saturday, August 3d, trains of provisions going forward to Springfield detached Ballou and Ned Naper to guard train."
If this detail was made on Saturday, the 3d, it is fair to presume that the train would not start before the next day. That would give Lieutenant Beardsley six days to reach Springfield, before the battle actually came off. And we may be sure that Colonel Wyman would hurry the expedition off as soon as possible, knowing the pressing need.
It is to be regretted that a detailed account of this expedi- tion could not be incorporated into this history, not only on account of the general interest which it would possess to the reader, but because there were twenty men, good and true, on whom rested the honor of every company in the regiment, the honor of their relatives and friends, besides their own personal honor.
These men had for their leader an officer whose subsequent record on many battle-fields was second to none, and a lasting source of pride and admiration to all the true men of the Thirteenth Regiment.
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That our twenty good men, under such a leader, made a good record, can not be doubted ; and if we only knew how many bullets they put in where they would do the most good, it would give all their old comrades much pleasure.
August IIth, 1861 .- That periods of gloom have their compensatory flashes of light from the silver lining behind the cloud, has been mercifully proven on many occasions during the war, and this gloom following our reverse at Wilson's Creek, was rifted by gleams of sunshine which reached us afterwards, and had been defending us all the time, had we only known it.
If, through this rift in the dark cloud, we could have had handed down to us the following document, we should have been more cheerful.
August 11th .- General Pillow, from New Madrid, to General Polk, said, " Your order to fall back casts a deep gloom over this army, and caused me the most anxious and painful day I ever experienced."
This was the day after the battle.
Same day, General Jeff Thompson, at Camp Whitewater, to General Pillow says, * *
* * " I can not write more as I distinctly hear the report of the large guns. Had I not received the letter (from Governor Claib. Jackson) this morning, I would cross the river at once, and go to the fight wherever it is."
Now, a fight was the last place where Brigadier-General Jeff Thompson wanted to be; and, without doubt, he was perfectly delighted to have the above mentioned excuse ; but he kept hearing the boom of the big guns, and it made him so nervous that he considered it his duty to notify the Con- federate War Department ; and so, on the same date as his above letter to General Pillow, he addressed the Confederate Secretary of War, Colonel James A. Walker, by saying:
" WE CAN. HEAR THE GUNS AT NEW MADRID."
The ancient war-horse "sniffed the battle from afar"; but the " war-horse " had but one nose; whereas Jeff had two
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HISTORY OF THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT
ears, and they seemed always to be kept unfurled and trimmed to detect the sound of hostile guns ; and those guns, in size, Jeff always gave credit for being as big as were his ears ; . hence, he always considered them formidable.
The slave States, in 1861 held thousands of Northern men who willingly would have sacrified all business and other interests, and returned North, but the marriage tie held them, and forced them into the Confederate army.
Several years after the close of the war, I met in Florida, the Confederate General, James Harding. Twenty years after, while delving among the Confederate archives, for matter for this history, I stumbled across the following docu- ment, which vividly recalled my pleasant acquaintance with my Confederate friend. The document reads :
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, August 13th, 1861.
- Major-General LEONIDAS POLK.
SIR : This is to certify that the bearer, General James Harding, Quartermaster-General of the State of Missouri, is hereby authorized and empowered to make requisition for all army stores for the Missouri State Guard, and for me, and in my name, to receive and receipt for the same; and he is further authorized to receive and receipt for such sums of money or bonds as may be furnished by the Confederate States as may, on official statement, be shown to be necessary for the indispensa- ble wants of the Missouri State Guard.
C. F. JACKSON,
Governor and Commander-in-chief of Missouri State Guards.
My memory galloped back over the twenty years to the time when I had personally known General Harding. He was a gentlemen whom it gave me great pleasure to converse with, and I frequently drew him out on the subject of the war. On one of these occasions, while comparing notes, we discovered that we originally were from the same county in western Massachusetts ; and that my colonel and General Harding, were old friends ; also, that he was a son of the artist, Chester Harding. The further fact also developed that he and I had played hide-and-seek, up and down through
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Missouri and Arkansas, as the Blue and the Gray were wont to do in those times.
General Harding said to me, one day :
"When the rebellion broke out, I found that I was on the wrong side of Mason and Dixon's line. I had no such great pecuniary or business interests but what I might have abandoned everything, and set my face toward the North Star and joined the Union army, which, I most certainly should have done, but, then, there were the ties resulting from my marriage with a Southern lady ; and that relation and those ties held me. Thousands were in the same condi- tion as myself ; and while my loyalty to the old flag was just as strong as ever, there I was under the rebel flag. You may rest assured that we did not exult much when we gained a victory, or felt much sorrow when we lost a battle."
General Harding then related to me the following ex- tremely interesting incident :
"Being on staff duty in General Price's army, in Missouri, early in .1861, I learned that my old friend and your colonel, John B. Wyman, was commanding the post at Rolla, I found means to secretly communicate with him, and ask him to do an old friend the kindness of forwarding a letter containing a sum of money to my aged mother in Massachusetts ; which he kindly promised to do. I sent the letter and its inclosure, and in a few weeks there came safely back to me my mother's reply, acknowledging the receipt of both letter and money ; and after thanking me in such terms as a mother would be likely to do under such circumstances, expressed great sorrow that a son of her's should be in arms against his country. This was harder to bear than to face a battery of hostile guns. I knew that I deserved it, but what could I do ? "
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CHAPTER VI.
FREMONT URGES HASTE IN RE-INFORCEMENTS FOR MIS- SOURI .- GREAT REBEL FORCES THREATENING ROLLA. -AT ALL HAZARDS, HOLD ROLLA.
August, 13,.1861.
U P TO this date, three days after Lyon's battle. it is evident that General Fremont had not learned of the orders for the rebel arinies to " fall back," but presumed that. our army, under Sigel, would be followed up and har- assed on their retreat, if, in fact, a formidable com- bined movement should not make a dash on Rolla ; which, if captured, would dangerously expose St. Louis ; and may have inspired the following from General Fremont to the Secretary of War.
August 13th .- "General Lyon's Aid reports engagement, with severe loss on both sides. General Lyon killed. Col- onel Sigel in command, retiring in good order from Spring- field toward Rolla. Let the Governor of Ohio be ordered forthwith to send me what disposable force he has; also, Governors of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin ; order the ut- most promptitude. The German (Groesbeck's Thirty-ninth ) regiment at Camp Dennison, might be telegraphed directly here.
WE ARE BADLY IN WANT OF FIELD ARTILLERY ;
and up to this time, very few of our small arms have ar- rived."
August 13th .- General Fremont writes to Montgomery Blair :
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"See instantly my dispatch to the Secretary of War. My judgment is that some regiments with arms in their hands, and some field artillery ready for use, with arms and ammu- nition, ought to be expressed to this point. The report of the action comes from General Lyon's Aid, Major Farrar. If true, you have no time to lose.
" The Governor of Ohio postponed my urgent request for aid until ordered by you. Will you issue peremptory orders to him and other governors to send me instantly any dis- posable troops and arms? An artillery company of regulars at Cincinnati which has been there three months, I have ap- plied for repeatedly ; the enemy is in overpowering force, and we are weak in men. * * X
"A little immediate relief in good material might prevent great sacrifices."
The absence of red-tape, and the promptitude with which these urgent appeals of General Fremont were met, is simply delicious, and worthy of all praise. In proof of which, we quote :
Cameron to Governor Dennison : "Send the Groesbeck (Thirty-ninth Regiment) and all other available force to Gen- eral Fremont without delay. Give him full supply of field artillery and small arms. The utmost promptitude is desired. Advise the Department of our action. (Same to Governor Randall, Wisconsin, and Governor Yates, Illinois."
August 13th .- Fremont to Colonel Lauman, Seventh Iowa: "Sir : You are hereby ordered to proceed by railroad forthwith to Rolla, to reinforce and support Brigadier-General Sigel, with five other regiments ordered there. As it is appre- hended that the rebels under Hardee will threaten Rolla from Salem, and endeavor to cut off General Sigel's communication from St. Louis.
"That place (Rolla) is to be held at all hazards. The same to the colonels of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fif- teenth Illinois and Second and Seventh Regiments of Infantry."
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August 13th .- Fremont to the President : "Will the Pres- ident read my urgent dispatch to the Secretary of War?"
August 14th .- Fremont to the President : "General Grant, commanding at Ironton, attacked yesterday at 6 p. m., by a force reported at thirteen thousand."
August 14th .- Fremont declares martial law in St. Louis.
August 14th .- Secretary of War to Fremont : " Your mes- sage to the President received. Positive order was given yesterday, to Governor Dennison, and to the Governors of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, to send all their organized forces with full supply of artillery and small arms."
August 15th .- The President to Fremont : " Been answer- ing your messages ever since day before yesterday. Do you receive the answers? The War Department has notified all the governors you designated to forward all available force, and so telegraphed you. Have you received these messages ? answer immediately."
This message from President Lincoln to General Fremont, is admirable, as showing how that great heart went out to us. with a sympathy characteristic of the man, and also showing that he had all the departments well in hand, and especially the War Department, which seems to have been in full sym- pathy with the President.
August 15th .- Advance stragglers of Sigel's army began to arrive at Rolla, and each one had performed the most astonishing acts of valor on the battle-field five days before, to which we tender-feet listened with open-mouthed wonder and credulity proportioned to our inexperience.
August 16th .- The somewhat depleted army, under Gen- eral Sigel, arrived, and the real heroes, including our own twenty-one men, marched across our parade-ground, and now, we had an opportunity, for the first time, of witnessing the steady march of a battle-stained army ; and, with us, many a heart almost stood still, and eyes were moist, as the riderless war-horse of the lamented Lyon, in full caparison, was led at the head of the column. The marching army was of course, very impressive, but, what war really means can only be
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thoroughly understood by looking into the ambulances of wounded soldiers ; and this, even, is the brightest half of the dark picture, which can only be taken in by imagining the condition of those unfortunates so badly wounded that they could not be removed from the battle-field, and must be aban- doned to the tender mercies of a victorious enemy.
The term of enlistment of many of General Sigel's troops had expired, and they were at once forwarded to St. Louis to be mustered out ; and a reorganization was necessary before the army would be in a condition to take the field. In the meantime,
THE REBELS WERE THREATENING
our small force at Salem, who sent to Rolla for reinforcements, and a detachment consisting of Companies A and F of the Thirteenth and two companies each, from the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Illinois, and Seventh Missouri, in command of Captain Littlefield, of the Fourteenth Illinois, was sent to Salem on August 15. Except scaring away any force of rebels who may have contemplated a dash on Salem, nothing of great importance was accomplished by this expedition, which was recalled by forced march, reached Rolla on the 22d to find the regiment under marching orders, destination unknown.
These marching orders included, besides the Thirteenth, the Fourth Iowa, Colonel Dodge, the Fourteenth Illinois, Colonel Palmer, and the Second Battalion of Cavalry. Four miles beyond the Gasconade river, countermanding orders, counter-marched the force back to Rolla, which was reached September 30th.
August 18th .- The four thirty-two-pound siege-guns for Fort Wyman arrived at Rolla from St. Louis, although the work on the fort was not commenced until the 27th, nine days after. It took a ten-mule team to haul each gun to the ground selected for the fort.
When the importance of the post of Rolla is considered, it seems astonishing that this fort was not built long before.
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How critical the situation was considered at Department Headquarters at St. Louis, we have seen by the hurrying for- ward to Rolla of all available troops. It will be interesting to learn the rebel opinion, covering the same period ; and, : fortunately, we have two rebel opinions, from two standpoints, which arrive at directly opposite conclusions.
One comes from General Pillow, who had not been fight- ing lately, and was, consequently, full of fight, and who banked heavily on McCulloch who had been fighting. The other comes from McCulloch himself who had recently fought and held a victorious field, but the victor, was too badly whipped himself, to want any more immediate fighting.
August 16th .- General Pillow to General Polk :- " At 2 o'clock last night I received the inclosed communication from Thompson (Jeff) which explains itself ; also the inclosed Extra Republican [Missouri ( Democrat) Republican] from which it is now certain that a battle, and a bloody one, has been fought between McCulloch and Lyon's forces, in which the latter was defeated and Lyon killed. You will perceive from the Republican that it has thrown every- thing into commotion. -X- His whole force ( Union ) except two thousand at Bird's Point, is drawn up to St. Louis, to save that city and protect his retreating force, crippled and cut to pieces. * * The great city of St. Louis, with its capital, shops, and bank capital, the point from which all his operations must be directed, is in imminent danger, and will fall if we push up our operations, and then he will have received a blow paralyzing him more than if Washington was captured.
* You will perceive that the steps ordered by you, and based entirely on impressions and information of last night, would be modified by the new light we now have. All of our impressions from then existing lights, are totally changed by the developments since you left, showing that the enemy at that very moment was hurrying his forces from our front to St. Louis, and that the movement involved the fall of his cause in the West."
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And yet, the Thirteenth and the rest of the boys never budged an inch from Rolla, and in less than three and a half months, both Price and McCulloch were in full retreat from the State, towards Arkansas.
After having looked at the conditions of things through General Pillow's spectacles, we will adjust General Mc- Culloch's specs and see how different men see differently.
August 24th .- At Camp Pond Spring, near Springfield Missouri, McCulloch to Hardee : * *
* * " I am in no condition to advance, or even to meet an enemy here ; having little ammunition or supplies of any kind. In fact, with the means of transportation now at my disposal, I find it impossi- ble to keep my force supplied ; and will, in consequence, shorten my line, by falling back to the Arkansas line, near the Indian Territory, and there proceed to drill and organize a force to meet the enemy when they take the field again in this quarter.
" We have little to hope or expect from the people of this State. The force now in the field is undisciplined and led by men
WHO ARE MERE POLITICIANS ;
not a soldier among them to control and organize this mass of humanity. [Pretty tough on Price.] The Missouri forces are in no condition to meet an organized army, nor will they ever be whilst under the present leaders. I dare not join them in my present condition, for fear of having my men completely demoralized, * * *
* Their straggling camp followers stole three hundred stand of arms from my killed and wounded, and borrowed six hundred more of General Pierce, none of which they would return after the battle (Wilson Creek) was over. They stole the tents of my men at Cassville * * in a word, they are not making * friends where they go ; and from all I can see
WE HAD AS WELL BE IN BOSTON
as far as the friendly feelings of the inhabitants are con- cerned."
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Here is a most astonishing revelation which much more than offsets the condition of things as pictured by General Pillow. While the vanquished army was retreating in good order, and by easy stages, towards Rolla, and were in that condition that they could have made a tremendous fight had they been attacked, the General of the victorious army says- fourteen days after the battle-that his army is so badly crippled that he can not advance, nor can he meet an enemy where he is ; and such is the character of any reinforcement of Missouri troops-from which alone, he could draw-that he dare not use them for fear that the contact would utterly demoralize his own men. He, therefore, proposes to with- draw from the State, and reorganize, and build up an army, drilled and disciplined. In fact, General McCulloch might well dread another victory for, another such a victory would utterly destroy both army and victorious General.
And so, while "chewing the cud of sweet and bitter re- flection," it must have become apparent to General Pillow, that
"The best laid scheme of mice and men, gang aft agley."
The rebel general, Jeff Thompson, also kindly contributes evidence at this time, to show that the rebels did not want their real strength known, and much less to march out far enough to have that strength measured on the battle-field.
August 18th .- Camp Benton, Jeff Thompson to General Pillow : "I hope some of the troops will be up immediately, as the chances are that Marsh (Colonel C. C., Twentieth Illi- nois Volunteers) may hear the truth as to the paucity of my force and attempt to give me a fight to-morrow or next day ; and I am anxious to run him through a thrashing machine."
In the meantime, at the post at Rolla, things seemed to move monotonously quiet and provokingly slow. We heard of bands of rebels, here and there, plundering and driving away Union people, who flocked to Rolla for protection, and while the boys chafed to go after the rebs, the refugees were
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indignant that a force was not started out immediately to rein- state them in the homes from which they so recently had been ejected ; and they seemed to expect that Colonel Wyman would send a sufficient force to place a guard around every house that had contained a Union family. Besides this, the wife of every blatant rebel in Missouri had the cheek to demand a guard for their houses, on the ground that the ladies were in danger of abuse from the soldiers; and, at the same time, it was altogether probable that some of the hus- bands, brothers and sons of these secesh ladies were plotting and working to effect what moved Colonel Wyman to make the following report to General Fremont :
August 29th .- " General : As the train from St. Louis was approaching this place last evening, and when within seven miles, a terrible explosion was heard immediately under the tender of the engine and the baggage-car of the train. . As soon as the train was stopped it was ascertained that a keg, or part of a keg of powder had been put upon the track, and so arranged with combustibles as that it would explode when the train went over it. It did explode, but most fortunately without injuring any person, or damaging the track in the least. I immediately dispatched forty of my best mounted men to the point, with orders to reinforce the guards already on the road, and to arrest any suspicious person they might find.
"A messenger is just in from them, and informs me they have found two places where the rails have been removed from the track, evidently with
THE INTENTION OF DESTROYING THE TRAIN WITH TROOPS,
which was to have left here at three this morning. As soon as it is light enough to admit, I shall start the train, on which is embarked the Second Kansas Regiment and some good track-repairers, and I trust there will be little delay in getting through. The receipt of this will enable you to judge." * * *
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