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 2 > Part 3
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It was a grand sight ; it was an awful thought. It seems so strange that in this world the cause of righteousness and humanity has had to travel over gory fields and walk amid human wails.
We learn through the rebel dispatches and communica- tions that the fight was made during the earlier part of the night for what was called the Summerville Road, and that by 2 o'clock the whole of Lookout Mountain was abandoned.
It appears from these dispatches that they were afraid all
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the time that they could not hold the position. It is certain that the defense was not all that it should have been for such a stronghold.
Here we met some of the same men that we had captured at Vicksburg, and it may be that they were not altogether hearty in their defense. Then, too, there seems to have been some difficulty among the officers.
Early in the evening after some brisk skirmishing, Gen- eral Carlin with a fine brigade came from Chattanooga and connected with our forces, so that the way was opened into the city by way of the mountain.
Lookout Mountain was now all in our possession. It has been a question what regiment first put a flag on the top of the mountain. It has been claimed for our regiment. I can vouch for this incident. Captain Beardsley, later Major of the regiment, came to the writer, then a Sergeant in Company B, about I o'clock, and said : "I believe the rebels have left the top of the mountain, and that we can some way get up those palisades, and have the flag of the Thirteenth wave there first. If a dozen of you reliable boys will go with me, I will get permission to try it." Some of them agreed to join in it, but when he sought the permission from his superior, it was denied.
The next morning some other flag was waving there. I met the Captain and he said : "Sergeant, it almost makes ine sick to see some other flag than the Thirteenth there, when I am sure we could have had ours there first."
General Whittaker reports that "early on the morning of the 25th I called for volunteers from the Eighth Kentucky Infantry to scale the cliffs and take possession of Lookout Rock. It was not known what force was on the top. Cap- tain Wilson of Company C and seven men offered, and soon took possession of the place, and . unfurled our country's flag where so lately treason had flaunted the symbol of her ruin. This flag was the gift of the loyal women of Estill county, Kentucky."
In the absence of any denial of this, let us take for granted
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that this is how it was, and that whatever special honor goes with it, belongs to them, as it would have to us, if we had gotten our flag there first.
Early the next morning, for some bungling reason, we marched down the mountain again and got our breakfast and then marched back over the mountain again into Chattanooga valley.
As we were marching down the mountain side, we could plainly see almost the whole of General Grant's army then in the valley, moving out toward the ridge, to battle ; mostly infantry, but with it much artillery and some cavalry. It was a fine sight, such as few men ever see in a lifetime.
We soon came upon the creek over which the enemy had withdrawn and destroyed the bridges. This caused great delay, and with it loss of vantage. It is fair to presume, that had General Hooker struck General Bragg's left, three hours sooner, the results would have been much more disastrous to the rebel army.
As it was, it was too near night to make the most of our advantage. As we came to this stream we found a few of the rebel wounded that had been carried so far, and then for some reason abandoned. They were quite bitter in their denuncia- tions of being left to freeze to death.
Having got across the stream we, with the rest of our division, and General Hooker's forces, moved across the valley and down the ridge till opposite Rossville Gap, in and about which was stationed General Bragg's extreme left.
They were soon driven out of this and we were in the gap and on the ridge. On the ridge we marched over some of our dead that had fallen at the battle of Chickamauga over two months before, but had been unburied. A few days after this, a detail of our men picked up the skeletons of over three hundred, and buried them.
An incident that occurred just after we got possession of the gap, and while our regiment was resting on the top of the ridge and facing the road that led down from the open country through this gap, is a striking illustration of nerve.
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While resting, I, with others, saw a rebel officer ride down this road on a fine horse into our lines. As he found himself right upon our forces (not knowing we were in possession of the gap) he did not even draw a rein or give any sign but that what he intended to do was to come into our lines. He rode right on to General Osterhaus's headquarters in the gap, and asked for an ambulance to remove a wounded rebel officer up on the ridge. He then came back and rode up the hill on the North side of the gap. One of the men said, "See, there goes that rebel again ; I have a mind to put a ball into him before he gets away." He put spurs to his horse and disappeared on the top of the ridge. He doubtless thought to get out of our lines and regain his own again, but just then he came upon the good old Fourth Iowa, some of whom were scat- tered along that part of the ridge as skirmishers. One of them quickly halted him and bade him dismount. It was the wise thing to do seeing he was looking down a loaded and cocked rifle in the hands of a determined soldier. So he did it. He found his way among other prisoners who were moving North. General Osterhaus rode his horse after that. Some of the boys will remember the little blooded roan. The man was Captain Breckenridge, the son of General Breckenridge.
We captured some artillery and much camp stuff here. We then moved up the road that led through the gap into the open country for perhaps a mile or more, when we came to where the road forked, one leading to the southeast to Ringgold and the other to the northeast along the Ridge. We followed the latter road for some distance, when we were stopped and faced toward the Ridge in line of battle.
During this time the artillery firing along the line of battle was just terrific. It seemed as though it would bring on an earthquake.
Some notice must have reached General Bragg of the fight at Rossville Gap, for a body of rebel troops was seen moving down in that direction as reinforcements. They were not aware of our presence to the rear of the Ridge, and when they
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saw the situation, most of them laid down their arms and surrendered.
As we stood in line and about to advance, a family that had been living in a house near the rebel lines, frightened by the fearful cannonading, ran for our lines, a man and a grand- mother and a younger woman with three children. They passed through our regiment to the rear. One of the children was a boy of seven or eight years of age who became familiar with camp-life, and was dressed in Southern uniform. He did not seem in the least frightened by this state of affairs, and with his hands in his pockets, said, " Well, I think you have got them this time." He seemed to have taken in the situation quite fully for one so young.
We were ordered forward to the enemy's lines across an open space on double-quick. Over twenty-seven years. have gone by, but it seems to me that I can see that rail fence dis- appear before us, as some of the men ran before us and leveled it in a moment.
We were after them and they were fleeing. The troops on the other side of the ridge had shaken the tree and we were holding the bag to get the fruit. With almost no loss to our division at this time, we are credited with making large capt- ures of prisoners.
Our regiment is given credit with having captured two hundred and fifty-eighty men.
The following is the tabulated report as given by Brig .- Gen. C. R. Woods of the prisoners taken by his brigade dur- ing the 24th, 25th and 27th.
Third Missouri Volunteers . . 197
Twelfth Missouri Volunteers . 179
Seventeenth Missouri Volunteers : 219
Twenty-seventh Missouri Volunteers 409
Twenty-ninth Missouri Volunteers 2
Thirty-first Missouri Volunteers . 76
Thirty-second Missouri Volunteers 250
Thirteenth Illinois Volunteers 25S
Seventy-sixth Ohio . 410
Total 1,999
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I most gladly insert at this point a supplement report of General Osterhaus, which the Thirteenth and their friends are proud of. We considered Lieutenant Josselyn among the bravest of our brave men.
HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, FIFTEENTH ARMY CORPS,
BRIDGEPORT, December 14, '63.
GENERAL : I omitted to state in my report that Lieut. S. T. Josselyn and a party of skirmishers of the gallant Thirteenth Illinois Infantry captured the battle-flag of the Eighteenth Alabama on Missionary Ridge, November 25th. I forward the flag to you with this supplemen- tary report. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant. P. Jos. OSTERHAUS.
[Brigadier-General of Volunteers Commanding First Division Fifteenth Army Corps. ]
To Major-General D. BUTTERFIELD,
Chief of Staff, Major-General HOOKER'S Army.
Having gathered in all the prisoners we could, we camped on the Ridge where part of Bragg's army had been in full possession and camped the night before. We walked around among the dead and gathered some of the rebel wounded to our camp-fires and shared.our blankets with them, as it was a severely cold night for camping out with- out any shelter.
: General Bragg's headquarters had been near where we camped and he and General Breckenridge narrowly escaped capture at our hands.
On the next morning our army started in pursuit of the fleeing forces. Our division was in the rear, and met with nothing special during the day other than the tiresome fact that it took the whole day to reach Chickamauga Creek, six miles away, where we camped for the night. Before leaving camp the Thirteenth boys picked up some stragglers as prisoners and four hundred guns.
GENERAL BRAGG REPORTS.
" By a decided stand here the enemy was entirely checked, and that portion of our force to the right, remained intact.
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All to the left, however, except a portion of Bates' Division, was entirely routed, and in rapid flight, nearly all of the artil- lery having been shamefully abandoned by its infantry sup- port. Every effort which could be made by myself and staff and many other mounted officers, availed but little. [A Southern historian tells us that he rode among his men crying, "Here is your commander." Their reply was, " Here is your mule." They had lost confidence in him.] A panic, which I had never witnessed before, seemed to have seized upon officers and men, and each seemed to be struggling for his personal safety, regardless of his duty or character. In this distressing and alarming state of affairs, General Bates was ordered to hold his position, covering the road for the retreat of Breckenridge's command, and orders were immediately sent to Generals Hardee and Breckenridge to retire their forces on the depot at Chickamauga.
"Fortunately it was now near nightfall, and the country and roads in our rear were fully known to us, but equally un- known to the enemy. The routed left, made its way back in great disorder, effectually covered, however, by Bates' com- mand, which had a sharp conflict with the enemy's advance, driving it back. After night, all being quiet, Bates retired in good order, the enemy attempting no pursuit.
"No satisfactory excuse can possibly be given for the shameful conduct of our troops on the left in allowing their line to be penetrated. The line was one that ought to have been held by a line of skirmishers against any assaulting column, and wherever real resistance was made, the enemy fled in disorder, after suffering heavy loss.
" Those of our enemy who reached the Ridge did so in a condition of exhaustion, from the great physical exertion in climbing, which rendered them powerless, and the slightest effort would have destroyed them. Having secured much of our artillery, they soon availed themselves of our panic, and, turning our guns upon us, enfilading the lines both right and left, rendering them entirely untenable.
"But one possible reason presents itself as an explanation of
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such bad conduct in veteran troops. They had for two days confronted the enemy, marshaling his immense forces in plain view, and exhibiting to their sight, such a superiority in numbers, as may have intimidated weak-minded and untried soldiers. But our veterans had so often encountered similar hosts, when the strength of position was against us, and with perfect success, that not a doubt of holding the lines crossed my mind. Our losses are not yet ascertained, but in killed and wounded it is known to have been small. In prisoners and stragglers, I fear it is much larger. The chief of artillery reports the loss of forty pieces."
On the 27th the pursuit was continued with our division and our brigade in the advance. We moved out of the camp at 6 a. m. We soon came upon the sights to be found in the wake of an army fleeing in haste. Broken-down gun-car- riages, abandoned wagons, guns, ambulances, clothes, etc. For some reasons whether for good or bad, many rebels lin- gered in the woods. Some forty or fifty were picked up as prisoners.
Captain House with his men mounted, some one hundred and seventy in number, led the way followed by the Seven- teenth Missouri Infantry, as skirmishers. When they came to the Chickamauga Creek, near the town of Ringgold, they found the ford and a covered bridge to the right of the ford and further up the creek, guarded by about two hundred rebel cavalry. Captain House dashed at them and drove them into town. When the rebels saw the inferiority of numbers against them, they in turn drove him out of the town and back across the ford. The Seventeenth and Twenty-ninth Missouri hastened by a circuitous route to get possession of the covered bridge. This took time, but it was better than to force the infantry through three feet of water. The roads were bad and for some reason the artillery was not up-a mistake-had it been the enemy could have been driven out with much loss of life and limb.
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IN FRONT OF THE GAP.
As our regiment came up, we passed to the right of the ford up the stream to the covered bridge over it, and through the town by flank. Just ahead of us were the Seventeenth, Twenty-ninth and Thirty-first Missouri Regi- · ment that had been skirmishing up to the foot of Taylor Ridge, where the enemy were strongly posted. The rebels pressed upon these and drove them back in some confusion. We then passed up near the depot and filed to the right into line squarely across the gap, in an open space. The boys were as chipper as could be, and hardly expecting so much danger so near at hand. We had scarcely got faced to the front, when fromn a clump of young trees, a masked battery of two pieces belched forth grape and canister. This passed through the right wing of our regiment. By it Captain Beardsley of Company D was wounded, John Dykeman of Company C had his thigh broken, and Martin Blair of Company A was bruised. Poor Dykeman of Company C, I stood near him as he went down with a groan. He and Fred Darling of Company D and the writer, were caught close up under the rebel works at the Chickasaw charge and came near being captured, but at dusk made our way off, carrying with us a badly wounded Fourth Iowa man. Dykeman lingered along till January Ioth, 1864, and then died of his wounds.
MASKED BATTERY FIRE.
This was a surprise and a severe test of our nerve and power of concession as a regiment ; at a word from the offi- cers, all the men lay flat on the ground but stayed in place.
Let us hear what General Cleburne, who was in com- mand of the forces that opposed us, says: "Shortly after S a. m. the enemy's skirmishers were in view, advancing. He opened fire, and under cover of it, his line of battle was placed and moved with the utmost decision and celerity against the ridge on the right of the gap. So quick and confident was this attack, the enemy must have acted on a concerted plan,
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and must have had guides who knew well the nature of the country. As the first line moved toward the ridge, its right flank became exposed at canister range to my artillery in the mouth of the gap. Five or six rapid discharges broke the right of this line to pieces and caused them to run for shelter under the railroad embankment."
Soon after this burst of canister upon us, the word came to advance some skirmishers to the front of the line. Lieu- tenant-Colonel Partridge ordered forward Companies A and B, and went with them. The fire was directed toward the two pieces of artillery, so as to keep them from firing if possible. Among these skirmishers John D. Davis, of Company B was wounded in the mouth before he got in a shot ; he brought off his gun, went to the rear ; had his wound dressed and came back into the front. The order then came to advance the whole regiment. Major Bushnell gave the command, when the men arose and bending as though facing a hail-storm, moved most gallantly to the front. . I am not prepared to say that the regiment understood just what was expected of them. . I think if the command would have been given, they would have gone into the gap, and to the mouth of the guns.
As it was, they went as far as the log-house located at the mouth of the gap and then sought shelter behind it and the barn, pig-pen and some old railroad ties near by.
THE COLORS GO DOWN.
But before they had reached this line the battery had opened upon them with canister sweeping through about where the colors were moving. Sergeant Patrick Riley of Company K bore the colors and went down with a grape- shot through his breast. His life's blood soaked the Stars and Stripes and to-day stain most of its folds as it rests in the State house at Springfield, Illinois. Of course the colors went down with the brave man, but did not long remain. Corporal Joseph Sackett of Company C and a member of the Color- guard took up "Old Glory," now more sacred because
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drenched with patriotic blood, and bore it for some distance. As the regiment was no longer advancing, this brave man dropped the flag through the fork of an apple tree and cast himself upon the ground by it. It remained swinging under the eyes of the rebels during the rest of the fight.
It is of this flag that General Cleburne says "a stand of colors lay temptingly within sixty yards of my line, and some of the officers wanted to charge and get it, but as it promised no solid advantage to compensate for the loss of brave soldiers, I would not permit it.
A Dalton newspaper in speaking of our regiment's action at this time, did so in the most glowing terms, and with the spirit of exaggeration so common with the times, said we had come on without faltering, until the dead were actually piled up in the road.
The fight went on in the most determined way with con- stant losses to us. Colonel Partridge received a painful wound in his left hand, while standing near the barn not far from the bank of the creek. Wishing to have it dressed, he asked one of Company B to seek Major Bushnell and ask him to take command of the regiment for a time. But the Major could not receive the word, for his ear was already heavy in death and his eye was dimmed to the sight of earthly things. He had paid the highest price possible on the altar of his country.
With some others he had sought shelter behind some rail- road ties ; for unnecessary exposure was no virtue at such a time. A bullet from the enemy had grazed the end of a tie, .
and passing into his forehead lodged in the back part of his neck.
The command was given into the hands of Capt. Walter Blanchard of Company K, who was located behind the log- house spoken of. Ere long, while he stood at the corner of the house, he was struck by a grape-shot that tore his knee all into pieces. He died from the effects of it about one week later.
In this same house Chas. Beckman, of Company K, was
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struck and had his right arm broken while in the act of shoot- ing out of the window. He gave a little shriek as the bone snapped, and then was as brave as a man could be.
Robert Skinner was shot while passing from the pig-pen to the barn. I saw him fall. Seaman of the same company was shot and died from the effects of a hip amputation the next day.
Chas. V. Peck was struck on the top of his head, and with the brain open to the air, was living yet at the close of the battle.
Those who were either killed on the field or died from wounds soon after, numbered twelve, while the killed and wounded were sixty.
W. B. Howe, of Company E, had four fingers shot off of one hand and three off of the other. Just twenty-six years from that day, he was instantly killed . by an engine in Chicago.
Ed. Sheehey, of Company H, seemed not to have any sense of danger. He was in the house ; he shuffled his feet and sang and swore in the thickest of the fight.
After we had fought some time and our ammunition was about all gone, some New York troops were ordered in as a support or a relief. But they only came in to get many killed and wounded. We had fought our way in and could hold the ground with less loss than any other body of troops.
We learn that the reason for crowding so closely and strongly. on the gap was the hope of breaking through the lines before the enemy could get out of the way on the other side, and then be compelled to lose heavily in war material, if not in men. It failed. Another way would have been better ; fewer men would have been sacrificed.
In this house in the gap a family lived. They were in the cellar while the battle was on, and made their appearance at the close of it. There was an able-bodied man in the number. He claimed to be innocent, but he was counted among the prisoners and given a free ride North.
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The woman of the house scolded freely for making her feather bed bloody from Captain Blanchard's wound.
FLYING DUTCHMAN.
A graphic account is given of Captain Landgraber getting up his battery to our relief. He got within sound of our firing, but the road was filled so that he could not pass. But he was wild to go to the front. He dashed fiercely about until he got the order to give him the road. His men were mounted, and he was known as the " Flying Dutchman." He fairly won the title, both by his action in putting his battery in position at Vicksburg, and by his conduct on this day. As soon as he secured the right of way, he fairly flew along that stony road, bidding it to be cleared for his men. He said, " Oh my Gott, the Twelfth Missouri and Thirteenth Illinois are being killed, and I am not there to help them." These two regiments had won his special affection.
Then came the word, "Forward." Then the spurs and whips were applied until those guns fairly flew to pieces as they went sounding over those rough roads. Coming to the Chickamauga creek, the speed was not slackened. As they passed through the creek the water flew as if a cyclone had gone by. A few moments more, and some of the guns were in our rear and sending shells over our heads and into the ene- my's lines that made music to us sweeter than the notes of the dulcimer. Two twenty-pound Parrotts came up and joined in the song of relief.
The guns of Semple's rebel battery commanded by Lieu- tenant Goldwaite were withdrawn about I p. m .; but they had held the ground long enough to keep us from securing much of the train. The battle was over.
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ـداء ساعة السعر
CHAPTER XXVIII.
WE CLOSED 1862 AMID SLAUGHTER AND DEFEAT ; AND NOW, WITH NO LESS CARNAGE, 1863 CURTAINS OUR ARMY WITH PROUD VICTORY.
HE enemy having retreated, we gathered ourselves together to sorrowfully look upon our dead and care for the wounded, as best we could. One of the boys lay behind the old corn-crib or barn near the creek, bloody from head to foot, having been struck six times ; twice with grape-shot and four times with bullets. Some of these wounds were made as he lay on the ground helpless. He died the next day.
There was an old horse standing in the wagon shed. He was first hit and one leg was broken, then another, and then a third ; and then the poor old fellow dropped. The pig in the sty was shot by his own pen, but shot by our men. Chaplain Needham, brave as the bravest, collected the ambulance corps and went into the thickest of the battle to carry the wounded off. While doing so, one of the bearers was wounded and had to be carried off. The Colonel then forbade his taking such risks, telling him to wait until the battle was over.
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