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 4
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The writer of these events fought from the house in the gap. And while doing so knocked out a piece of a clapboard from the kitchen so as to have a place to fire from. Seven- teen years later he passed through the town and gap on a railroad train. The only change noticeable in the house was
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HISTORY OF THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT
that the board was tacked on again temporarily. The South does not rush in improvements.
We moved back across the creek near the ford and went into camp. The body of Major Bushnell was taken with us and kept in camp during the night. Sergeant Harvey was detailed to take the body to his old home in Sterling, Illinois, for burial. He started the next day. The wounded that could bear moving were removed to Chattanooga hospital.
Two things were now to be thought of by the command- ing General. The one was to pursue Bragg's army and the other was to send relief to General Burnside, who was besieged in Knoxville by General Longstreet's army.
Could both be done to advantage? General Grant decided he could not do both well, and so he decided to save Burnside if possible, and in doing so save East Tennessee to our armies. A consideration to this last was our lack of supplies to follow farther.
The pursuit of Bragg was given up and the forces turned toward Knoxville with General Sherman's command.
General Grant says in his report at the time " I returned from the front on the 28th. I found Granger had not got off. Besides he moved reluctantly and with complaints. I deter- mined therefore, notwithstanding the fact that two divisions of Sherman's forces had marched from Memphis and had gone into battle immediately on the arrival at Chattanooga, to send him with his command to do the work, and orders in accord- ance therewith were sent to him at Calhoun, to assume com- mand of the troops with Granger, in addition to those with him, and proceed with all possible dispatch to the relief of Burnside.
Sherman succeeded in getting to Knoxville in time to · relieve Burnside.
Before going further, I will introduce the casualties as reported. First, by General Grant for our whole army. Second, by General Bragg for the Confederate army. Third, that for our army corps. Fourth, that for our division.
What next? On November 27th, from Grayville, Georgia,
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ILLINOIS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY. 391
General Sherman's Adjutant-General writes to General O. O. Howard :
GENERAL : General Sherman visited General Grant to-day at Ring- gold by appointment, and the following movements were ordered. After the destruction of a section of the railroad from Dalton to Cleve- land by your corps, the army will return to its original camps at or near Chattanooga by way of Chickamauga depot.
To-morrow the Fifteenth Corps will destroy the railroad and all the property of use to an enemy in this neighborhood, and General Hook- er's command will in like manner destroy that in the neighborhood of Ringgold, and as soon as advised of your arrival at Parker's Gap, the General will make the necessary orders for the general movement back to Chattanooga.
By order of MAJOR-GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN.
It will not be out of place to record here the good words said by the several generals of our regiment and its conduct during the campaign.
General Hooker says of the fight at Ringgold : "The only way to ascertain the enemy's strength was to feel him, and as our success if prompt would be crowned with a rich harvest of material, without waiting for my artillery, the skirmishers advanced. A brisk musketry fire began between the skir- mishers. At the same time the enemy kept his skirmishers at work. The Thirteenth Illinois Regiment from the right of Woods' brigade was thrown forward to seize houses from which. gunners could be picked off by our men. These were heroically taken, and held by that brave regiment. Ap- prehensive that he might lose his artillery, the enemy ad- vanced with a superior force on our skirmishers, and they fell back of Woods' line, when that excellent officer drove them into the gorge, and they left their dead and wounded on the ground. Our skirmishers at once re-occupied their line, the Thirteenth Illinois all the time maintaining its position with resolution and obstinacy."
It was reported current in camp after the battle, that while Generals Hooker and Osterhaus stood behind the stone depot, General Hooker had said with much feeling, that he
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HISTORY OF THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT
feared the Thirteenth Illinois and the Twelfth Missouri would give way under such fierce firing, before the artillery could come up in support. General Osterhaus had replied with much assurance, "General, you never mind, I know those men, and they never give back," and that General Hooker had turned away with impatience.
General Osterhaus says, " While Colonel Cramer's line of skirmishers drove the rebels back on their main line, and ad- vanced beyond the railroad, General Woods received orders to deploy the Thirteenth Illinois and the Third and Twelfth Missouri regiments on the line just vacated by Colonel Cramer. The enemy's artillery was placed at short-range in the gap, and, partly shielded by undergrowth and young pine trees, kept up a most galling fire. He fired mostly grape and canister. * -X At the same time I ordered the Thirteenth Illinois Infantry ( which held the extreme right) to advance rapidly over an open field to a few houses in front. By these movements I concentrated a converging fire on the enemy's artillery, which I hoped to secure by driving off the enemy's cannoneers and supports.
"The Thirteenth Illinois Infantry executed the order in mag- nificent style. They charged through a hail-storm of bullets, and gained the position assigned to them and held it. Al- though the rebels poured a most murderous fire on these brave men from the gorge in front and the hill on the right, the Thirteenth remained undaunted, keeping up a vehement fire.
"I beg leave to call your attention to the very heavy per- centage of losses among the officers, and I can not pass over the fact without expressing the highest praise for their energy, valor and, in fact, every virtue which honors a good soldier. To name those who behaved most gallantly, is the next thing to an impossibility, as I feel under obligations to every one, officers and men. They were all ready to do their duty, and they did it nobly and well under the most trying circumstances. I take pleasure, however, in recapitulating from the reports of my brigade commanders the names they mention ; The heroic
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Colonel Wangelin, of the Twelfth Missouri, who lost his right arm. Lieutenant-Colonel Partridge, of the Thirteenth Illinois, who lost part of his left hand. The lamented Major Bushnell, of the Thirteenth Illinois, who sacrificed his life, and Captain Walter Blanchard, of the Thirteenth Illinois, who lost his leg and a week later yielded his life. Also Captain Beardsley, of the Thirteenth Illinois, who was badly wounded in the arm."
Gen. Chas. R. Woods, commander of our brigade, says : "The fighting on the extreme right was severe, The Thir- teenth Illinois Infantry firing one hundred. rounds of cartridges per man, besides taking all the ammunition from their killed and wounded in order to hold their position."
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CASUALTIES FOR THE UNION AND CONFEDERATE FORCES, NOVEMBER 23 TO 27.
KILLED. WOUNDED.
CAPTURED OR MISSING.
: Officers.
Enlisted men.
Officers.
Enlisted men.
Officers.
Enlisted men.
Aggregates. I
Casualties for the Union forces Nov. 23d to 27. 66
69 684
395 4,329
27 322
15,824
Confederate “
Killed.
Wounded.
Missing.
361
2, ISO
4,146
General Grant reports there were captured 6,142 Prisoners.
7,000 Stand of arms. 40 Cannon.
CASUALTIES IN THE FIFTEENTH ARMY CORPS.
KILLED.
WOUNDED. MISSING.
TOTAL.
First Division .
69
364
66
497
Second Division
IO
90
2
102
Third Division
89
2SS
122
499
Fourth Division
72
535
.21
628
Total loss in Fifteenth Army Corps.
238
1,277
21I
1,726
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Return of Casualties in the First Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps, Nov. 23d to Nov. 27th, IS63-General P. J. Osterhaus, command- ing.
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COMMAND. - FIRST DIVISION. BRIGADIER-GENERAL P. J. OSTERHAUS. First Brigade. Brigadier-General Charles R. Woods.
KILLED.
WOUNDED.
CAPTURED OR MISSING.
TOTAL.
Off.|Men. Off
Men.
Off. |Men.
Thirteenth Illinois Infantry.
I
3
7
51
I
63
Third Missouri Infantry
I
4
19
3
27
Seventeenth Missouri Infantry
I
4
3
II
I
20
Twenty-seventh Missouri Infantry
2
I
10
13
Twenty-ninth Missouri Infantry
2
5
19
2
26
54
Thirty-first Missouri Infantry
I
2
19
6
25
Thirty-second Missouri Infantry
16
3
10
2
63
Totals
5 28
25 II8
4 37
277
Second Brigade. Colonel J. A. Williamson.
KILLED.
WOUNDED.
CAPTURED OR MISSING.
TOTAL.
Off. |Men. Off.|
Men.
Off.j
Men.
Fourth Iowa Infantry
I
I
.36
2
49
Ninth Iowa Infantry
I2
15
Twenty-fifth Iowa Infantry
9
7
22
29
Twenty-sixth Iowa Infantry
3
4
I2
I6
Thirtieth Iowa Infantry
I
22
27
Thirty-first Iowa Infantry
I
16
19
Totals
I
18
14
120
2
155
Total First Division.
KILLED.
WOUNDED.
CAPTURED OR MISSING.
TOTAL.
Totals
6
46
1.39
Men 298
Off.| Men 4 39
432
A GREAT WORK DONE.
A great work had just been done, first in the relief of our beleaguered armies in Chattanooga and Knoxville, and second in the decisive blow to the Confederate armies, as that they were not only driven back with great losses, but compelled to change commanders. Even though they made a change for the better, yet it is a blow to an army to have so much dissat- isfaction as to be compelled to change leaders, either before or after a battle. It was a strength to our Western arms that
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Off. |Men.
Off.
2
2
Seventy-sixth Ohio Infantry
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j
7
7
Twelfth Missouri Infantry
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ILLINOIS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
Grant and Sherman from Shiloh to the end of the war went up together. In view of the work done and advantage gained, congratulations were now in order.
From Washington, D. C., came the following dispatch :
Major-General GRANT :
Understanding that your lodgment at Chattanooga and Knoxville are now secure, I wish to tender you and all under your command my more than thanks, my profoundest gratitude for the skill, courage and perseverance with which you and they, over so great difficulties, have effected that important object. God bless you all.
A. LINCOLN.
When Congress assembled it passed two joint resolutions of thanks. The first addressed to General Grant and the army under him, accompanied by a medal, and a second to General Sherman.
As we bore a very honorable part as a regiment in this campaign, for which these thanks were offered, we may here insert them as being addressed to us.
The text of the first is as follows :
Be it resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled :
That the thanks of Congress be, and they hereby are presented to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant, and through him to the officers and soldiers who have fought under his command during the rebellion, for their gallantry and good conduct in the battles in which they have been engaged. And that the President of the United States, be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck with suitable emblems and devices and inscriptions to be presented to Major-General Grant.
And be it further resolved, That when the said medal shall have been struck, the President shall cause a copy of this joint resolution to be engrossed on parchment, and shall transmit the same together with the said medal, to Major-General Grant, to be presented to him in the name of the people of the United States of America.
SCHUYLER COLFAX, Speaker of the House of Representatives. HANNIBAL HAMLIN,
Vice-President and President of the Senate.
A. LINCOLN.
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HISTORY OF THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT
The second, a tender of thanks to General W. T. Sherman, was as follows :
Be it resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled :
That the thanks of Congress and the people of the United States are due, and the same are hereby tendered to Major-General W. T. Sherman, Commander of the Army of the Tennessee, and the officers and soldiers who served under him for their gallant and arduous services in marching to the relief of the Army of the Cumberland, and for their gallantry and heroism in the battle of Chattanooga, which contributed in a great de- gree to the success of our army in that glorious victory.
. GENERAL HOOKER'S FREE LANCE.
The following extract from a letter written by General Hooker to Salmon P. Chase, at that time secretary of the treasury, shows that the general was on horseback thrusting his lance right and left. It also incidentally brings out one of the weak points in the carrying on of war, viz., the ambition and spirit of jealousy held among the officers.
He says : "I wrote you hastily from Ringgold, and in my letter intimated that the battle just ended had developed and closed differently from what was designed, so far as concerned the operation of my column. * By the first order that unceremoniously deprived me of the Eleventh corps, you will perceive that the strategy and tactics of the campaign were to throw it into the hands of Sherman, to my exclusion. On receiving this order I said to General Thomas, that it was my practice to accompany that part of my command going into battle, and that if he had no objection I would go with the Eleventh corps to Chattanooga, to which he assented and said that he would be glad to have me do so. You will ob- serve that the attack was ordered to be on Saturday, the 19th. At this time the greater part of the troops to whom the duty was assigned, were at Bridgeport, certainly two good marches distant. Of course they were not on hand, at the appointed time, and the movement that was intended more or less to be a surprise, was postponed, first, until the next day (Sunday ),
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ILLINOIS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
and again until the following Tuesday. You will rightly conclude that these delays extinguished all hopes of taking the enemy unawares. * * Meanwhile I received a re- quest from General Thomas to remain in Lookout Valley. I presume for the reason that he expected some demonstration of the enemy in this direction, as at the time of making the order it was not known that any force would be left me to make any aggressive movement. The thing began to look squally for me; I said to Butterfield it was cut and dried for me to be a spectator to the fight, but I thought I would have a toe in the stirrup, somehow, before it was over ; that it had been my fortune to take a leading part in every battle except that of the first Malvern from the beginning of the rebellion ; that man proposed and God disposed in the matter of battles, and went about my business, obeying orders as usual to the best of my ability.
" Monday night came and found three of Sherman's divis- ions over the bridge at Brown's Ferry, when, lo and behold ! the pontoon parted and left Osterhaus's division on my side in Lookout Valley. Near midnight I received orders that in the event that the division could not cross that night, I would con- sider it of my command and attack Lookout Mountain. You know the rest, That day I crossed Lookout and the night of that day and the following morning, Sherman crossed the Tennessee with his command.
"All of Sherman's attacks were made after I carried Look- out which enabled me to command the enemy's defense across Chattanooga Valley, and which my success had compelled him to abandon. This attack on the left after I had taken Lookout, can only be considered in the light of a disaster.
"Sherman is an active, energetic officer, but in judgment is as infirm as Burnside. He will never be successful. Please remember what I tell you. It was natural. for Grant to feel partial to his old companions and do all possible to enhance their renown ; nevertheless you will appreciate my nervous- ness in being placed in a situation in which this partiality was manifest wholly at my expense. (It was clear in this
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HISTORY OF THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT
case and I suppose in too many other cases beside, 'personal renown ' was put first, and the cause of the Union second. )
"I will do Grant the justice to believe that he was honestly of the opinion that the plan he adopted was the most likely to secure the success of our arms. He aimed for the battle to commence and end on the left, while it commenced and ended on the right. I am informed that he has since said, 'Damn the battle, I had nothing to do with it !'
"The day after Lookout, I encountered the rebels on Mis- sionary Ridge, when my disposition and their executions were extremely gratifying to me. At Ringgold I was fairly up with the tail end of the enemy's column. My losses in all three operations will be near eleven hundred men. I took upward of four thousand prisoners, eight pieces of artillery, eight stand of colors and a large lot of small arms, etc.
"The troops were wrought up to an intense degree of excite- ment, and I believe there is no one of them from the highest to the lowest, who will not say those four days were not only the most eventful, but the happiest of their lives. We started out with two days' rations, but that was enough. We lived on excitement. My command consisted of detachments of all the armies, and they inet for the first time on the morning of the advancement on Lookout. I was convinced with the force I there had, it was in my power to follow the army until I captured or destroyed it.
"The pursuit, however, was suspended for the reason, I believe, that the commanding general had not sufficient confi- dence in the opinion of Burnside as to the impregnability of his position at Knoxville to leave him to take care of himself till I could take care of Bragg's army. He might have been influenced by considerations of which I have no knowledge. I only know that here the pursuit ended.
* I re- gret that Sherman should have returned from Knoxville until Longstreet was driven so far into North Carolina that return would be impossible. I am of the opinion that he will rejoin Bragg's army by the road through the mountain leading from Raleigh. This will surely be his course if an advance is
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ILLINOIS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
looked for from here, but we are in no condition to advance, and if no improvement is made in our communications, we never can.
"I spoke about the raising of negro troops in Kentucky and Tennessee, and mentioned General Butterfield in connec- tion with it, only for the reason that I know of no officer who would accomplish so muchi in so short a time. His forte is dispatch and completeness of organization. He will accom- plish more in one day than most men can in ten. I have become so sick of the war, that I desire nothing so much as its termination.
"If my services in this rebellion do not merit reward, they certainly have been such as to shield me from punishment.
"Many of my juniors are in the exercise of independent commands, while I am here with more rank piled on top of me than a man can well stand up under, with a corporal's guard, comparatively, for a command. You can. not wonder at my desire to have the war come to a close, irrespective of the country and the cause. I see that they are pitching into Mead on all sides. I lost my confidence in him when he allowed Lee to escape. I thought well of him as a corps commander, and never doubted that he would do as well in command of an army upon him. He is a small craft and carries no ballast. The report of our veteran General-in-Chief reads well and, if true, would be a good one.
"Grant swears he had no orders to disobey in his campaign of Vicksburg, and I know that I was sent here, not to protect, but to open communications with Rosecran's army. Since I have been in the West I have made the acquaintance of a glorious soldier, and that is General Osterhaus. He is going East in a few days and I hope you will have an opportunity of seeing him. If I may except the Prince de Joinville, he is the best representative of the European service it has been my fortune to become acquainted with. He commanded a Division on my last campaign and I speak from a full knowledge of his admirable mode of governing men, and his splendid conduct on the field. No mistake can be made in making such men
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HISTORY OF THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT
Major-Generals, nor in unmaking many that we have. * With regard to myself, until I fell into command of the Army of the Potomac, I had a good character, and so far as I know I have since, and as I am not conscious of any change in myself, I conclude I was mistaken for the office, and that it was the latter that committed all the offenses against high heaven. Our Savior was calumniated while on earth, and if people have grown wiser since, I doubt if they are better."
ON THE BACK TRACK.
Following the battle of Ringgold, the days and the nights were very cold, so much so that many of the men suffered and could not sleep, as we had no shelter. The badly wounded were either put on flat-cars and the cars pushed by hand to Chattanooga, or carried on stretchers. Captain Blanchard was carried by his men some sixteen miles to a hospital near Chattanooga. We laid in camp near Ringgold for three days after the battle, when the following orders came and set us going again.
On November 30th General Hooker ordered that his com- mand move on the day following, in following order : General Cruft's Division was to move at 2 a. m. and return to its camp on the road to Bridgeport.
General Garey's Division to move at 2:30 a. m. returning to his camp in Lookout Valley.
General Osterhaus's Division to follow General Garey's and encamp in Chattanooga Valley, between Rossville and Chattanooga, and report to General Grant for instructions. The baggage and wagons to start as soon as the moon was up.
General Garey was to destroy all the mills, railroad depots, tanneries and the two bridges across the Chickamauga Creek before leaving.
December Ist, at + p. m., we were moving back over the road we had come, and in the evening after marching fourteen miles, camped between Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mount- ain. The 4th we made our way to Whiteside station, and on
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ILLINOIS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY.
the evening of the 5th, we camped near Bridgeport, having crossed the Tennessee again.
We remained in camp at this place trying to keep warm and only doing those things essential to camp welfare, until December 21st, when we were on the move again. Camped the first night at Stevenson, and then had to await the work of the pioneer corps ; they had to make roads for the teams and artillery to reach the high and more solid road near the foot of the mountain. These roads and the work that had to be done to make them passable would seem appalling to men not used to the work. I remember in a special way the piece of road fitted up at this time. They first cut logs about two feet thick and laid them side by side. On these were laid logs about a foot thick, and on these poles of a smaller size and brush, in order to hold up the teams from sinking, and this had to be done not only for a narrow stream, but for many rods together before any advance could be made at all.
On December 24th we were on the road again, and a tramp of twelve miles brought us near Bellefonte.
Christmas came, cold and cloudy and we celebrated the day by a tramp of sixteen miles over a rough road and put up for the night in the vicinity of the City of Larkinsville Ala- bama. The hotel accommodations not being such as we approved, we rolled up in our blankets and looked up at the twinkling stars until they put us to sleep.
After a rainy night and on a rainy morning we moved on our way to the West; our march, in this particular, that part of the day we took the railroad track leaving the more common road to the wagon trains and artillery. We moved on this way for about ten miles and at 3 p. m. went into camp at Woodville, a small railroad station.
We remained here the remaining days of the year, all of which were cold and wet and disagreeable. It was during this week that the order was read to us, which was a call for the older troops to re-enlist as veterans; with the re-enlist- ment was included a bounty and a thirty days' furlough.
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HISTORY OF THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT
Many of the troops which had served about two years, accepted the proposition and went in for the new term. But our regiment did not take to it strongly. They reasoned this wise ; we have less than five months to serve and we shall be free to go where we please, to stay at home or join the service elsewhere. The number from the regiment that fell in with the arrangement was just forty. All the companies sent one or more except Company E. The greatest number (ten) being from Company C.
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CHAPTER XXIX.
THE COLD NEW YEAR IS64 .- WINTER QUARTERS AT WOOD- VILLE, ALABAMA .- GUARDING RAILROADS .- BATTLES OVER .- SERVICE ENDED .- GOING HOME.
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