USA > Illinois > Ninety-Second Illinois Volunteers > Part 33
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A soldier who was with the detail sends us the following account of carrying a dispatch :
On the morning that Kilpatrick's cavalry took up its line of march from Marietta, Georgia, to Savannah, just as the Ninety- Second had reached the top of the hill near the Military Academy south of Marietta, four men from Company D, Corporal Andrew Deihl, and privates Ezra Wallace, Johnson Lawrence and Albert Craven, were detailed to report at once to General Kilpatrick. The detail immediately reported to General Kilpatrick at the head of the Cavalry Division, and the Corporal was given a sealed dispatch to carry to Colonel William D. Hamilton, of the 9th Ohio Cavalry. General Kilpatrick told us that our undertaking was a dangerous one, for the woods and mountains were full of bushwhackers, but that we must trust to our alertness and our trusty Repeating Spencer Rifles. We were directed to go back as far as Dalton, should we not meet the 9th Ohio Cavalry before reaching there. If we should meet the 9th Ohio before reaching Dalton, we should deliver the dispatch to Colonel Hamilton, and, with the 9th Ohio Cavalry, return to Kilpatrick's command
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again. But, if we missed the 9th Ohio entirely, then, on reach- ing Dalton, we were to choose between the chances of going on back to the garrison at Chattanooga, or making an attempt to retrace our steps, and, following on in the track of the army, rejoin Kilpatrick's Division. So we four started back northward, while all of Sherman's army was marching southward. Nothing occurred to break the monotony of our ride until we reached Al- toona Pass, where we found the citizens engaged in removing the wounded Rebels, who had been there since their fierce attack just after Hood had commenced his march toward Nashville. Some of the Rebel officers, who were but slightly wounded and had their side arms, were a little inclined to be saucy, and intimated that our little squad might have a body-guard before long; but, heed- less of their dark hints, we pushed on, and were soon winding our way along the lonely road around the sharp crags and bluffs that loom up on each side of the road north of Altoona Pass, when, as we made a sharp turn in the road, we saw, only a short distance in front of us, a squad of about thirty Rebels riding leisurely and carelessly toward us. Quickly our four Spencer Rifles came up and flashed their bullets toward the Rebels. In concert we shouted, " Forward, forward, come on, boys," and we four dashed forward, when the thoroughly surprised Rebels, as demoralized as if they had met the whole of the Ninety-Second Regiment, broke and retreated in confusion. As they retreated before us, by ones, and by twos, and by fours, they dived into the woods to escape their pursuers, and very shortly the coast was clear in our front. And then we boys began to realize that our greatest danger was at hand; for, we knew that the Rebels, as they climbed the hills that overlooked the road, would very soon discover that they had been bluffed, and would rally and pursue us. Our forebodings were not amiss; very soon we heard the shrill notes ot a Rebel bugle sounding the " recall," and, in a few moments, the scales were turned, and it was we four Ninety- Second boys that were fleeing for dear life, with that whole pack of Rebels in pursuit of us. Our pursuers did not appear to be gaining on us very much, until, when we were descending a steep pitch in the road, the horse that Lawrence was riding stumbled and fell, throwing Lawrence some feet ahead of his horse, and so confusing him that, when he regained his saddle, he insisted on going back instead of going forward. The other boys, who had halted to assist him, and defend him by pumping their repeating rifles at their pursuers, soon convinced Lawrence, and we four
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again dashed forward. The Rebels were close upon us; but we boys knew that it was life or death with us, and with our spurs we roweled our jaded horses, and with our Spencer Rifles we sent back shot for shot at the gray-coats chasing us-and we answered them defiantly, yell for yell. The race was exciting -- our horses were sensibly slackening their speed, and the Rebels, with drawn sabres, and yelling at us, were gaining on us, and the Etowah River was close in our front-our fate seemed sealed- when, suddenly, the pursuing Rebels stop yelling-they halt- they are themselves retreating! And well they might, for the Reb- els were the first to see the advance of the 9th Ohio Union Cavalry coming up the bank of the Etowah River. Colonel Hamilton sent a company from his regiment after the retreating Rebels, but darkness soon came on, and they made good their escape. The Corporal delivered his dispatch to Colonel Hamilton, and with the 9th Ohio we joined our command again, and marched with it from the mountains of Northern Georgia down to the sea-shore.
On the ninth of September, IS63, the Ninety-Second entered Chattanooga, and information was immediately sent to General Rosecrans that Bragg had evacuated that place, and, with rein- forcements from Richmond, intended to give battle, very shortly, to Rosecrans. That wily Teuton gave no heed to the informa- tion-he regarded Bragg as flying from him in fear and dismay- a thing that Bragg had no idea of doing. The Ninety-Second marched through Chattanooga to the mouth of the Chicamauga, and an officer of the Ninety-Second, who was unwell, stopped at a fine country mansion by the roadside, and remained over night. His hostess was a Rebel lady of mnuch intelligence. We extract from a letter written home by the officer, the following account of his night's entertainment:
I dusted off my clothing, and, with the aid of a darkey or two, washed up, and was soon seated at the supper table. The party consisted of Mrs. W -; a young lady, a Miss R-, dressed in home-spun of excellent manufacture; and two pretty little girls, daughters of Mrs. W -. My hostess was an intel- iigent lady, with very agreeable manners at the table. Supper over, I was conducted into the finely furnished parlor, Mrs. W. and Miss R. accompanying me, and conversation ran on chattily between the Rebel ladies and myself. They plied me with ques- tions; how long had I been in the service? how many men had General Rosecrans? where was my home? why did I
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come away down here to fight them? what was my politics? what did I think about the war? and a thousand other questions. After a while I asked, " Mrs. W., where is your husband?" She answered, " My husband, at iny request, left home yesterday, for the middle portion of the State." " Is he in the Confederate ser- vice?" I asked. She answered, quite positively, " No, sir; he is in very delicate health, and has been for more than three years. He is not able to do any duty as a soldier ; otherwise he would be in the Southern army, for he is a true Southern man. I wished him to go away from home and stay until the Yankees were driven back." " Indeed, Madam," said I, " that was cruel in you; for, if he remains absent until we are driven back, I am afraid you will never see him again." Miss R. smiled in derision, and Mrs. W. confidently answered, "O, I don't know about that. If my seeing him again depended strictly upon your being driven back, I am very sure I would see him again before many days. But I did not wish him to remain here and fall into the hands of the Yankees. He is a true Southern man, and has given largely to support our cause, and he would be too good a prize for a Yankee prison. I would rather never see him again than to have him captured and thrown into a Yankee prison-the very thought almost kills me. l'ou may think the Yankees are going to hold this country ; but you will not do so many days." And then she added, smilingly and coaxingly, " How many men does General Rosecrans have?" I answered, " I might tell, I suppose, very nearly ; but you must excuse me-it would not be soldierly for me to impart such information." She pleadingly pursued, "O, why not tell me-it would not injure your cause to tell me-I am sure I will never say anything about it, and, if I desired to communi- cate with our officers, I could not, for I am inside the Yankee lines-do tell me?" I replied, " Well, lines sometimes change, and, besides, it is very easy for vou Rebels"-and then I hesitated to see the effect of that term ; I feared that it was a little harsh, but I began to feel that it was just-she was quick to see my hesitation, and said, " Do not be backward about the use of the word Rebel, for I am proud to be called a Rebel." I continued, "You cannot be prouder of that term than I am of Yankee, and so we will use both terms without offense to-night. It is very easy for you Rebels to communicate with your army, although you are within our lines, and it would not be proper for me to impart information regarding our army." She pleadingly continued, "O, there would be nothing improper in just telling me, for, as I live, I will not
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tell any one. You can just give me an idea, without committing yourself, you know?" I answered, " No, no; you know that I am an officer of the Union army, and to impart such information would be doing violence to my sense of duty, and would surely give you a poor opinion of a Yankee officer." " Well, well," she said, "it will do no harm at any rate to say where General McCook is, and how many men he has?" " I beg pardon," I said, " but, really, it is useless to press such questions upon me." She smiled pleasantly, and said, "I do believe you are honest." " Well," I replied, "do you, really, now? That is compli- mentary." "Oh, no offense," she quickly responded, "do not be offended; I did not mean it so." The conversation ran along on many subjects-I endeavored to keep it away from anything con- nected with the war, but the ladies would bring it back to that again and again, by their questions. Said Mrs. W., " I don't see how so fine a gentleman as you are can think of living under Abe Lincoln. What do you think of his Emancipation Proclamation?" "I think it a most blessed thing, madam," I replied. She con- tinued, " Do tell me, are you an Abolitionist?" I answered, " Well, no-that is, when the war broke out my feelings were not that way-but they have changed now. When the Proclamation was first issued I did not exactly approve of it; but the longer I am in the army, and the more I see of the Rebels, the better I like the idea of giving the black man his liberty. In fact, I am beginning to like it considerably ; and it is my opinion that, if the war lasts a great while longer, there will not be a black man left in the Confederacy to darken your doors, unless it is with United States muskets in their hands." " Do you really think so?" she asked. "I certainly do, madam," I replied. She said, "O, if Lincoln would only withdraw that Proclamation, I believe the war would soon be over." I laughed, and replied, " No, it would not. The Rebels had three months' notice of the Procla- mation, and refused to lay down their arms." She petulently inquired, " What do you think of old Lincoln, anyway?" I answered warmly, "Me! I think that Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest and noblest men now living on earth." " Oh, dear me," she said, "do you really think so?" I answered, " I do, madam." " Well," she said, " I believe you are honest in it. But, for my part, I cannot see what there is to admire in him." I looked at her and at Miss R., and smilingly replied, " Procla- mation, ladies!" They dropped their eyes for a moment; then Mrs. W., looking up, said," O, that nasty Proclamation! If he
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would only take that back-and I half believe he will have to do it yet." I answered, " It is useless to think so. The North has been lenient to Rebels too long already." _I was anxious to drop the subject, and made many efforts to change our conversation to some more agreeable topic. I asked her how much corn she was raising, and she replied, that she had on that plantation one hun- dred and eighty acres, and on another eighty acres, and considera- ble on another up the Tennessee River, near Knoxville. The conversation ran smoothly along for some time upon other subjects than the war. But after a while Mrs. W. asked, "When do you think the war will close?" I answered, " Not until the Rebels lay down their arms and submit to the authority of the United States." She earnestly retorted, "They will never do that." " Then," said I, " the war will continue until the Southern people are annihilated," and I added, half jokingly, " if the war lasts so long, you may never see your husband again." She looked at me inquiringly, while the moisture in her eyes betrayed the emotion she did not wish me to notice, and said, " Do you really think so?" "I do, indeed, madam." " But," said she, " that would be inhuman." " Not more so," I replied, " than a continued resistance to the authority of the United States. There is no escape from it-sooner or later the South must submit to the lawful authority of the government they are in rebellion against." " But," she replied, " I know that the South will never do that." " Well," I said, "the question cannot be argued out with words, ladies. Dreadful war must settle it, and one side or the other must yield. I feel sure that, in the end, the Rebels will yield to lawful authority. I might be as positive as you are, and say I know they will, for the Rebellion will be crushed out, even if it requires the death of all the Rebels to accomplish it." She answered me, " I believe you are sincere, for I have never con- versed with a gentleman of more apparent candor and earnestness. But I think-well, in fact, I know, you cannot hold this country but a short time longer. It will be a Buell and Bragg race for the Ohio, except under more favorable circumstances for us. Gene- ral Rosecrans will be driven out of Chattanooga into the Ten- nessee River. I do not believe that Rosecrans will ever get his troops onto the north side of the Tennessee again, for, when General Bragg commences, he will give you no time to cross." " Well," I replied, " I believe you are very candid with me in this conversation. But I feel sure we shall not be compelled to fall back, unless Bragg has a much larger force than he is supposed to
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have." "What force. do you think we have?" she asked. ' I replied, " Well, you cannot drive us back, unless you have at least one hundred thousand men to do it with." She quickly answered, " We will concede to you a greater force than that, and then General Bragg will whip Rosecrans, and not far from here." Not far from here! thought I, and inquired, "Why do you say 'not far from here?'" " Because," she answered, " this will not be far from the battle-field, and we shall have Chattanooga too. I wish you to remember this conversation, and if you live through the battle, which, indeed, I earnestly hope that you may, you will find that I am right. I am only telling you what you may as well be prepared for, and I do hope that you will get through sate, and that I will see you again some other time, under more favorable circumstances." I laughed at her prediction of disaster to Rose- crans, and turned the conversation again upon other matters, and the evening wore away. At a late hour I was shown to my room, and Mrs. W. told me I could sleep, without fear of molestation, in the same bed that more than one Rebel General had slept in. With a pleasant "good night," I was left alone. At daylight I arose, and, going out on the back porch, was putting on my spurs, when Mrs. W. came out through the dining-room door, and bid me a cheerful "good morning." I arose, and greeted her as cheerfully as she had greeted me. We chatted cheerfully, she urging me to remain for breakfast, and ordering her servant, Cato, to give my horse a good feed. The conversation would turn again upon the war, and, Mrs. W., looking out toward the Chicamauga River, said, " Your army will be defeated right here; you are not going to get along so fast as you think. I wish you to remember what I tell you." " Why," I asked, " if Bragg is going to fight, why did he evacuate Chattanooga?" She ans- wered, "That was not done of necessity, but as a matter of strategy on the part of General Bragg, in order to get Rosecrans's army among the mountains on the south side of the Tennessee, where escape will be hopeless after the sound thrashing Bragg will give Rosecrans." Mrs. W. was a very intelligent lady, and I began to think that she knew what she was talking about. She had informed me the evening before that she was well acquainted with Bragg, and Wheeler, and Forrest, and other Confederate Gen- erals. We soon went into breakfast, which over, I cordially shook ยท hands all around, thanked Mrs. W. for my kind entertainment over night, and bade them adieu. As I mounted to ride away,
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Mrs. W. said, " Remember what Itold you." I replied, " O, I will remember it. Good bye, ladies."
No one can read this chat with Mrs. W., an intelligent South- ern lady, in the light of subsequent events, without arriving at the conclusion that she did know what she was talking about. Bragg's evacuation of Chattanooga was entirely a question of strategy. He fell back behind the Chicamauga in order to await his expected reinforcements under Longstreet, from Richmond, and in order to strike Rosecrans's columns singly, and destroy them in detail. That explains Mrs. W.'s anxious inquiry about General McCook, and the forces under him. Failing in that, after his reinforce- ments arrived, Bragg actually struck Rosecrans's army in flank while it was racing back to Chattanooga; and Rosecrans's army was only saved from meeting the complete disaster predicted by Mrs. W., through the heroism and soldierly skill of one of Rose- crans's subordinate Generals, Major General George H. Thomas.
J. W. Cushing, of Company D, sends us the following narra- tion of a day's experience foraging in South Carolina :
On the thirteenth of February, 1865, a party of six, including myself, were detailed to forage during the day for our company. We left the command at daylight, with instructions not to ven- ture more than five miles from the road the Regiment was march- ing on; and, under no circumstances, to scatter out on different plantations, but to keep in a body, ready for battle, and with our forty-two shots in our trusty Spencers defend ourselves if occa- sion required. We met with no difficulty during the forenoon, and had no success in foraging, as other Yankee troops were ahead of us. We, therefore, ventured farther from the command, and had better success in finding corn for our animals, and hams, sweet potatoes and chickens for the men, of which we laid in a bountiful supply for ourselves and comrades in camp, when we started for our command, which was to camp that night at the junction of the Charleston and Augusta Railroad. The negroes informed us that it was fifteen miles to the junction. About four P. M., while halting for lunch, we distinctly heard firing a long distance in our front ; but, supposing it was some of our own men, killing hogs or turkeys or chickens, we gave no heed to it. On continuing our march, as we rounded a curve in the road, we were surprised to hear from a Rebel patrol the command " halt!" accompanied by a shot from his Confederate musket. As quick as thought up came our half dozen Spencers, and the Rebel patrol was killed. We began to fear trouble ahead. We captured the
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Confederate horse the patrol was shot off from, and loaded him with a part of our provisions and forage, and cautiously pro- ceeded; after we had traveled some distance, coming in sight of a cross-roads, we saw a squad of a dozen Rebels, having a joyous time, judging from their gleefulness. They had not discovered our approach. Some had on blue coats, others blue pants, and it was with some difficulty we determined their true character. We had to pass that point; the country was swampy, and no other road for us. We formed in line across the road, and quickly charged them with a yell, pumping our Spencers at them as we rushed toward them. They were completely surprised, and, ex- changing only a few shots with us, they retreated up one of the cross-roads. And our eyes here met a sight that was horrifying ; there, by the roadside, where the Rebels were so gleeful when we first caught sight of them, lay three Yankee soldiers, two of them dead, and one just breathing his last. I put my ear to his mouth, and he had just strength left to tell his name, company and regi- ment, and say that "we were murdered after our surrender." They belonged to Company D, 9th Michigan Cavalry, of Atkins's Brigade. The Rebels had captured them, and, after disarming them and stripping them of their valuables and clothing, had delib- erately shot them down. A negro on the plantation, who saw it, detailed to us the story. We ordered the negroes to bury the murdered boys of the 9th Michigan, and moved on, and had not proceeded far, when we could distinctly hear the clatter of hoofs in our rear, and we knew that the squad of Rebels, far outnum- bering us, had rallied, and were after us. We started our Con- federate pack-horse on in advance, and formed in line across the road and awaited our pursuers, and, as soon as they came in sight, we gave them a volley from our Spencers, and charged them, keeping up our firing while charging, and driving them back some distance, when we wheeled and hastily retreated. The gray-coats had been reinforced, and instead of a dozen, we had twenty-five or thirty after us. We felt alarmed-it was nearly twelve miles yet to camp. It was nearly night, and we hoped our pursuers would not come on again-but we soon saw a squad of them on our left, attempting to flank our little party and get ahead of us on the road. We whipped up our Confederate pack-horse, and had the advantage of the flanking party, as they were going through woods and fields, and had occasional fences to impede them, while we had a good road to march upon. It was growing dark, and, hopeless of reaching the road in our front, the gray-
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coats again charged our rear; but we halted them with our Spen- cers, one of our boys having his horse shot in the charge. It began to look like a capture for us-Andersonville began to loom up before our imaginations. The Rebels were in rear of us, and troops approaching us in front also. We might take to the woods and scatter, and trust to the darkness of the night to escape our enemies; but the troops approaching us in front proved to be a squad of the 9th Ohio, of our Brigade. They were in our advance, and, hearing our firing, had returned to our assistance. The Reb- els, probably judging from our cheers that we had been rein- forced, did not molest us again, and we returned to camp with the rations for our comrades and forage tor their animals.
Richard H. Lee, of Company B, who was " Orderly" for Cap- tain Horace J. Smith, of Company B, who served on General Atkins's staff as Brigade Adjutant, sends us the following :
On the morning of March fifth, IS65, I was sent by Captain Smith four miles to Division head-quarters, to obtain for hini a pair of new cavalry boots. I returned with them, but they were too small; and back I went for a larger pair, obtained them, and returned, and Captain Smith had just pulled them on, when a sharp volley was heard at the picket post. The Captain mounted old "Possom," and started for the picket post, I following, but he soon directed me to order the regiments of the Brigade to saddle up, and I returned to obey his order, and the Captain rode out to the picket post. Giving his horse to a soldier to hold, he climbed to the roof of an old log house to discover the position of the enemy, when the Rebels charged, and sent a volley toward the post. The Captain's new boots slipped out from under him, and he rolled to the ground. The soldier holding old " Possom" thought the Captain was killed, and, letting old " Possom" go, he retreated with the picket post. General Atkins and staff were riding toward the front, and, having delivered my order, I rode with them, until our troops came back pell mell, some horses with and some without riders, and among the latter was old " Possom," Captain Smith's horse. I caught him. One soldier told me that Captain Smith was killed, but another said he saw him take to the brush. I waited with his horse, hoping he would come up. The Rebels were advancing, and shooting so carelessly that my hair stood on end, and pulled for a week afterward. I soon saw the Captain coming through the brush, and beckon- ing me to hold on. I waited until he came up and vaulted
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onto the back of old " Possom," and we hastily retreated within our lines.
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