USA > Illinois > Mason County > The History and Mason Counties, Illinois > Part 26
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1
TALLULA
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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
days, on May 4, 1861. On the 25th of May, it was mustered into the United States' service for three years, by Capt. Pitcher, U. S. A. The Colonel of this regiment, when it first went into service, was John M. Palmer. In July, 1861, it was ordered into Missouri. Its first active service was the capture and parole of a rebel force under James S. Green, formerly United States Senator from Mis- souri. After being with Gen. Fremont in his campaign to Springfield, Mo., it went into winter quarters at Otterville. In February, 1862, it was ordered to Fort Donelson, but arrived there one day after the battle. At Donelson, it was brigaded with the Fifteenth and Forty-sixth Illinois, and the Twenty-fifth Indiana, and assigned to the Second Brigade, Fourth Division, under Gen. Hurlbut. Before this, Col. Palmer had been promoted, and Maj. Hall, of the Seventh Illinois Cavalry, became the Colonel. From Fort Donelson, the reg- iment marched to Fort Henry, and went from there by transports up the Ten- nessee River to Pittsburg Landing. Up to this time, the regiment had never smelt the powder of an enemy, but a baptism of fire, in the full meaning of the term, awaited it there. Here, on the 6th and 7th of April, this command lost, in killed and wounded, fully one-half of those engaged. This is not mere sur- mise, but it is taken from the Adjutant General's report. On the evening of the 7th, a grand charge was made, which turned the tide of battle in favor of the Union, notwithstanding the numbers and power of the enemy. This splendid charge was led by the Fourteenth, with Col. Hall at the head of the columns. Gen. Veatch, who commanded the brigade to which the Fourteenth was attached, uses the following language : " Col. Hall, of the Fourteenth Illinois, led with his regiment that gallant charge on Monday evening, which drove the enemy beyond our lines, and closed the struggle of that memorable day." If any one has doubts concerning the force of the storm of lead and iron that this command passed through on that occasion, let him go to Memorial Hall, in Springfield, and count the forty-two bullet-holes made in the regimental colors in that battle, and this will surely convince him. This regiment took an active part in the battles of Corinth, Memphis, Bolivar. On January 18, 1863, it went into win- ter quarters at La Fayette, Tenn. It took part in the siege of Vicksburg until its fall, July 4, 1863. In the latter part of this year, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth, which had been together nearly all the time, were consolidated into the " Fourteenth and Fifteenth Illinois Veteran Battalion." In October, 1864, when Gen. Hood made his demonstration against Sherman's rear, a large num- ber of this battalion were killed, and the greater part of the remainder taken prisoners, and sent to suffer in Andersonville Prison. Those who escaped were mounted, and acted as scouts during the remainder of the march to the sea. They were first to drive the rebel piekets into Savannah, Ga. They were also first to enter Cheraw, S. C., Fayetteville, N. C., and took an active part in the battle of Bentonville. In the spring of 1865, the battalion organization was discontinued, and at Goldsboro, N. C., the two regiments were re-formed, being filled up by recruits, and Col. Hall again took command of the old Fourteenth.
E
262
HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
It was mustered out of service at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., on September 16. 1865, and reached Springfield September 22, 1865. The aggregate of men belonging to this regiment from first to last, was 1.980. and the number mustered out at Fort Leavenworth was 480. It was in service four years and four months, and during that time, it marched no less than 4,490 miles. traveled by rail 2,330 miles, and by steamboat and transports. 4.490, making an aggregate of 11,670 miles. The officers of the Fourteenth, in their order, were Cols. John M. Palmer and Cyrus Hall; Lieut. Cols. Amory K. Johnson and William Cam : Majs. Jonathan Morris and John F. Nolte.
Company E of this regiment was raised in Menard County, eighty men of the county joining it. The first Captain was Amory K. Johnson, followed by Frederick Mead, of Petersburg, and he by Henry M. Pedan, of Shelbyville. The First Lieutenants, in their order, were : Jacob MI. Early, of Petersburg ; Ethan Il. Norton, of the same place, and Alonzo J. Gillespie, of Bloomington. Second Lieu- tenants, E. H. Norton and A. J. Gillespie. Of this company, John L. Kinman, of Petersburg, was killed in action at Shiloh, April 6, 1862. None deserted. The following were discharged on account of disability, viz., John Murphy, James Wilhite, Edwin Worth and Joseph Todd. The above statement is taken from the report of the Adjutant General, that is, as far as that report goes ; but even this is imperfect in many respects, and a number of facts are added, derived from individual members of the regiment.
One company-Company A-of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Illinois Vet- eran Battalion, was also composed of Menard County men ; but in the eighty men of Company E, of the Fourteenth, and the twenty-four men of Company A of the Battalion, no man is counted twice. The history of the Battalion is sketched in that of the Fourteenth, given above, hence it is unnecessary to repeat it here. Suffice it to say that the men of this command saw hard service, but never flinched when the storm beat the hardest.
. We come now to the Twenty-eighth Infantry. This regiment was organized by Lieut. Col. Lonis H. Waters, and Maj. Charles J. Sellan, at Camp Butler, Illinois, in the mouth of August, 1861. On the 25th of August, was ordered to Thebes, Ill., and thence to Bird's Point, Mo., on September 9. Early in October, it was removed to Fort Holt, Ky., and there remained until the last day of January. 1862, when it was taken to Paducah. Ky., and was there assigned to Col. M. L. Smith's Brigade. Brig. Gen. Low Wallace's Division. On the 6th of February. this regiment took part in the capture of Forts Hinman and Henry. A little event took place on the 13th of February that is worthy of a place here :
A detachment of 500 rebels were in the vicinity of Little Bethel Church, which was only five miles from Fort Henry, seeking some kind of adventure. Now, it so happened that Col. Johnson was out on a seout with 45 men and 12 officers-61 men all told-and. hearing of the 500 " Johnnies," determined to
263
HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
try their mettle ; so, finding out their locality, approached them. cautiously at first, but, soon after the firing began, he ordered a charge, and so furious was the attack that the rebels gave way in confusion, and were completely routed. About the 6th of March, the regiment was ordered to Pittsburg Landing. and was assigned to Gen. Hurlburt's (the Fourth) Division. Just at dawn, on Sabbath morning, April 6, 1862, the shrill notes of martial music called the men into line. Ominous signs of danger, if not disaster, were everywhere. Buckling on their belts and cartridge-boxes as they fell into line, they were hur- ried at double-quick over half a mile to the front, where they met Gen. Prentiss' command, being driven before the exultant enemy. It was, in a short time, assigned a position on the left of the line, in what was called, and since known as, the Peach Orchard. The enemy immediately began to pour a galling fire on this point, with a view to turning the flank. Stubbornly and doggedly these Illinoisans held their position, from before 8 o'clock in the morning till after 3 in the afternoon. Nor did they then retire, until orders were given from Brig. Gen. S. A. Hurlbut, commanding the " Old Fighting Fourth Division." On Monday, the 7th, it was assigned a position on the right of the line, and was there most hotly engaged until victory closed the two-days' struggle. Thus they were two full days, from dawn till evening, in actual engagement. These were long and trying days ; blood flowed everywhere, and the night was ren- dered hideous by the groans of the dying ; yet, in all this hotly contested con- flict, this regiment never wavered, nor was its line once broken or driven back. During these two days, the regiment lost 239 men in killed and wounded. In May. it was active in the siege of Corinth, then marched to Memphis. Reach- ing Memphis the 23d of July, 1862, it rested there until early in September, when the march was taken to Bolivar, which point was reached September the 14th. Some twenty days later, the regiment was in the battle of Hatchie River, or Matamora, in which it lost in killed, wounded and missing, 97 men. In the summer of 1863, the Twenty-eighth was ordered to Vicks- burg, and was there in the siege from the 11th of June to July 4. After this, on the 12th of July, a detachment, composed of men from the Forty-first, Fifty-third and Twenty-eighth Illinois and Third Iowa Infantry, amounting in all to not more than 800 men, were ordered to charge across an open and level corn field, some six hundred yards in width, and carry a line of rebel works that were strong in their formation, and from which twelve dark-mouthed can- non frowned defiance on all comers, and behind which lay 2,000 men, ready for the fray. The bugle sounded the onset ; not a man faltered nor a check paled, but right onward "into the jaws of death, role the" 800. As they came, they were met with a pitiless storm of rifle and minie balls. while the twelve cannon belched a constant tide of fire and iron : but when they reached the works, their whole line was swept from right and left and front, so that to persist in the attempt to carry the works was sure annihilation. They retreated to their line, leaving more than half their number, rank and file, in
264
HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
dead and wounded. Of the 128 men of the Twenty-eighth that were in this charge, 73 were killed and wounded, and 16 taken prisoners; 89 left behind. to 39 who returned.
In 1864, the regiment re-enlisted as veterans, after which, it was in the engagement at Spanish Fort and at Mobile. It had, during the war, 9 officers killed ; 19 wounded, and 2 died of disease. Privates-killed, 52: died of wounds, 34; wounded. 265; missing in action. 17; killed by accident, 5 : died of disease, 139. The officers of the regiment, in their order. are as fol- lows: Colonel, Amory K. Johnson. of Petersburg ; Lieutenant Colonels- Louis H. Waters, of Macomb : Thomas K. Killpatrick, of Milton, and Rich- ard Ritter, of Havana : Majors-Charles J. Sellon, Springfield : Barclay C. Gillam, Rushville. and Hinman Rhodes, Vermont, Ill. Of this regiment, companies F. K and C were all or in part from Menard County. Com- pany F contained in all 107 men from this county. The officers were: Cap- tains-William J. Estill and Thomas Swarengnin, both of Petersburg : First Lieutenants-Isaac B. Estill, Thomas Swarengnin and John H. Ewing. all of Petersburg; Second Lieutenants-Thomas Swarengnin and John H. Ewing. There were killed in action, 4, viz .: James T. Jones, at Shiloh ; J. Deerwester, at Vidalia : James H. Stewart, at Jackson, Miss .. and Charles N. Riley, at Hatchie. Five died of wounds, viz., David C. Stone, Jacob Ackle- son, Peter Farnheine, Jacob Homer and II. G. Toland. Wounded and dis- charged, 3, viz., Jesse D. Bradley. David Lucas and Elijah S. Nichols. Died of disease, 9. viz., William Canterbury, Henry II. Fulton, Elijah Ferguson. Henry T. Gudgell, James Harman, Francis M. Twaddle. Christopher Alexan- der, William B. Davis and Michael Johns. There were 3 who deserted. viz .. John W. Rutledge, Henry Johnson and Charles Noble.
In Company K. there were 39 men from Menard County. The officers of Company K were: Captains-William R. Roberts, of Menard, and Albert J. Moses, from elsewhere : First Lientenants-John Brewsaugh, Fred. Garternicht, Albert J. Moses, John B. Newton and Dennis Pride, the last two from Menard ; Second Lieutenants-John B. Newton, of Menard, and A. J. Moses. Of these, only 1. Adam Forsyth, was killed in action ; Alonzo G. Fleming died of wounds ; 4 were wounded. but recovered, viz .. Richard Ber- nard, Amos Mouser, Logan Rayburn and Samuel T. Rogers : discharged on account of disability, 2, viz., John Sulivan and John Rogers : discharged on account of wounds, 3, viz .. William W. Dudley, James H. Gardener and Nult Greene ; the 4 following died of disease : Elijah Edwards, Gottlieb Fotsch. Francis Schasner and Phillip A. Simpson. None of the men in this company from Menard County deserted.
Company C of the Twenty-eighth had' 46 men from Menard County in it. None of the commissioned officers of this company were from Menard County. One man of this company, Deerwester, was killed in action.
were wounded. Two died of disease, viz., William B. Davis and Mike Jones.
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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
Columbus Crosby was the only deserter. The above companies took their share of all the trials and honors of the gallant Twenty eighth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers.
We come now to the Thirty-eighth Regiment, as this is the next in order in which there were any companies containing any considerable number of Menard County men. It is true, however, that there was scarcely an Illinois regiment that did not have a representation from this county. The writer has performed an amount of labor that none would imagine, hunting these stragglers. Where there were less than four or five in a company, we have not given a detailed history of it. But in order that none be overlooked, we read every name and post-office address in the eight volumes of the Adjutant-General's Report.
The officers of the Thirty-eighth were as follows: Colonels-William P. Carlin, Daniel H. Gilmer and. Ed. Colyer ; Lieutenant Colonels-Mortimer O'Kean, D. H. Gilmer, William H. Chapman and Ed. Colyer; Majors-D. H. Gilmer, Henry L. Alden and Andrew M. Pollard, none of whom were from Menard. This regiment was organized in September, 1861, at Camp Butler, Illinois, by Col. William P. Carlin. Moved at once to Pilot Knob, Missouri, receiving arms en route, and as early as the 21st of October, one month and one day, from leaving Camp Butler, it was introduced to the stern realities of war, at Fredericktown, by being engaged in battle with the Missouri "Swamp Fox," Jeff. Thompson. This introduction was a very good index to the future four years and three months of its service. At or near the city of Nashville, it lost in battle, 3 killed and 8 wounded. At Stone River, 34 killed, 109 wounded, and 34 missing. Near Liberty Gap, the regiment lost, killed, 3; wounded, 19. In the battle of Lookout Mountain, the Thirty-eighth suffered severely. Col. Gilmer was killed, Maj. Alden. severely wounded ; and of the 301 men who went into the action, 180 were killed, wounded and missing. The history of this regiment is one of constant hard work and bloody fighting, from first to last ; and the student of history can trace its way through those long, dark four years by the weary marches, and bloody fields that it left as waymarks. Only one company of this regiment had representatives from Menard County on its roll, and this was Company G. Only twelve of these were from this county. The company officers were as follows, viz. : Captains, A. M. Pollard, Abraham Golden and John H. Adams; First Lieutenants, William F. Chapman, Abraham Golden and J. H. Adams ; Second Lieutenants, A. J. Rankin and Abraham Golden. Of these only Golden was from Menard. Of the twelve men from here, none were killed, wounded, or deserted. Two died of disease, these were Edward W. Martin and Ralf Snodgrass. Consider- ing the general mortality in the regiment, those twelve came off remarkably well.
The next regiment containing men from Menard County was the Fifty- first Illinois Infantry. As there were but few of our men in this regiment, we
266
HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
give but a very brief history of it. This regiment was organized at Camp Douglas, Chicago, Ill., by Col. Gilbert W. Cumming, on the 24th of Decem- ber, 1861. On the 14th of February following. it moved to Cairo, Ill .. and thence on the 27th to Camp Cullum, on the Kentucky shore of the Ohio River. Its first actual engagement was at Island No. 10. where, on the 8th of April. 1862, is forced the surrender of Gen. Mackall, with four thousand
On the 24th of April, the brigade of Brig. Gen. John M. Palmer. com- posed of the Twenty-second. Twenty-seventh. Forty-second and Fifty-first Illinois, and Company C. First Illinois Artillery, was assigned to Brig. Gen. Paine's Division. This division was engaged in the battle of Farmington, and the siege of Corinth. At Mission Ridge, the regiment lost one-fifth of the men who went into the battle. At Kenesaw Mountain, it lost, in killed and wounded, 2 officers and 54 men. During the fighting around Atlanta, the regiment lost in killed and wounded, 7 officers, and 105 privates. At Franklin, Tenn., Lient. Thomas was killed, 3 officers wounded, 52 men killed and wounded. and 98 missing. Mustered out of service September 25, 1865. The regimental officers were all Chicago men. Company F. of this regiment, had eleven men from this county. The company officers were all from else- where. Of these eleven, none were killed or wounded. One, John H. Martin, died of disease. Two of the eleven deserted. viz .. Samuel Wagstaff and Jordan Shoon.
The Seventy-first Illinois Infantry was enlisted for three-months' service only. Company G, of this regiment, was partially raised in Menard County-thirty-seven of the men being from here. Of the officers of the company, only one was from Menard, this was First Lieut. James C. Tice. of Petersburg. Of these, nowe were killed or wounded. and only one died of disease-this was William H. Graham, from the eastern part of the county. Being out only ninety days, they saw but very little of the reality of soldier life.
We come now to the Seventy-third Infantry, and we cannot more briefly or pointedly give an outline of the work of this brave body of men, than by quoting the report of Lient. Col. James I. Davidson, as made to Adjt. Gen. Haynie. This report was dated at Springfield. Ill., March 19. 1867.
Having no retor1 of the regiment with me, a history would be impossible. The regimen) was organized nt Camp Butler, State of Illinois, in August, 1562, and immediately became part of Gen. Buell's army. Fought nobly at Perryville. finished under Gen. Thomas, at Nashville. The Seventy third Hlin is Volunteer Infantry was in every battle fought by the Army of the Cumberland, from October, 1952, until the rest of tien. Host's army it Nashville, and the win ding-up of the whole matter. The only report I can make, General, is that our deal are found at Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, away in Hal Tennessee. and then in the succession of battles from Cleuttanonga to the fall of Atlanta. And when Sher- man juchel down Sinth, the Seventy-third remained with Cien. Thomas. It formed a part of Opelyke's Brigade, at Franklin, which saved the day and gave him his star, and lost its last
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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
man killed in driving Hood's army from Nashville. It has, more than once, been complimented by its Generals. It lost heavily in Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge anl Frank- lin. It had two Majors and two Adjutants killed and nearly every officer of the regiment wounded, at some time-several of them many times; but as to the number of killed and wounded, I know not. We left the State one of the largest, and returned one of the smallest regiments. Her officers and men, and especially the men, have never been surpassed for brav- ery, endurance and devotion to the country. I believe that nearly two-thirds of the organiza- tion wasted away, either by disease, death or battles, during the three years' service.
Such is the simple, unostentatious record of this devoted regiment. In Company F of this regiment, were thirty of the citizens of Menard County. Of the officers of this company, none were from this county, except the first Captain, George Montgomery, and he served only till the 19th of December, 1862, when he resigned and left the command. Three were killed in action, viz., Robert Z. McBride, Enoch Preston and William Weaver. Eight of the others died of disease : these were Thomas D. Nolan, George W. Gardener. Joseph Montgomery. William W. Martenia, David Martenia, Ritchey Mont- gomery, William L. Stollard and Cornelius C. Wolf. Four others were severely wounded, viz., James A. Coil, Wesley Long, Isaac C. Coil and George H. Mckinney. Thus it will be seen that, of this little band going out from here, more than one-third the number were left to sleep amid the flowers of the Sunny South, undisturbed by the roar of battle, while half the number were among the dead or the wounded when the final account of the regiment was made up. Their comrades in arms " carved not a line, and raised not a stone, but left them alone in their glory."
From the Seventy-third up to the Eighty-fifth, there was to be found no representative from "Little Menard," except here and there a company having on its muster-roll the name of some one who had enlisted among strangers, but who should have been credited to this county. But Company E. of the Eighity-fifth, was largely made up from this county, having the names of seventy-five men from here on its roll. Here again it becomes our duty to chronicle some of the leading events in the history of that regiment, though the record will necessarily be brief.
This regiment was organized by Col. Robert S. Moore, and it was mus- tered into service August 28, 1862. The organization was at Peoria, Ill. Immediately after being mustered in, it was ordered to Louisville. Ky., which point it reached about the 6th or 7th of September. Here it was assigned to the Thirty-sixth Brigade, Eleventh Division, Third Army Corps, Col. MeCook contmanding the Brigade, Brig. Gen. Phil. Sheridan commanding the Division, and Maj. Gen. Gilbert commanding the the Corps. The Eighty-fifth marched in pursuit of the enemy under Gen. Bragg, October 1, 1862, and took part in the battle of Champion Hills, at Perryville, Ky., October 8th, and moved with the army to Nashville, Tennessee. arriving November 7, 1862. After long and hard service. it was mustered out June 5, 1865, at Washington, D. C., and arrived at Camp Butler, Ilinois, June 11, 1865. where they received final
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HISTORY OF MENARD COUNTY.
payment and discharge. Company E. of the Eighty-fifth Regiment was largely made up of men from this county : the company officers were all from Peters- burg. The regimental officers were Cols. Robert S. Moore and Caleb J. Dilworth : Lieutenant Colonels. C. J. Dilworth. James P. Walker, and James R. Griffith : Majors. Samuel P. Cummings. Robert G. Rider and Pleasant S. Scott. Of these, none were from Menard County except Maj. Scott. The company officers of Company E were : Captain, Pleasant L. Scott : First Lieutenants, Joseph M. Plunket. Hugh A. Trent and Charles Borchert ; Second Lieuten- ants, Abraham Clary, Clark N. Andrus and Andrew F. J. Shackey. All of these were from Menard County ; seventy-five of the men were also from this county. Three were killed in action, viz., J. C. Miller, George Watterman and Thomas Owens; William S. Potter was killed in a railroad accident, and William Ray by the accidental discharge of a pistol. The following named persons. six in number, died of wounds : James N. Sheets, Bowling Green, Richard Griffin, William F. Hokimer, A. J. Taylor, and J. E. Thomas ; four received severe wounds, of which they recovered ; these were James Linn, William F. Allen, James Senter and John H. Arnold. Ten others died of disease, viz., Samuel Havens, David Armstrong, John Barnett, John Cox, Michael Ekis, Wesley Frost. William A. Mence, Thomas Osterman, Christopher Shutt and Ephraim Stout. Thus, of the seventy-five who enlisted, just one-third, or twenty-five, were dead or wounded before the time of service expired. Of the remainder, no less than ten deserted the ranks, and sought safety elsewhere. Pleasant S. Scott, who was Captain of the company at first, was promoted to the position of Major. served ont his time, and is now a respected citizen of Peters- burg.
From the Eighty-fifth, we pass the intermediate regiments up to the One Hundred and Sixth before we find any men from Menard, unless it be a single individual in a company here and there. The One Hundred and Sixth was organized at Lincoln, Logan Co., Ill., by Col. Robert B. Latham, in August, 1862. It was mustered into service on the 18th of September, the same year. On the 7th of November, it started for Columbus, Ky., by way of St. Louis, arriving at the objective point on the 10th of the same month. From there it was soon removed to Jackson, Tenn. At that time, Col. M. K. Lawler com- manded the post at Jackson, and Brig. Gen. J. C. Sullivan the district. Much of the time was spent west of the Mississippi River ; and the regiment was mustered out of service at Pine Bluff, Ark., on the 12th of July, 1865. It reached Camp Butler, Illinois, July 25, 1865, and there received final pay- ment and discharge.
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