USA > Illinois > The story of the Fifty-fifth regiment Illinois volunteer infantry in the civil war, 1861-1865 > Part 18
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On the night of the 23d of December the Fifty-fifth, with the Fifty-seventh Ohio, landed and marched eight miles, but the trip was barren of results, if any were expected. From time to time the fleet turned inshore to obtain fuel captured from wood-yards, cut from the forest, made from fence-rails and old buildings, as the emergency demanded. These occasions were enlivened by the exercise of the foraging propensities of the men. There was little official interfer- ence with this, and when the zeal of the new-made brigadier induced him to interpose on one occasion, an indelicate allu- sion by a member of the Eighth Missouri to one of Stuart's notable conquests at the court of Venus, quickly suppressed further effort in that quarter.
On Christmas day of 1862, Milliken's Bend was reached, and from there the first view of the frowning heights of Vicksburg was obtained. It presented nothing visible to the naked eye at that distance but a compressed appearance of high bluffs, upon which sat the dome of the court house in silent watch. With the aid of field-glasses it could be seen that the rugged hills were seamed and scarred with massive earth-works and garnished with abundant artillery.
During the forenoon of the next day the perspicuous orders of the commanding general were promulgated, and at noon the entire expedition, preceded by a convoy of gun- boats, steamed up Old River into the Yazoo, and at the end of thirteen miles Morgan L. Smith's division tied up at John- ston's Plantation, its assigned place of debarkation. On the
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morning of the 27th, the army of thirty thousand men began to untangle itself from the seeming confusion of the landing, and each of its units sought the place designated for it in the contemplated assault. The Second division, led by that of Steele, unwound across the bottom and old fields, and after tramping through a huge growth of cockle burs, reached the forest further back, which was wild with the luxuriance of semi-tropical vegetation, through which the column slowly pushed its way. As is necessary and inevitable on all such occasions, when the enemy are known to be concealed not far away, halts were frequent. During one of these a musket was discharged, and an unearthly howl went up from the ranks of Company D. This volume of noise issued from thedumpy form of "little Chris" of that company, who had accidentally discharged his gun while sitting upon a log, barked the end of his pug nose, blown the visor of his cap to pieces, and was left firmly convinced that his whole head was gone. He soon regained his wonted stolidity, and took his place in the ranks under a fire of humorous remarks from his comrades.
Shortly after noon firing was heard at the front, which indicated that the head of the column had run against the advance of the enemy. After waiting some time, Lieutenant- Colonel Malmborg, who had gone ahead, came umbling back on "Charley," as though he was the bearer of good tidings, and announced that he had obtained for the Fifty- fifth the privilege of going in advance to open the battle. This unappreciated call to honor was obeyed by the regiment, led on by the graceful equestrian who commanded it, and passing through the woods and by the throngs of soldiers who filled the road, until the head of the line was reached. Here in the edge of the timber was a bayou, on the other side of which the rebel skirmishers had been found posted. The Fifty-eighth Ohio, a splendid German regiment of about four hundred men, belonging to Steele's division, was already engaged in crossing and deploying on the other side. At the head of the line, halted and at order arms, stretched the long ranks of the Thirteenth Illinois, which, although the senior regiment from the Prairie State, had not yet lost a
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CHICKASAW BAYOU.
man in battle. Under a grove of trees near by, intently watching the proceedings, sat upon horseback Generals Sherman, Steele, Stuart, A. J. Smith, Blair, and other star- bespangled soldiers of note. As the Fifty-fifth approached the bayou, over which it was necessary to cross by travers- ing a log, the rich voices of Company I, led by its brave Orderly-Sergeant Ebersold, rang out with the opening stanza of the Battle Cry of Freedom. The whole regiment took up the anthem, and a strain of soul-stirring music swelled out into the vaults of the forest in a magnificent volume of mel- ody. The generals forgot their momentous councils and turned curiously and admiringly to watch the little line as it disappeared into the tangled thickets to open the battle of Chickasaw Bayou.
When once across the stream-through which poor "Char- ley" had to swim-the Fifty-fifth and the Fifty-eighth were in a measure separated from the army, and the command of the advance fell to Lieutenant-Colonel Malmborg, who was the senior officer present. The Fifty-eighth was already de- ployed, and the Fifty-fifth was massed in reserve, close up. From the latter, companies were taken from time to time to strengthen or extend the skirmish line, and the slow process of pushing back the rebel advance through the dense, swampy woods, next ensued. During the afternoon this was accom- plished, and just before dark the Federal line reached the main, or Chickasaw Bayou, along which the battle was fought. The Fifty-fifth being mainly in support met with no loss, but the Fifty-eighth had several struck, including one captain killed. The rebels retired to the southern bank of the stream and stopped behind the levee, a splendid protection, from which they kept up an angry fire of musketry.
The body of the regiment had advanced during the after- noon, formed in "column by file," a movement originating somewhere among the tactical reminiscences of the lieuten- ant-colonel, and unknown in the books in use. It consisted in advancing the color-guard to the front, when the two wings of the regiment doubled in behind, making a sort of flank march in ranks of eight men deep. From this unique formation some companies had been taken to strengthen the
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front, leaving the remainder of the regiment standing irregu- larly and disconnected, like the pieces on a checker-board. About dark, while the men were halted in this awkward posi- tion, a sudden fusilade of the enemy very nearly caused a stampede to the rear; but this was quickly controlled by the strenuous efforts of the line officers, who then marched their men into line of battle, independent of any order from the regimental commander. . Just in front, perhaps fifty yards away, the intervening space being greatly obstructed with fallen timber, was Chickasaw Bayou. Behind it, and less than one hundred yards distant, lay the enemy. To their rear was three-quarters of a mile of swampy bottom, and then the frowning Walnut Hills, terraced all over their sides with innumerable rifle-pits and intrenchments. Still beyond were the great billows of eroded ridges, stretching to the main works of Vicksburg, five or six miles away.
When the regiment disembarked in the forenoon, Dick Needham, an Irishman of Company I, was in a glorious state of bibulous exaltation, and as became his race, was belliger- ent in the extreme. During the afternoon he had to be placed under restraint to prevent him from instituting an individual assault upon his own sole responsibility. He called his comrades all cowards for moving so slowly, and loudly proclaimed in rich brogue that he could "whip the whole d -- d scrape of 'em" alone. After arriving at the main bayou Dick had neither whiskey nor water left, and his consuming thirst became unbearable. There was no place to obtain water except at the bayou, not fifty yards in front of the rebel line behind the levec, but Dick was bound to take the risk. The patience of the lieutenant in command was finally exhausted at his persistence, and remonstrance ceas- ing the reckless soldier loaded himself down with canteens and started on his perilous adventure. He immediately commenced stumbling over brush and logs in the dense darkness, whereat his profanity waxed vigorous and voluble, all of which drew the fire of the rebel line in his direction, but unscathed he reached the water's edge and deliberately filled the dozen or so canteens he had with him. When done he sat down and opened the vials of his wrath upon the foe. Above the noise of their volleys Dick's rich Irish voice could
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GENERAL SMITH WOUNDED.
be heard as he yelled, "Come out av yer holes, ye bloody ribils, and I'll lick the whole d-d scrape of yez!" . Find- ing they would not accept his challenge, he returned unhurt, and distributed the canteens of water to the owners, and dropped down on the ground to sleep, muttering anathemas at the enemy who would not come out of their holes while he "licked the whole d ---- d scrape of 'em."
At four o'clock the next morning, and long before a single ray of light had penetrated the foggy atmosphere, a battery which had come up during the night was placed in a belliger- ent position by Malmborg. The occasion was one for inde- pendent action, and neither the intense darkness nor want of an object to fire at was an obstacle to his vaulting ambition. Notwithstanding the impassable bayou was between the battery and the rebel skirmish line, it must be supported according to rule, and the Fifty-fifth was dragged through the brush and impenetrable gloom, and massed in two lines close behind the artillery. This done, a fire of six pound missiles was opened upon the Southern Confederacy on gen- eral principles. Malmborg in command, walked back and forth among the guns, giving directions about the length of fuse, which made but little difference since the location of a single position of the enemy was not known. Of course the Federal position was lighted up by the fires of the ridiculous bombardment, and a few shells were returned. Some very narrow escapes there were, but fortunately no casualties. With daylight came other troops and superior officers, and the useless noise ceased with the relegation of Malmborg to his proper command.
The division commander, Morgan L. Smith, soon rode by the right of the regiment toward the front, accompanied by a single orderly. As he passed a group of officers by the Fifty-fifth, they called his attention to the dangerous prox- imity of the Confederate sharp-shooters. To this he made some facetious reply, and proceeded to the edge of the brush that fringed the slashed timber, took out his glass and began to look into the lifting fog to get a view across the bayou. All this happened near by and in plain view of the group of officers before alluded to. Presently he put up his glass, calmly reined his horse to the rear and returned as he came.
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As he went by where the troops were standing he gave some pungent and profane directions, and disappeared in the woods at the rear. He had, while looking through his glass, been shot by a rebel sharp-shooter, the bullet striking him near the top of the hip bone and ranging across the back to the spine; yet such was his splendid nerve that the wound, almost mortal, did not cause a tremor of the voice. He fell from his horse when out of sight of his men, and was carried to the boats. He never recovered entirely from the injury. This deprived the army of the services of a very valuable officer, which fact is deeply deplored by the commanding general in his report. General Stuart, by virtue of his rank, assumed command of the division, but was soon placed under control of General A. J. Smith, whose troops were on the right.
Chickasaw Bayou followed in sinuous way from the Yazoo above in a southwesterly direction several miles to the Mis- sissippi below. It was impassable, except at two points. One of these was a narrow sand-bar in front of the Second division. On the side of the Federals this crossing was protected by an abatis of thickly fallen timber, the interlocked trunks and limbs being covered with festoons of Spanish moss. On the opposite side was an impracticable bank, surmounted by a levee, which formed a perfect parapet for the foe. The prob- lem was to cross this bayou in the face of these obstacles, overcome the resistance and gain a foothold upon the bluffs beyond, from whence it was hoped that Vicksburg, a few miles away, might be approached.
Companies A and B of the Illinois artillery were brought up, and with them the celebrated twenty-pound Parrott guns so well known to the Fifty-fifth. In order to make even the poor route spoken of accessible, it was necessary to clear the road and approaches to the bayou, and for such purpose these guns were opened and the edge of the bayou lined with riflemen, hoping in a measure to control the fire of the rebels on the other side. The artillery fire was incessant for some hours, but without doubt entirely harmless to the well- protected Confederates. Meanwhile the Fifty-fifth, with the exception of Companies A and B, which were engaged in
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DEATH OF SCHLEICH.
the sharp-shooting tournament, lay near the cannon, lazily watching the explosion of the shells and the curious rings of smoke going up from the muzzles of the guns. Malmborg amused himself by occasionally aiming one of the Parrotts, and forever after felicitated himself upon having dismounted one of the enemy's guns, situated upon an Indian mound some distance out upon the bottom. This dubious honor, however, was disputed by an ambitious lieutenant, who claimed to have fired a small revolver in the same direction. Some rebel shell plunged about, and the narrow escapes were numerous. General Stuart, while ranging around in the rear in a state of cxaltation, not at all induced by an over- dose of river water, valorously ordered one of Captain Bar- iett's battery forges into position, but countermanded his desperate mandate upon being told by the Dutch sergeant in charge that he had no other ammunition than horse-shoes.
Early in the afternoon the Fifty-fourth Ohio was ordered to remove the obstacles from the road, clear the approaches to the sand bar and prepare the way for assault. This was a task of great danger and was attempted with the zeal and gallantry which always characterized that excellent regiment in battle, and which earned it well merited praise in the subsequent reports. To aid and protect this effort, the fallen timber along the shore of the bayou was crowded with the sharp-shooters of the Fifty-fifth, who were sent to the front from time to time. The companies were taken froin the right and left, alternately, until eight companies were engaged. They were directed to scatter out among the logs, and keep up an incessant fire at the top of the Jevce beyond. When it became the turn of Company F to go, it was led forward by its newly made captain, Casper Schleich. A few rods brought him within the circle of danger, but he walked fearlessly at the head of his men, the very impersonation of soldierly valor. With his arm out- stretched for the purpose of directing one of his followers to a place of safety, apparently not thinking of his own peril, he was struck fair in the breast by a bullet, and with a Rush of blood from his great heart he fell dead into the arms of his comrades. So fell one of the marked heroes of
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FIFTY-FIFTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
the Fifty-fifth, and one who had every grace of mind and person to qualify him for an ideal soldier and officer. He had before going into battle felt one of those mysterious presentiments which sometimes seem to beckon soldiers across the silent river. He told of his premonitions and appeared to believe them, but walked to his fate without faltering,
"Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."
All the companies had been taken from the right of the regiment up to Company I, which stood in line expecting to be sent to the front next. Just as Captain Schleich's bleeding corpse was being carried by on the left, Lieutenant-Colonel Malmborg, who had not yet learned of the calamity, approached from the opposite direction. The lieutenant in command of Company I stepped out in anticipation of the order to advance, but without waiting to receive it announced that Captain Schleich was killed. The colonel's lip quiv- ered. In an instant a tear stole down his check which he brushed away as though it might seem unsoldierly, and in a tremulous tone gave his directions. As Company I moved by him, he said, "There goes my singing company. God bless you, boys, do your duty." It was one of those rare moments when the noise of battle had humanized him, when the every-day turbulent emotions of his being seemed to be suppressed and he could see with a clearer vision. It was an act of feeling on his part which made one inclined to forget the past and hope for the future.
This sharp-shooting finally involved eight companies of the regiment, and was very close work. The men were exceedingly expert in seeking cover among the logs and trees, and draped themselves with the moss hanging every- where from the limbs for further disguise. The slightest exposure of the person brought an instant messenger from some foe behind the levee across the bayou, and every bullet was aimed at some one. Narrow escapes were frequent. Happy Dan Negley of Company A, was hit full in the breast, but the many folds of the blanket slung around him inter- posed and saved a valuable life. When unrolled, the
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THE CASUALTIES.
blanket had more than twenty perforations in it. At this time the only casualties of the regiment in the battle occurred. Besides the death of Captain Schleich, already mentioned, Captain Cootes was badly wounded in the shoulder; Charles Quinn of Company B was killed outright. He had enlisted at Memphis and this was his first battle. He was brave to rashness, exposed himself recklessly, and was shot through the head. William Bond of Company E was mortally wounded. Sergeant Phillip B. Ferguson of Company F, and Sergeant James Harrell of Company D, were badly wounded.
Under the cover of this fire the gallant Fifty-fourth Ohio was employed in clearing the way to the sand-bar, and suffered considerable loss. During the afternoon, Colonel Wyman of the Thirteenth Illinois, was killed just to the left and in sight. At dusk, all of the companies of the Fifty- fifth were withdrawn from the edge of the bayou to the place close in rear where the deployment commenced. That night and the next day were spent on the same ground near the batteries, constantly under arms, and shot and shell were flying around. Some portion of the regiment was generally on the skirmish line, but no further loss followed. Just on the right, the Sixth Missouri, with its brave Colonel Blood at its head, essayed to cross the sand- bar. It passed the narrow path entirely beyond the bayou and remained for hours under the steep bank with the rebels directly overhead, and suffered a greater loss than any regiment in the division. This was one of the notable feats of the war. The superb officer who commanded the Sixth has since obtained some notoriety as one of the numerous husbands, brevet or otherwise, of Victoria Woodhull. Colonel Blood, in war times, was a gallant officer, though somewhat a soldier of fortune, and as these lines are written word comes that he has lost his life leading some sort of venture into the wilds of Africa. It was on this day, too, that the main assault was made by Morgan's and Steele's men, some- what more than a mile to the left.
Shortly after dark on the 29th a violent, cold rain-storm set in, and sleep was impossible during its continuance. On
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the next day the Fourth brigade was withdrawn from the immediate front, having been under fire without rest and with but little nourishment since the first occupation of the ground. The nervous strain and the sleepless exposure had brought about a great degree of exhaustion. The regiments were taken about four hundred yards in the woods at the rear, and fires were allowed to be built. The tired, wet men dropped in limp groups around these, and instantly fell asleep. The indefatigable Fisher arrived during the day with hard-bread and bacon, which, without the frivolity of division, were set down in the woods where each could help himself. The two following days and nights were spent by the brigade in comparative rest, but without any pretence of shelter. At times the bullets from the rebel front dropped thickly among the trees, but their force was well spent and protec- tion plenty. The plans of the great general in command all failed, but for causes which added new lustre to his fame. It was not known, and there was no means of knowing, that the entire movement of General Grant by way of Holly Springs had miscarried, and that more of the rebel army than could be used was in front of General Sherman.
The new year dawned upon the baffled army, but brought no feast beyond the scant rations of hard-tack and raw pork, and no more cheering beverage than slimy bayou water. Just after dark the Fifty-fifth silently moved again to the edge of the stream to build a redoubt for Captain Wood's battery, A. While performing that duty, in silence and with- out interruption, word was whispered along the line to quietly withdraw to the place of bivouac. The boxes of rations were broken open and the contents distributed, and the regiment started to march into the foggy night, it knew not whither. In winding around over the rough corduroy roads through the woods, all sense of direction was lost among the rank and file, but late at night the Yazoo was reached, and the long line of steamboats tied up at its bank loomed up through the darkness. This made it sufficiently apparent to all that a retreat was in operation.
On the morning of the second of January, 1863, the Fifty- fifth embarked, when it was learned that General McClernand
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McCLERNAND TAKES COMMAND.
had arrived to succeed General Sherman in command. It was not welcome news to the troops, for they had by no means lost confidence in "Uncle Billy." During the day the boats carrying Stuart's division passed down out of the Yazoo into the Mississippi, and tied up at Milliken's Bend. With the Fifty-fifth were the remains of the brave Captain Schleich, which had been coffined and taken in charge by Chaplain Haney. They were deposited at Milliken's Bend, close beside the majestic stream. Presently, in one of its angry moods, the Father of Waters washed away the spot, and another hero, as brave as De Soto of old, found an unknown resting place in its turbid depths.
The report for the closing month of the year 1862 has been found, and an abstract of it may be interesting as show- ing the exact condition and strength of the Fifty-fifth at that period. There were present for duty, as follows :
Company A, 48.
" B, 36.
Company F, 44. G, 50.
" C, 40.
" H, 35.
D, 37.
1, 41.
E, 40.
K, 38.
A total of 409 men. There were present with their com- panies 13 line officers, exclusive of the acting field officers. An aggregate of 625 names still appeared upon the rolls of the organization.
On January 4th the whole fleet turned up the river in the direction from which it came, it being then known that the movements on Vicksburg, both from the interior and by way of the river, had failed. Newspapers began to arrive bring- ing accounts of the villainous copperhead spirit in the North. This was especially vicious in Illinois, and since the army on the Mississippi was largely made up of regiments from that state, the response is worth noting. It came in the shape of a universal cry of indignation and protest from the soldiers, who abated not an iota of their fierce determination to sub- due the rebellion, and promised further to inflict suitable punishment upon the malcontents at home. In this display of righteous wrath the Fifty-fifth held its own. That these troops, undergoing the suffering and exposure of an unsuc-
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FIFTY-FIFTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
cessful winter campaign, did thus manfully reply to the "fire in the rear," is as creditable to them as anything in the his- tory of patriotism.
The expedition apparently recoiling, really had an aggres- sive purpose. The restless genius of General Sherman had conceived the plan of capturing Arkansas Post, a fortified point fifty miles up the Arkansas River, and General McCler- nand, his successor, readily adopted the idea, and gave orders to that end. Landing at intervals to supply the transports with fuel from the forests, or that already cut and found upon the banks, the army passed the mouth of the Arkansas and arrived at the White River, January Sth. The fleet turned into the latter river, and soon from thence, through a cut-off, into the Arkansas. Fully thirty thousand Federal soldiers covered and occupied every variety of transport known to river navigation. These were the ripe fruits of Northern patriotism, that had
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