USA > Illinois > The story of the Fifty-fifth regiment Illinois volunteer infantry in the civil war, 1861-1865 > Part 35
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He reached Rome that night among the stragglers of the Twenty-third Corps, which had moved for the North the day before. Everything had already left Rome save the hospital department, and that was merely awaiting a train. His only hope of escaping arrest and getting north by the cars was to
3SI
OLIVER VISITS CHATTANOOGA.
become an invalid. Those acquainted with the stalwart lieu- tenant, ruddy and robust as he was in those days-his frame and face plainly telling of muscles that never were tired and bodily organs that never knew an ache-will appreciate how inconvenient it must have been for him to sham illness. He luckily had nothing about his garb to mark him as an officer, and he managed to get into the hospital, where he persuaded an attendant that he was in a suffering condition, and hid his brawny limbs in a blanket. By the time the surgeon came around he had grown very sick indeed, his genuine mental distress making easier a dramatic simulation of physical woc. The doctor chanced to be too hilarious as well as too pre-oc- cupied with the business of removal to make any sharp- sighted investigation of symptoms, and administering the tonic of a few encouraging words, he ordered the nurse to provide him with suitable rations for the journey and disap- peared. Before light the train bore the sick away for the North, Oliver among them, with two big loaves of bread beside him; he had managed to wheedle an extra loaf out of the attendant, after devouring one with an appetite so raven- ous as to awaken critical comments from his pallid compan- ions.
The constant succession of long trains bearing supplies to Atlanta for Sherman's seaward-bound army delayed progress, and it was four days before the lieutenant reached Chatta- Booga. The cars had not stopped when he leaped off and assy, without waiting to thank the surgeon, and hurried to find the men having charge of the regimental property. He soon obtained the articles for which he had risked his good name, but now found himself in a worse plight than ever. The order prohibiting soldiers in the front from going north without pass from high authority, was not a whit more strict than that forbidding anybody to go south from Chattanooga without similar permit. For some hours the situation wore i quite serious aspect to Oliver; but his luck had not forsaken him. He suddenly met a sergeant of the Fifty-fifth who had come down the road in charge of three recruits, and was feeling rather chop-fallen because one of them had escaped from him at Nashville. The lieutenant stepped into the gap
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FIFTY-FIFTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
thus providentially offered, and six days from the time he deserted the regiment, rejoined it when on the march, to find a captain's commission awaiting hint. He felt that he had earned it by his week's campaign, and he never was scen at the rear again during the war.
The first day of the journey towards Atlanta from Little River carried the brigade over the Chattooga and Coosa Rivers, a distance of nine or ten miles only. October 30th the regiment, with spades and axes, accompanied the wagon train, serving in the capacity of pioneers, and the eighteen miles advance brought it to the state line at Dyke's Store. On the 31st the march ended at Cave Spring. During the month the total distance traversed was about two hundred and seventy-five miles. Commissions had arrived promoting Robert Oliver and Robert Dixon to captains, and John II. Fisher, Luther J. Keyes and John Warden to first-lieutenants. Captain Nourse had received orders from department head- quarters to report to General F. P. Blair as Commissary of Musters for the Seventeenth Army Corps. The acceptance of this assignment to staff duty by Captain Nourse, left Captain Andress, the senior officer, in command of the regi- ment. The Fifty-fifth was now merely a skeleton organiza- tion, having less than one hundred and fifty effectives; but all present were hardy, resolute men, conscious of their glo- rious record, and proudly positive of their ability to outmarch, tire out or outfight anything like their own numbers in either army.
During the first five days in November the march contin- ued, averaging about fifteen miles daily progress, passing in turn Cedar Town, Van Wert and Dallas, and ending at Vin- ing's Station. . Here the regiment rested, to prepare for a winter's campaign, the fame of which is now world-wide, and then was foreshadowed with more or less accuracy in the soldier's gossip around every Union camp-fire.
PART III.
FROM ATLANTA TO CHICAGO.
NOVEMBER, 1864, TO AUGUST, 1865. BY
SERGEANT-MAJOR JOHN G. BROWN.
CHAPTER X.
FROM ATLANTA TO THE SEA.
HERMAN had turned his back upon the Confederate army while the rash Hood was pushing westward across Alabama in search of a favorable position upon the Tennessee river, whence to carry out his avowed purpose of Northern invasion. He now proceeded to reorganize his own army for that campaign to the tide-waters, which for its strategic bold- ness and the importance of its results, has few parallels in the history of wars. With almost prophetic sight he foretold the inevitable destruction of Hood's army by Thomas, and the easy victories awaiting his own veterans upon the sea- coast. He wasted no time in cutting loose from all commu- nication with the North, in order to secure the proffered prizes.
The portions of the Western forces destined for the for- ward movement were, during the first week of November, distributed along the railway from Rome to Atlanta, the Fifty-fifth Veteran Volunteers being at Vining's near the Chattahoochee River. On November 8th a vote was taken in the regiment for presidential candidates, when Abraham Lincoln was found to have received one hundred and twenty- one, and Major-General George B. McClellan fifteen votes. This proved the entire confidence felt by the soldiers in the administration, as well as their belief in the necessity for a vigorous prosecution of the war. Such voting, among Illi- nois troops, had no purpose beyond the expression of political
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FIFTY-FIFTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
preferences, for the soldiers of that state were disfranchised ; her copperhead legislators having refused the right of suf- frage to those absent fighting her battles. They saw the men of other loyal states casting their ballots in the camps about them to be counted in the election; but their own state, one of the brightest stars in the patriotic constellation, with one hundred and fifty thousand of her brave sons in the field at the front, had been long misrepresented by a disloyal legis- lature, whose acts evinced a greater sympathy with the rebel than with the union cause. At the election of this date the loyal people of Illinois sharply rebuked at the ballot-box these unpatriotic servants.
At Vining's, on November 9th, Captain Henry Augustine of Company A, whose health had been seriously undermined by the malarious climate of the South, parted with his com- mand, having been mustered out. A brave, faithful and kind-hearted officer, he possessed social qualifications that made him a favorite with his men. He left for Illinois upon one of the last trains that went North from the doomed Atlanta.
November IIth news of the re-election of President Lin- coln was received, and was the occasion of joyous demon- strations throughout the whole army. His overwhelming majority was a proclamation from the popular heart, declar- ing that the war must be energetically prosecuted to a speedy end. It inspired the troops, from commander to drummer, with renewed zcal, for it was a vote of confidence that for- ever silenced the copperhead accusation -- "the war is a failure." It was equal to a re-enforcement of ten thousand inen to Sherman's army. The refrain-"We'll hang Jeff Davis to a sour-apple tree," thereafter pitched upon a higher key, resounded from camp to camp, and was daily heard along the line of march. To add to the jollification, the regiment received four months' pay the following night, just in time for the men to send their money home before the abandonment of all connection with the United States mails.
During the night of November 12th the Fifty-fifth was engaged in tearing up the railway, and on the following day it crossed the Chattahoochee and went into camp about two
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DESTRUCTION OF ATLANTA.
miles from Atlanta. Here clothing was issued, and clad in their new garments, the boys on the fourteenth made a tour of the city, then fast crumbling into shapeless masses of ruins under the assaults of gunpowder and fire. It was a strange scene ;- tens of thousands of the boys in blue jubi- laut over their dearly-won victory, with here and there a sullen group of the humiliated citizens of this lately defiant town, gazing upon the systematic destruction of the great manufactories and store-houses filled with machinery and every kind of military supplies. Atlanta had been second only to Richmond in the amount and variety of the material furnished the Confederacy for the prosecution of the war. To the public buildings of every description, railroad station, arsenals, and the machine shops and foundries in which had been fabricated cannon, shot and shell that carried death to thousands, the torch was applied. Nothing was left standing that could again be of value for military occupation, or a source of menace in rear of the advancing Union Army. And amid the roar of devouring flames and the crash of fall- ing walls, rose the exultant voices of the victors singing -
"John Brown's body lies mouldering in the grave, But his soul goes marching on."
On the morrow the Fifty-fifth took its assigned position iu the column, and the memorable march began. Some features in the re-organization of the forces engaged in the campaign may fitly precede a recital of incidents attendant upon the march. The grand army under the command of Sherman, in all about sixty-five thousand men, consisted of the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Seventeenth and Twentieth Army Corps, respectively commanded by Generals Jeff. C. Davis, P. J. Osterhaus, F. P. Blair and A. S. Williams, and a division of cavalry under General H. J. Kilpatrick. The Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps constituting the Army of the Ten- nessee, and under command of General O. O. Howard, formed the right wing; and the Fourteenth and Twentieth, or Army of Georgia, under command of General H. W. Slocum, formed the left wing. The cavalry was generally upon the extreme left of the advancing columns, which
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FIFTY-FIFTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
moved as nearly as possible by parallel roads, and usually five or six miles apart. The Fifty-fifth retained its place in the First brigade, Second division, of the Fifteenth Army Corps. The brigade was composed of the Fifty-fifth, One- hundred-sixteenth and One-hundred-twenty-seventh Illinois, the Sixth Missouri, the Thirtieth and Fifty-seventh Ohio; and was commanded by Colonel Theo. Jones, the division commander being Major-General W. B. Hazen.
The Fifty-fifth now mustered less than one hundred and fifty men and officers for duty. The senior captain, Henry S. Nourse, being detached upon the staff of General F. P. Blair, Captain Charles A. Andress commanded the regiment, with Captain Giles A. Hand as next in rank. Charles B. Tompkins, formerly assistant surgeon of the Seventeenth Illinois, was appointed surgeon. Sergeant-Major J. A. Smith was promoted adjutant, Principal Musician J. G. Brown suc- cecding him in the former office. M. M. Potter was appointed quartermaster-sergeant, Sergeant Jacob Sanford commissary sergeant; J. L. Burnsides, hospital steward; William Kutz and J. A. Averill, principal musicians. Although the regiment was numerically so weak, it was made up of veterans who had stood shoulder to shoulder on many bloody fields, had seen hundreds of their comrades go down in conflict, and who now took up the route step ready for any fate, but confident that victory would always attend them until treason was finally trodden into the dust.
By sketching the events of any ordinary day's march a true picture of many will be given; for cach twenty-four hours' experience was usually a repetition of the last, with but slight variations. The whole campaign was so entirely one of daily march and nightly bivouac, that it has been ap- propriately named "The Grand March to the Sea."
At the dawn, before the sounding of reveille, the foragers were bustling about preparing their breakfast in order to get an early start. Though but a small fraction of the army, they formed a very important part of it, for they gathered the larger portion of the supplies upon which the troops sub- sisted. But twenty days' rations of bread, with coffee, sugar and salt to last double that time, were carried in the wagons.
389
THE DAILY ROUTINE.
Before starting out from camp the officer in charge of the foraging detail of the regiment got instructions at headquar- ters as to the probable place where the column would halt for the night, and then would strive to first reach the front, or wander far to the flank where forage of all kinds could be found.
The braying of some disconsolate or hungry mule-a call no sooner heard than taken up by a hundred others whose sympathetic feelings were aroused-always preceded reveille. Then from some headquarters would sound a single bugle- call, quickly followed by other bugles and fifes and drums in every part of the encampment; after which countless mules and jacks would raise their highest notes, like so many rival prima-donas. Thousands of fires would start up as if by magic. The whole camp was immediately astir, and every man busy about his share of the labor of preparing breakfast ---. no meagre meal of musty rations, but a select feast from the best bill of fare the country round about could furnish. Often in the limits of the regiment would be seen beef, veal, fresh pork, ham, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, sweet potatoes, honey, corn-bread, pan-cakes, biscuits, and the ever-present coffee- the last being the only item furnished by the gov- ernment. Sufficient was generally left over from the hearty morning meal to amply provide the haversacks with materials for a generous wayside lunch at noon. In fact, supplies were often so abundant that much was carelessly thrown away by the soldiers, or left beside the fires in the abandoned camps, with the certainty that fresh provisions would be awaiting them at the next halting place for the night.
The march of the column was regulated systematically in the following manner: The advance regiment of each bri- gade held that place for a single day, taking position at the rear of the brigade on the next day. The leading brigade of a division, and the leading division of the corps, observed the same routine. Thus the advance guard of today became the rear guard of tomorrow, and the post of honor came at long and regular intervals to each battalion.
Breaking camp was a matter of easy and speedy accom- plishment, as there was little equipage that the soldiers, camp
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FIFTY-FIFTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
followers and pack mules did not carry upon their backs. A single wagon held all the other belongings of the regiment. The troops at the front had to wait until all in the rear of them had passed, and it would frequently be ten o'clock be- fore the whole column got upon the road. The artillery, ammunition train, commissary and other wagons, and what- ever mounted refugees joined, occupied the roadway. The infantry marched at the side most exposed to attack, in order to protect the train from any sudden dash that might be attempted by Confederate cavalry. Upon the opposite side were driven the cattle, and following them were usually long lines of colored refugees. A company of pioneers led the column to improve the way, wherever necessary. This order was general, except that at the rear and front a regiment or two occupied the road, and whenever the enemy was thought to be near, and a battle might be expected, changes were made to better meet the exigency.
In the rear of cach regiment the negro cooks led donkeys ยท loaded with cooking utensils and provisions. This motley crowd always presented a very ludicrous appearance, and among them almost daily occurred incidents irresistibly comic. Upon leaving Atlanta, Licutenants Ebersold and Roberts had procured elaborate camp conveniences which they arranged in two improvised mess-chests, and slung then across the back of a vigorous mule. They congratulated themselves upon their superior arrangements for comfort, and took delight in tantalizing their brother officers who were not so well provided. The mule, after bearing his uncomfortable burden in meekness for a short time, inaugurated a little rebellion on his own account, which he managed with such energy and skill that the mess-chests were very soon resolved into their component parts, and the various utensils and pro- visions they had contained were scattered along the road and destroyed. The extraordinary antics of the mule aroused the noisy mirth of everybody but the two unlucky officers, and their disconsolate countenances only increased the fun.
A brief halt was always taken at noon, when the cheering aroma of steaming coffee would soon fill the air. The re- freshing draught, with the abundant lunch from the haver-
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MARCH AND BIVOUAC.
sacks, made a good meal, and the contented soldiers were on the road again, singing the familiar camp songs. Now and then a stream was reached that required bridging, and heavy details would be hurried to the front to aid the pioneers. A few hours sufficed to bridge a considerable river. Sometimes rains and the wheels of the artillery so softened the roadway that long stretches had to be corduroyed; then the infantry, by brigades or divisions, as the locality demanded, was or- dered forward, and short sections were assigned to each regi- ment. Any convenient fence rails were brought, trees were felled and the larger ones split, and all were laid close together, forming a rough but firm ballasting over the slough. When a battalion had completed its section it was moved to the front and another assigned it. By this method the col- umn was always compact, many miles of road could be corduroyed in a day, and the distance marched was very little diminished in the process.
By the middle of the afternoon the van of the column usually reached the camping-ground selected, in the neigh- borhood of which would be found, lining both sides of the way for a long distance, the foraging parties, guarding their day's acquisition of supplies of every description. As soon as a regiment filed out in the direction of its place for the night's bivouac, every fourth man made a dash for the nearest fence and pre-empted two panels over which he stood guard until his messmates, after the regiment had stacked arms, joined him, when the rails were borne to the camp. A mite of fence disappeared in an incredibly short time. By a sim- ple arrangement of rails covered with rubber blankets but- toned together, comfortable shelters for the night were quickly built, sufficient to protect the hardy sleepers beneath against any ordinary storm. Then a fair division of the for- aging party's spoils was made, and a bountiful supper, in variety and excellence rivalling the morning's feast, was promptly got ready and enjoyed with a zest such as only the appetites of soldiers weary with a day's march can give.
Supper over, there followed such amusements as time and place permitted, chief among which were always the singing and dancing of the colored race, celebrating their day of
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FIFTY-FIFTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
jubilee. Every night brought new artists to re-enforce the original minstrel troupe, and some new attraction varied the entertainment.
After tattoo the whole army in a marvelously brief space of time was wrapt in slumber, and succeeding the tumult of the evening, the quiet that reigned in the midst of so many disturbing elements was remarkable. Whether after a hard day's march or a severe battle, or before an expected fight, the tired veteran pushes aside all thoughts of unpleasant sur- roundings, and fixing his meditations upon home and the dear ones far away, peacefully falls asleep to dream of them. At the sounding of taps all noises die away; men and beasts of burden surrender to drowsiness, and the fires slowly burn down and flicker out. Only at the headquarters of the prom- inent generals is the universal hush broken. While the weary musket-bearers are sleeping with no concern for the future, the commanding officers are intently studying maps, planning the movements for the morrow, and sending mounted order- lies galloping here and there with directions to their subordi- nates. "And around the slumbering host the picket-guards keep quiet watch, while constant, faithful hearts in Northern and Western homes pray that the angels of the Lord may encamp around the sleeping army."
The first two days' march, thirty-five miles, was in a south- casterly direction from Atlanta, passing through Rough-and- Ready and McDonough. It brought us into a region flowing with milk and honey, and abounding in more substantial provender, for which all were hungering. A foraging party consisting of three men from each company, under command of Lieutenant Scott, was sent out on November 17th. This detail had advanced but a few miles before they had collected hams, chickens, turkeys, honey, sweet potatoes and a variety of articles of food in quantity. Some horses and mules were seized, their hiding place in the woods being disclosed by communicative slaves. These animals were speedily har- nessed into such old wagons and carts as could be found, the spoils were loaded, and the rude train was started in search of the regimental camping-ground. By some misdirection, however, the party failed to reach the command that night,
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ACROSS THE OCMULGEE.
and established a camp of its own, throwing out a picket- guard and taking all needful precautions to protect them- selves and their valuable commissary stores. Darkness came on, disclosing lights not far away, which upon investigation proved to be the bivouac fires of a troop of Confederate cav- alry. The bright reflection from the camp-fires of the Union column showed it to be several miles distant. In the early morning the cavalry men, not having discovered their neigh- bors, held council together and rode away, to the great relief of the foragers. After a hard day's march the regiment was found halted near Indian Springs, the stores of food brought were quickly distributed, and the hungry were feasting upon luxuries rare to them.
This was a special foraging detail, and its duties ceased with this successful expedition. Later a permanent party of foragers was selected, one man being detailed from each company of the regiment, and the whole put under command of a commissioned officer. Every regiment in the army had a similar party. The more exciting adventures of the Fifty- fifth's detail will be reserved for a special chapter.
The division crossed the Ocmulgee November 19th, upon a pontoon bridge, and passed through Hillsborough the next day. On the twenty-first the regiment was engaged in a slight skirmish near Clinton, and the following morning the First brigade was ordered to throw up intrenchments a short distance outside of that town. During the day a short ad- vance was made, and the enemy were again seen, but in small force, and were at once dispersed by a single volley. At Griswoldville, a few miles south, Walcott's brigade of Gen- cral Wood's division, which had been sent towards Macon to create the impression of hostile designs upon that place, was furiously attacked by a large body of Georgia militia, under General Phillips. The assault was made with more dash than discretion, and resulted disastrously to the undisciplined assailants. This fight cleared the flanks of the right wing from any large body of rebel soldiers, and the march peace- fully continued. General Hardee had pushed by with the main body of his command to attain a position on the coast and prepare a hostile reception for us, and only small bodies
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FIFTY-FIFTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY.
of cavalry henceforward were met. The left wing of the Union army occupied Milledgeville, and with Macon safely passed, the chief danger and strategic difficulty of the march was over.
The Oconce River was reached near Bell's Ferry, Novem- ber 25th, and the enemy made noisy resistance at first to its passage, but decamped in the night. Here the division re- mained in bivouac during daylight of the 26th while other troops were crossing, and it being the first daylight halt since Atlanta, the opportunity was taken by the men to wash their clothing, for which there was certainly great need. Bell's Ferry is about half way between Atlanta and Savannah, The division moved across the stream upon pontoons in the even- ing, and advanced about four miles. During this short night march to the new bivouac the troops were noisily gay, keep- ing up an incessant roar, singing, shouting, and imitating the cries of bird and beast. The psalm-singing Fifty-fifth joined in with some of its more familiar and pathetic hymns, chief among which, of course, was "Tobias and Tobunkus," lined and led by Dorsey Andress, the regimental chorister, with such feeling unction that it would have brought tears to the eyes of a tobacconist's sign.
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