History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana, Part 17

Author: Goodspeed Bros. & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 901

USA > Indiana > Greene County > History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Sullivan County > History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana > Part 17

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

*This excellent sketch of the Ninety-seventh Regiment was prepared and furnished for this vol- ume by Capt. John D. Alexander.

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MARCHING ORDERS.

In October, 1862, Bragg was advancing on Louisville, and the regi- ment received its first marching orders, and was then ordered to Indian- apolis, where it went into quarters at Camp Morton. While here we had nothing to do but draw rations, cook, do police and guard duty, and "shine up" for drees parade; and from the papers found that Capt. Robert F. Catterson, of the Fourteenth Regiment, had been appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment, and Aden G. Cavins, of the Fifty- ninth Regiment, had been appointed Major; Alexander McGregor, Adju- tant; and William Johnson, Quartermaster; and John G. Shryer, ,Quar- master Sergeant; Dr. Alexander D. Murphy, Surgeon; J. C. Hilburn, Assistant Surgeon, and George Terry, Chaplain.

About the 20th of October, the regiment was ordered to Louisville, Ky., and after being in camp a few days was ordered out to guard a wagon train with supplies for Buell's army as far as Bardstown, Ky. This was our first march, about eighty miles there and back, and it is safe to suppose there were about 10,000 blistered toes when we got back to Louisville, as marching on a pike was a new experience and one likely to bring on such a calamity, a great many of the boys gave out and some of the thoroughbred horses and mules of Kentucky had to be pressed into service, as well as their chivalrous owners, to bring us into camp.

ADVANCE TO MEMPHIS.

The regiment remained here until November 9, 1862, when it was ordered to Memphis, Tenn. We boarded two transports, the "Mary Miller" and the "Hetty Gillmore," and started down the Ohio River. It was beautiful weather. The autumnal dyes of scarlet, gold and purple, were upon the trees, and the haze of Indian summer hung upon the hills. Six companies were aboard the Mary Miller and four companies aboard the Hettie Gillmore. Everything went merry until the Mary Miller struck a snag above Evansville; but fortunately kept afloat, until the damage was repaired. The Hetty Gillmore kept afloat well until she struck on a sand bar at the mouth of the Cumberland River. Here we staid all night, and the soldiers were put out on a lighter with the Sutler's stores, and the next morning cigars, tobacco, butter and crackers, and I suppose the Sutler thinks to this day that they were all thrown overboard, but the boys did smoke after this, and chewed considerable tobacco that looked like they were of the same brand the Sutler used.

The regiment reached Memphis November 15, 1862, and remained there until November 25, when the army moved south to Holly Springs and to reach Vicksburg. At Memphis, we were brigaded with the Ninety- ninth Indiana, Fifty-third and Seventieth Ohio Regiments, Gen. Denver, commanding; advanced with the army under Grant and Sherman, to Yacknapatafa River, when we halted and remained about a week subsisting

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mainly on Mississippi yams. The rebels took Holly Springs, captured the garrison there, and we had to retrace our steps. When we reached that place, Lieut. Col. Catterson received his commission as Colonel, and Maj. Cavins his commission as Lieutenant Colonel. In a few days we were on the march again and went to La Grange, Tenn., reaching there about January 8, 1863, when we went into what was called winter quarters.

Quite a number of men died at this place, as it was quite sickly, raining most of the time. We remained here until March 8, 1863, when we went to Fort Grissom, located at a bridge on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, west of La Grange about twenty miles. We guarded this bridge until some time in April, 1863, when the regiment was ordered to Moscow, Tenn., remained there a short time and went to La Grange. In June, 1863, the regiment was ordered to Vicksburg via Memphis. The regiment marched to Memphis and there, with the other regiments, took transporte to Vicksburg. The Ninety-seventh Indiana and a battery went down on the steamer " John Warner." There were probably thirty or forty transports loaded with troops, horses and artillery, wagons and horses one following another, with a convoy of gunboats on either side. Every little while rebel cavalry would appear on the banks and the gun- boats would wake the echoes and shell the woods. When we reached the mouth of the Yazoo River, we went up that river and disembarked at "Snyder's Bluff." Here we were employed in building breastworks and fortifications, facing to the rear, and watching the movements of the rebel Gen. Joe Johnston, who was out in the direction of Jackson, Miss., and whose army the rebels expected would raise the siege of Vicksburg. We were about twelve or fifteen miles from Vicksburg, but could plainly see the smoke from their famous cannon, " Whistling Dick," and could plainly hear the roar of the guns when our men would make a charge. About June 26, we were ordered to move more directly to the rear of Vicksburg, and in the direction of Jackson, to a place called "Oak Ridge," where we remained until after the fall of Vicksburg. We were at that time a part of Gen. Smith's division. On July 5, day after the sur- render at Vicksburg, we were ordered to march on Jackson, Miss. The regiment encountered sharp opposition in crossing Black River. We advanced rapidly on Jackson, Miss., and had two days of sharp skir- mishing. Lieut. Col. Aden G. Cavins had his horse killed with a cannon shot. Lieut. Jerrall, of Company C, had an arm shot off, of which he died at Black River, where the regiment went into camp. Afterward, Capt. Dean, of Company F, was hit with a spent ball, and from the shock and debility, resulted in his death at Camp Sherman. The Ninety-seventh Indiana and Fortieth Illinois advanced on the fortifications of Jackson as skirmishers, took the rebel rifle pits, were not supplied by the battle column, and, after lying close under the rebel guns for several hours,

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retired. George W. Corbin, of Company G, was killed at Jackson, Mis .... July 16, 1863.

The regiment then returned to Black River, " Camp Sherman," after tearing up miles of railroad track, and remained there until ordered to march to Chattanooga; went from Black River to Vicksburg, and thence by boats to Memphis, Tenn. We left there in October, 1863, and marched all the way to Bridgeport, near Chattanooga; took a short rest at Nickajack Cave; were then ordered to cross Sand Mountain to Tren- ton, in Lookout Mountain Valley. . Here we encountered some of our old friends in the Thirty-first Indiana and other regiments of the Fourth Corps, who, in bidding us good-bye, said we would see sights before we got five miles away. The most of the regiment was in splended order, and the boys of the Ninety-seventh an-wered that they had come to fight and wanted to engage the best troops of the rebel army. We crossed Sand Mountain and arrived at Trenton, twenty miles from the nose or point of Lookout Mountain. After some slight skirmishing, was ordered: to join the army near Chattanooga; marched down the valley, crossed the Tennessee River on pontoons, and camped behind the hills opposite. the mouth of the Chickamauga Creek; crossed the Tennessee again on pontoons, and were in the advance on Mission Ridge, and were inside ' their picket guard line when we arrived fronting that part of the ridge. through which the railroad tunnel passes, which was strongly fortified and occupied in strong force by the rebel army.

BATTLE OF MISSION RIDGE.

The fight next day was a bloody one, and lasted all day. Masses of re-enforcements could be seen swarming in all day to increase the rebel forces, and Sherman's men, the Thirteenth Corps made but little head- way against the heavy columns of the enemy. Dr. A. M. Murphy, our regimental Surgeon, now enjoying the ease and dignity of a mature age, did all in his power to brighten the sufferings of the wounded. All the day of the battle, and until nearly sunrise the next morning, he was to be found on the field. After the retreat of the rebel army from this place, we followed them near Ringgold Pass. We were then ordered to march to Knoxville, E. Tenn., to relieve Gen. Burnside, who was be- sieged by Gen. Longstreet. We marched without tents or other camp equipage through rain and snow, camped late at night, and on our return to Chattanooga, eighty-six of our men of the regiment out of 310 had no shoes. We marched west along the Memphis & Charleston Railroad via Bridgeport & Stevenson to Bridgeport, Ala., and here we went into win- . ter quarters December 25, 1863. While here, our camp was north of the railroad and town, in a little cave, and near a large spring. We had little else to do but eat, smoke, write letters and do guard duty antil February, when the regiment was ordered on a scout with some other

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troops, under the command of Gen. Morgan L. Smith, then commanding at Huntsville. Our scout extended south as far as Lebanon, Ala. We saw no enemy, and the " boys" only succeeded in capturing some apple- jack and fighting roosters, and in returning to camp the boys would have & rooster fight whenever we would stop to rest. The roosters would crow as we marched along, the boys carrying them under their arms. While here, about the last of February or the 1st of March, 1864, our regiment was sent with others to East Tennessee, and from there we made reconnoissance in the direction of Tunnel Hill and Dalton, Ga. It was said that Sherman, with a large force, had moved from Vicksburg in the direction of Meridian, Miss., and was tearing up railroad tracks and destroying the rolling stock and depots, and that a corps of the rebel army was about starting from Tun- nel Hill to re-enforce the rebel army, and our march there was to bring them back; whether we did or not, I can't say, but I do know that the rebels swarmed out on us so thick that we had to retreat pretty suddenly one night, and they kept at our heels the next day until noon, popping away at us all the time.

LADIES IN OAMP.

On the last-named expedition, Capt. David Shelly, of Company K, from Vermillion County, was in command of the regiment. When we returned to Scottsboro, Ala., our camp was enlivened by the presence of Mrs. Col. Cavins, of Bloomfield, Mrs. Capt. White, of Spencer, and Mrs. Capt. Fields, of Owensburg. On the last day of April, the writer of this was in command of a picket guard at the mountain pass, on the north side of the camp, with orders to let no one pass in or out the line without a pass. Mrs. Cavins and Mrs. White came up the mountain hunting wild flowers, and came to the picket post. Just beyond the lines were some beautiful flowers, and the ladies with the writer went to get them. When the ladies returned to camp and told they got their flowers beyond the lines, Col. Cavins said he would send at once and arrest the officer in command for allowing them beyond the lines, but through the intercession of Mrs. Cavins the writer was saved from such a calamity. While here, we sent to New York and purchased two beauti- ful swords, one for Col. Cavins, and one for Col. Catterson; when re- ceived were duly presented, J. D. Alexander making the presentation speech, to which the donees made very excellent replies, and returned thanks. This is a little of the poetry of war.

THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN.

On the 30th of April, 1864, I heard a bustle outside of my tent and inquired what was the matter, hearing everywhere " we've got marching orders." Three days' rations and forty rounds of ammunition was the order, and the next morning, May 1, 1864, the whole army broke camp and marched out with flags flying and bands playing, and started for

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Chattanooga. We had started on the " Atlanta campaign." As we neared Chattanooga, infantry, cavalry and artillery were all moving to the south, a great army was coming together and moving to the south. At this time the Ninety-seventh was brigaded with the One Hundredth Indiana, Forty-sixth Ohio, Twenty-sixth Illinois, Fortieth Illinois, One Hundred and Third Illinois and Sixth Iowa, commanded by Gen. O. C. Walcott, who now resides at Columbus, Ohio. . We were in the First Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, Gen. Harrah commanding division, Gen. Logan commanding the corps, and in the Army of the Tennessee commanded by Gen. McPherson. The Army of the Tennessee, composed of Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Corps, formed the right wing of the army, and the Fifteenth Corps, from its facility in moving from the right to the left of the line was called the " whip lash." We moved to the right and passed through Snake Oreek Gap, and on the 18th day of May, encountered the left wing of the rebel army under Gen. Joe E. Johnston, at Resaca, and after sharp skirmishing with them drove them back into their breastworks.

On the 14th day of May, Company E of the regiment was on the skirmish line commanded by Capt. J. T. Oliphant, who lost' two of his men killed, George Mood and Coen Cullison. Wesley M. Bonuff was wounded and died of wound June 20, 1864. About the 20th of May, the rebels evacuated the place and we still moved on and struck them again in their intrenchments at Dallas, Ga., about May 25. Sharp shirmish- ing we had with them until the 29th of May. Capt. Holdson, with his company, I, were on the skirmish line, and the rebels made a desperate charge on the extreme right of our army, we being a part of same, and before Company I got inside of our works Capt. Holdeon was wounded twice, and so close were the rebels upon us, our line commenced firing, and Orderly Hinkle, of Company I, laid down between two logs and re- mained there between the lines until we had repulsed the enemy.

Our corps was then moved further to the left to New Hope Church and relieved the Twentieth Corps under Hooker, who moved further to the left. One rainy morning, after sitting in the trenches all night in mud and water expecting a charge from the enemy, to our surprise we found them all gone. We then moved on and next encountered the enemy at Big Shanty, about June 12, near Lost and Kenesaw Mountains. On the 15th of June, our division was ordered to advance to the left and had not gone far until the Ninety-seventh Indiana was stretched out into a skirmish line. We were ordered to charge, which we did with the bal. ance of our brigade. Just following were two brigades, one on each. flank; we captured the skirmish line just as the enemy were forming their lines of battle. But they never got them formed, for they took to their heels, and a few hid in the bushes whom we captured, together with the Thirty-first Alabama Regiment, who formed the skirmish line. In this

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battle, Company A lost in killed James M. Anderson, and had siz men wounded. Company E lost one killed, Christian J. Halterman, and John W. Rutlege, Orderly Sergeant, was wounded and died of same, at Chatta- nooga, Tenn. Company I lost one killed, Byron M. Reed, of Greene County. We then moved to the right, opposite Kenesaw Mountain.

BATTLE OF KENESAW MOUNTAIN.

On Sunday night, June 26, Col. Cavins, who was in command of the regiment, sent for all the commissioned officers and told us an assault was to be made on the mountain the next day; and our brigade had been specially named to form a part of the assaulting column under command of Gen. Morgan L. Smith, and wanted to know how we all felt about it. Some said " We would go right up," but Capt. Jordan, of Company K, a practical, cool-headed fellow, said, " Well, you'll all smell fire before you get to the top of that mountain. " Before day, on 27th, we moved out of our works under cover of the woods, gut our breakfast and moved further to the right to our position in the line. By this time, the enemy observ- ing our movements, it was all active, and were re enforcing at all points, and kept up a bitter fire upon us with shot and shell. In our brigade, the Forty-sixth Ohio took the advance as skirmishers, the Ninety-seventh Indiana, One Hundred and Third Illinois on front line of battle, and the Sixth Iowa and Fortieth Illinois as the supporting column, ad- vanced rapidly until we came to the foot of the mountain, drove the skir- mishers from their works and started up the mountain through every con- ceivable obstruction, fallen timber, etc., under a front and enfilading fire from the enemy. We got within about fifty yards of the enemy's works when we had to retire. William Sullivan, of Company A, was killed. Capt. Joe Young, of Company C, was killed; also Robert F. Hegwood, and Sergt. James A. Butcher, of. Company O, was mortally wounded, Aaron Hall, of Company E, was killed. John Hays, of Company G, was killed, as was also George W. Mosier. Orderly Sergt. William F. Moore, of Point Commerce, commanding Company F, was killed. A great many of the regiment were killed and wounded, which the space we are allowed will not permit us to give their names. The regiment lost in killed and wounded 70 out of 300 engaged. The rebels then retired across the Chattahoocheeiver into their works around Atlanta.

In the battle of Atlanta, we were engaged during the entire battle, and captured the Fifth Confederate Tennessee, that killed Gen. McPher- son July 22, 1864; were at the battle of Ezra Chapel on night of July 28, 1864, and in the battle of Jonesboro, south of Atlanta. After Hood left Atlanta and started north, the regiment followed with the army as far as Resaca and Taylor's Gap, and then Sherman. leaving Hood to the tender mercies of "Pap Thomas," went back to Atlanta. After tearing up the railroad for a few days, on the 15th of November, 1864, we started

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with Sherman on his famous "march to the sea." Col. Cavins, having been granted a leave after the fall of Atlanta, did not reach us before the railroad was torn up, and was given an important command in East Ten- nessee. On the march to the sea, we saw no enemy of any considerable force until we were near Macon, Ga

THE MARCH TO THE SEA.

On the morning of November 25, 1864, our brigade was w make a reconnaissance in the direction of Macon until the troops and wagon train were out upon the road. We started, but had not gone far until we met a cavalry regiment of Pennsylvania troops coming toward us at full speed. Wheeler had surprised them near Griswoldville, captured some, and the rest were on the wing. Some had lost their guns, some horses were running on three legs, some shot in the nose, and all were dying in confusion. Two companies of one regiment, and two of the One Hun- dred and Third Illinois were deployed at once as skirmishers, and moved through a pine woods until we came to rising ground, east of a large farm. Wheeler's cavalry was on the west side, about one-half milo away. A few troops followed them to Griswoldville, then came back, and the brigade formed in line of battle, the Ninety-seventh Indiana on the extreme right, and the Forty-sixth Ohio on the extreme left, and a battery in the center. The boys called it the " spectacle battery," because the Captain wore spectacles. Company G of our regiment was deployed as skirmishers on the west side of the farm. Arms were stacked, fires made, and we were getting our dinners at 1 P. M., dreaming of no dan- ger, when the pickets began to fire and fall back. We were ordered to throw up breastworks as best we could, which we did with logs, rails, etc., when we saw three or four lines of battle coming-a whole division of Georgia militia. They were marching in splendid style-at a right- shoulder-shift arms. Our battery opened fire on them, when they opened one on us, and killed nearly every horse in our battery, and quite a num- ber of men in the Sixth Iowa supporting it. A piece of shell wounded Gen. Walcott, commanding. Col. Catterson, of our regiment, at once took command of our brigade. The fight lasted from 1 P. M. until 4 P. M., the enemy making one charge after another. When the fight was practically over, a skirmish line was sent out, and quite a number of the enemy captured, expecting to wait until night and then get away.

The captured and killed were nearly all very young and very old men, who had white cotton shirts in their knapsacks, and butter and bread in their haversacks, with slices of fried ham. We built fires, and brought a great many wounded men to the fires, as the night was chilly, and at 10 P. M. we retired from the place and joined the main army and con- tinued our march toward the sea. It was said that in this engagement we killed and captured 1,500 of the enemy. We moved on, crossing the

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Ocmulgee and Oconee Rivers, and met with no other serious disturbance until we got in the neighborhood of Savannah, where we struck the enemy. We had works on one side of a rice farm, and they on the other. The water had been let in on the farm, and here we remained about a week, until Fort McAllister fell, which was taken by the Second Divi- sion of our Fifteen Corps, commanded by Gen. Hazen. We were then very short of rations, and had to depend mostly on the rice we got off the rice farm. We could see the masts of our ships loaded with supplies at the mouth of the Ogechee. River in " Ossabaw Sound, " but they could not reach us until Fort McAllister was taken. After that, Hardee and his army remained in Savannah but a few days, and on the 21st of De- cember, 1864, Sherman took possession of the city. .

ON THE OORAN.

We remained there until about the 15th of January, 1865, when our regiment and a cavalry regiment went aboard a blockade runner that had been captured, called the "Louisburg," and droppel down the Savannah River and out to sea, and went round to Port Royal, S. C. Here we remained until the last days of January, 1865, when we started on the march, our objective point being Columbia, S. C. On the 15th of February, we met the enemy, some fifteen miles from there, and began to skirmish with Wade Hampton's cavalry. That night we threw up breast- works, and went into camp. Next morning we moved out and began to skir- mish again. The Fortieth Illinois of our brigade was deployed as skirmish- ers, the One Hundred and Third Illinois, with our regiment, as a reserve. We drove them at first. but they became more and more stubborn as we neared Congaree Creek, where they had a line of works on the west side and a battery of artillery on the east side, and a considerable force of infantry. Our men drove them out of their works, and across the bridge, and as we came up, and were running into the works they left, their battery opened on us, and a shell exploded just in the works and cut off the head of Preston Flinn, of Company E, and mortally wounded John Mood, a Corporal of Company E, he dying in a few minutes.

THE BURNING OF COLUMBIA.

The rebels retired across a large farm in the direction of Columbia, and our division was hurried across the bridge, our brigade in the ad- vance. A line of battle was formed, and the Forty-sixth Ohio deployed 88 skirmishers, and about this time a line of cavalry skirmishers came sweeping toward us, but the Spencer rifles of the Forty-sixth Ohio soon put them to flight. We camped on the farm that night, and the rebels gave us ashot, or shell, about every ten minutes that night from a battery across the Congaree River, with no material damage, however. The next night, after crossing the Saluda River, we camped on Broad River, north

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of the city, and the next morning our brigade was the second one in the city. The enemy had gone, and along the main streets of the city there had been placed cotton bales, end to end, for a considerable distance near the curbstone, and had been set on fire before we entered the city. An Iowa brigade attempted to put out the fire, and it was still smoking when we passed it. Negroes thronged the streets, and gave us a rousing recep- tion by singing the " Jubilee Song," dancing, and showing their teeth, but were not disposed to bite. They carried out coffee, hams, bacon, rice, and brandy, whisky and wine to us, and made every demonstration of Joy. Our regiment camped a mile out that night. In the night, I was aroused by the explosion of cartridges and shells, and thought the enemy had attacked us, but when I looked toward the city, a great fire seemed to be sweeping over it, and the explosions were caused by the fire having reached the arsenal. At daylight, the Ninety-seventh Indiana Regiment was ordered to the city on provost duty, and so remained during our stay in the city. A part of the city was burned. The fire seemed to sweep over the city from southwest to northeast, and seemed to sweep everything as it went. Sherman, it is said, captured here provisions enough for his whole army for thirty days, all of which was burned, and during the night of the fire he and his general officers all had to move their head- quarters.

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History of Greene and Sullivan Counties, State of Indiana, Part 17

Author: Goodspeed Bros. & Co. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Number of Pages: 901

Author: Goodspeed Bros. & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 901