USA > Indiana > History of the Forty-sixth regiment Indiana volunteer infantry : September, 1861-September, 1865 > Part 6
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The brigade was ordered at the close of the battle to get a supply of cartridges and finish the fight, or take part in the pursuit.
Divisions coming up which had not been in the engagement were sent forward, and the Twelth Division prepared for supper and rest.
The spot where the division was to camp was situated in a light wood, near the road, but it was preoccupied. It was covered with dead and wounded men. Rebel and Union soldiers lay almost as thickly as stood the living. The division divided the ground with the dead and wounded. All night the ambulance corps, with their torches of splinters, came among the sleeping soldiers, hunting and carrying out those to whom surgical atten- tion would be a benefit.
On the morning of the 17th, the brigade was ordered to. remain to bury the dead and care for the wounded and prisoners. Details were made for the work. Negroes were employed in digging trenches for graves. Wagons sconred the field for arms and ammunition, and a large detail with negroes, under the medical officers, cut trees and built bowers for the wounded. In the Forty- sixth, each company sent out men to gather and bury their own dead. They were brought to one place and buried in one grave. Three who died in the hospital were buried there, and one who
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CHAMPION'S HILL.
was not found was afterward buried by the general detail. One other, at the request of his friends, was buried alone. This was done on Sunday. On Monday the rebels were buried. They were put in trenches, in lots of twenties, thirties and upward, as was most convenient.
The loss of the Forty-sixth, in the battle of Champion's Hill, was as follows:
Company A .- Killed: Henry L. Smith, Silas Davis, S. II. Nelson, John Beaver. Wounded: Lieutenant W. A. Andrews, A. A. Julian, E. J. Lister, John Newell, C. M. Parker, W. C. Heartzog, W. A. Kinsey, Levi Canter, W. H. Duncan, Ralph MeMahan, Thomas W. Sleeth, Hugh F. Crockett, S. I. Anderson, J. F. Sheridan, Lewis Billard. Missing: Samuel Patterson, A. Smock.
1 Company B .- Killed: William Pfoutz. Wounded: Peter Maise, James C. Dill, II. B. Ingham, W. H. Bell, Lieutenant J. T. Castle, Levi Lynch.
Company C .- Killed: John N. Newhouse: Wounded: Joseph Henderson, Allen Hughes, James N. Thompson, John Shephard. Missing: Daniel Harner.
Company D .- Killed: Nicholas Welch, William Laquear. Wounded: W. H. Conner, Porter White, Alexander Reece.
Company E .- Killed: G. W. Smith. Wounded: Benjamin Ross, Samuel D. Shields.
Company F .- Killed: Lieutenant Joel Ferris, Michael Taffe, Thomas Nace. Wounded: William Butler, Daniel Leslie, James Moran, W. S. Nace, Alexander Hogland, Michael Rader, Beecher Sharp, James Crippen, Jefferson Dickey, Jacob Hiney.
Company G .- Killed: Abel Benjamin, Silas Dunham. Wounded: W. H. Bunnell, Flora Shein, Joseph H. Carr, William Dillon, T. G. Glasford, Jacob Guest.
Company II .- Killed: C. P. Burrow, M. HI. Ager. Wounded: J. J. Mowry, L. A. Price.
Company I .-- Killed: William M. Oliver, T. J. Kistler, Thomas Humbert, Charles D. Mellinger. Wounded: Lieutenant Jacob McCormick, D. T. Krisher, Charles Shaffer, J. W. Walters, Samuel Johnson, Henry Whitmore. T. J. Button, George Porter, J. White, Solomon Kline, Jonas Stiver.
Company K .- Wounded: John Hoover, Thomas W. Scott, William Cook.
Killed, twenty; wounded, sixty-oue; missing, three.
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THE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
Of the above wounded, Butler, Stiver, Newell, Glasford, But- ton, Shein and Lieutenant Andrews died in a few days. The Forty-sixth took 350 men into the action.
The effective strength of the division, at the commencement of the fight, was 4,180. Of this number, 211 were killed, 872 wounded and 119 missing, a total of 1,202-28.7 per cent. The total Federal loss was 2,408.
On the 19th the First Brigade started for Vicksburg. The Second had gone forward on the day after the battle, but the First overtook it at Black river bridge, where it remained, while the First kept on toward the city, which was reached at noon on the 21st. Five thousand prisoners accompanied the brigade to Black river bridge, where they turned off for a point on the Mississippi, above Vicksburg. Arriving at the fortifications, the men indulged in a rest. At dark an order came directing an assault the next morning. The attack was to be general along the whole line. In the morning the camps were astir with preparation. Before the appointed hour the army was in its several positions. Ours fell before three forts, on a ridge, backed by a hill. The brigade was posted behind Osterhaus' division, and as a support to it. On the signal, the whole line, enveloped in fire and smoke, rushed forward. One of Osterhaus' brigades started toward the ridge, and our First Brigade closed up to follow, but before Osterhaus made half the distance the pits, hills, ravines and breastworks before us were filled with men who opened such a fire on the advancing columns that they were broken and scattered. At the same time two brass twelve-pound guns opened with grape and completed Osterhaus' defeat. The first regiment of Osterhaus', the Seventh Kentucky, was literally swept away. The Twenty- fourth and Forty-sixth then took the position in front. A heavy fire was kept up all the afternoon, but no more assaults were made.
It was upon this event that General McClernand reported a successful entre within the rebel works, and upon which he based his famous congratulatory order to his corps; but there was no success.
On June 2, Colonel Kilby Smith, of Ohio; Colonel McMahon, of Wisconsin, and Colonel Bringhurst, were detailed by General Grant to go to Milliken's Bend and investigate complaints made against the commandant of a negro recruiting camp at that point. While there they witnessed a desperate battle between a rebel force of 2,000 and 1,500 negro recruits. The battle lasted an hour
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VICKSBURG.
only. The rebels had 250 killed and wounded, the negroes 100 killed and 200 wounded. The Twenty-third Iowa, sent up from Young's Point the night before, rendered no assistance in the fight.
There was not much change in the routine of duty during the siege. The Forty-sixth was early assigned a position opposite the fort, where the fatal charge was made on the 22d. Two com- panies were furnished daily for duty on the works, where each man disposed of forty rounds. The lines were about 600 yards apart. The works were an embankment with sandbags on top, with intervals between for portholes, and a heavy log on the top. The men on duty spent the time behind the breastworks, occasion- ally venturing a look to catch some careless rebel, or to be caught themselves.
Directly in the rear of the regiment was a battery of four guns. Two of them were the ones that the regiment brought from New Madrid to Riddle's Point. The other two were those the regiment captured at Fulton, below Fort Pillow. These, with some smaller guns, were fired directly over the heads of the men. The firing was incessant. At all hours of the day and night some of the batteries were at work, and the noise became so familiar that it was scarcely noticed. On the 2d of June, under orders, a general cannonading from the batteries upon the rebels com- meneed at 4 o'clock in the morning. Two hundred guns were let loose on them. In addition, the gunboats and mortars mixed in. For six hours the storm continued. The rifle pits were filled with men, but with no expectation of making an assault. The rebels naturally expected an attack, and many of them, curious to see what was coming, lost their lives.
Frisby Richardson, of Company K; Isaac Rinier and Patrick Calahan, of Company F, and Soloman M. Camblin, of Company G, were wounded on the works, and Andrew J. Bachelor, of Com- pany B, was killed by the falling of a magazine.
On the 25th orders were received to prepare for the blowing up of a fort on the right of the brigade, opposite Logan's division. Everybody was in the works in time. At 4 o'clock a large fort went up in a cloud of smoke and dust. At the same moment, the artillery on the whole line opened on the opposite works, and, where opportunity offered, the infantry picked off careless rebels. A desperate fight took place where the fort was blown, which lasted until night. On the 28th the rebels attempted to mine
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THE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
under trenches near the regiment's line, but the calculation was erroneous and no damage was done.
About the 20th of June an approach to the rebel lines was begun from Hovey's division. A large amount of labor was spent upon it, and its success was only prevented by the surrender. During the progress of that work the rebels and Federals fre- quently met on the picket line and had a quiet talk.
On July 3, about 10 o'clock, white flags appeared on the rebel works to the left of our brigade line. Immediately all the works on both sides were covered with men, and great anxiety was mani- fested to discover what was going on. Shortly the flags were taken down and a squad of rebel officers went over to the rebel lines. Rumors came thick and fast, but nothing was known until night, when an order came saying that a grand national salute would be fired at daylight on the morrow; that if the rebels had surrendered, it would be blank cartridges; if they had not, it would be ball and shell. The salute in the morning told that the truce was not broken. At 10 o'clock a large white flag on the Court-house told the story of the great victory, and a shout from 40,000 throats welcomed it.
In a short time the rebel regiments came out in front of their works, stacked their arms and hung up their accoutrements. They then marched back. Then regimental flags went up on their parapets. Those of the Eleventh and Forty-sixth graced the "big fort." During the morning of the 4th, the regiment drew ten days' rations and 150 rounds of ammunition and received orders to march at noon. The liberated rebels flocked around the soldiers' quarters and were treated with great liberality. Not less than a hundred were fed by the Forty-sixth. After dinner the boys strolled into town. They looked over the city, inspected the rebel officers and soldiers and returned to camp.
At Champion's Hill the regiment found a large number of Springfield ritles, thrown down by the rebels. Six companies laid down their Austrians in their place. Now the last Austrian was disposed of and a full complement of good guns secured. This irregular exchange of arms was the occasion of an immense amount of trouble in the ordinance department. For twenty years after the colonel received annual demands for an accounting of the Austrian guns.
Started on July 5 for Joe Johnston, at Jackson. Thermometer 100. Very dusty. Three army corps formed the expedition.
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MARCHI TO JACKSON.
They were to march on three roads and meet at Bolton, then again separate and meet again at Clinton. Encamped that night near Black river, ten miles. This march has been pronounced the most fatiguing and distressing ever made by the Forty-sixth. The regiment remained at that point until the evening of the next day. The line of march was taken up at 5 o'clock, and the bridge was reached. It was so crowded that the regiment was unable to cross, and went into camp. At 5 o'clock on the morning of the 7th the Forty-sixth was on the road, and reached Bolton, eighteen miles, at 6 o'clock. Regiments and batteries crowded in, and by dark the confusion was desperate. Soon the rain began. Our division settled down along the road. Occasional flashes of light- ning disclosed a confused mass of artillery, horses, wagons, men, etc. The rain put out the fires, and there was no supper. It became totally dark, and for six hours that experience of the regi- ment was its worst. During the night stragglers came in, waking dozing men with inquiries about their regiment. Horses and mules, imperfectly tied, stalked among the men, or got up rows with the horses of the artillery or the wagons.
The next morning the sun came out hot, and the moisture , was evaporated from the ground in clouds. The regiment moved ont of the water a short distance, and remained until evening.
At 4 o'clock the regiments moved out to their positions, and made a grand appearance. The bands were playing and the men sang patriotic songs. All were in high glee and confident that Johnston would soon be driven off. Made three miles by 11 o'clock, and laid down. Started again at S o'clock, on the 9th, and made Bohon, ten miles, by 11 o'clock. Skirmishers were used nearly all the way between Bolton and Clinton. At Clinton the regiment rested an hour, overtook a number of willing prisoners, and encamped a mile beyond Clinton.
On the 10th the three corps were again together, and it was late before the regiment obtained its road. At noon the division was within two miles of Jackson, and went into camp. Very heavy skirmishing was going on.
At noon on the 11th the regiment was assigned its position in the line. Skirmished all the afternoon and until dark, when, after crossing the New Orleans railroad, the men laid down in line of battle.
On the 12th of July the Federal lines closed up on the town. Our line was by the two brigades, in their order, with the right on
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THE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
the railroad, and the left resting on Benton's division. Lawman's division was on the right of the road, and was rapidly moving up. Two companies of each regiment were in advance as skirmishers. The Forty-sixth was on the right of the division. The Twenty- fourth and Thirty-fourth were in reserve. Lawman was far in advance of the line. He charged on a rebel earthwork without being able to bring his artillery into action or protect his men. In consequence the rebel fire was concentrated on that division, to the advantage of that on the left. Our First Brigade made the advance and got into position without difficulty, but after a sharp fight.
The regiment had none killed in the engagement. The wounded were Jeremiah Johnson, of Company G, who died on the 19th; Alfred H. Hardy, who died on the 18th; George G. IIamil- ton, of Company C; John B. Waldron, of Company G; Milton Hancock, Amos Orput and Cyrus Peabody, of Company I, and Lientenant Mitchell, of Company H.
The regiment remained in line of battle from the 12th to the 21st of July. On the 14th a flag of truce went out from our side to procure the burial of the dead. The dead of Lawman's division had lain out since the 12th, and their burial became a necessity. For the first day and night the complaints of the wounded were constantly heard, but it being impossible to relieve them, they had perished. Two men had crawled out to the picket line, and were met and helped by members of the Forty-sixth.
The burial party was furnished by the rebels, and they did their work very superficially and in a great hurry. A large portion of the dead had been wounded and died from want of attention. Some had crawled under trees and bushes. Groups of two and three were found huddled behind logs in their effort to shelter themselves from the shells and balls that showered over them.
Three hundred bodies were buried at this one point. Law- man's loss was 175.
General Lawman was relieved, and ordered to report to Gen- eral Grant at Vicksburg.
A roster of the rebel army, found at Vicksburg, showed that there were, at Jackson, troops from Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Arkan- sas, Tennessee and Kentucky-seventy-eight infantry regiments, nine of cavalry, and sixteen batteries.
The rebels had a fine band on their line opposite the Forty-
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RETURN TO VICKSBURG.
sixth. Each night it would play until "tattoo." They would play "Bonnie Blue Flag," "Dixie," etc., calling out cheers from both sides.
An exciting scene occurred at the Insane asylum when the assault was made at that point. The inmates were terribly excited, and were seen at the windows shouting to the soldiers. None were hurt, though several balls went through the building.
Just before daylight on the 21st, a man was brought to the headquarters of the Forty-sixth, who said he was just from town, and that the rebels were evacuating. The man was sent to the quarters of General Blair, and in a few minutes a division was on the march for the city.
The rebels had, before leaving, set fire to many warehouses. The conflagration spread, and in a short time the principal part of the town was in flames. Across Pearl river the rebels had buried torpedoes. Only four of them exploded. A horse, drawing a cart containing a man, two women and two children, struck a torpedo with his foot and exploded it. The horse, cart and people were distributed over the road. Rebels, with shovels and picks, were put to work digging out the dangerous missiles.
On the 21st the army was employed on the railroads. The rails were torn up and twisted around trees and telegraph poles, and the ties were piled and burned.
On the same day the division started back toward Vicksburg. The regiment reached Raymond at 5 o'clock. The men were very much fatigued. Many did not reach camp until late at night. On the 22d the march was to Black river, with half the regiment behind. On the next day, the regiment started for Vicksburg, ten miles distant, and reached there about noon.
This hard march was without necessity. The columns were pushed through at a rate far beyond the ability of the men, and against positive orders. Five miles west of Bolton the regiment was deluged with rain, and witnessed the killing of two Wisconsin men by lightning.
On reaching the river, the regiment went into camp just below the city. A number of commissions were found awaiting several officers and men of the Forty-sixth, but as the regiment had been reduced below the minimum, many of those promoted could not be mustered. This situation was unfortunate. Many of the men promoted had rendered excellent service, and deserved their commissions, but the order was inexorable and could not be evaded.
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THE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
Furloughs were given the men at the rate of one in twenty. Many officers resigned.
The sick list was small. The men had become inured to exposure and hardship, and were able for anything. Many of the. wounded rejoined, among them Adjutant Watts, whose recovery seemed a miracle.
The Union loss in killed and wounded in the Vicksburg cam- paign, exclusive of the last Jackson expedition, was 8,807. The rebel loss in the same time was 56,000 men killed, wounded and prisoners, 260 cannon, 60,000 small arms and immense stores.
Under orders, the regiment shipped on board the "Baltic," on the 4th of August, with the Twenty-ninth Wisconsin, for Natchez.
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CHAPTER V.
VACANCIES AND PROMOTIONS .- NATCHEZ .- ALGIERS. - BERWICK BAY .- BRASHEAR .-- GRAND CHOTEAU. - GENERAL BURBRIDGE. - VERMILLION- VILLE. - LAKE MAURIPAS. - MADISONVILLE .- ANOTHER EXPEDITION. AUGUST, 1863 - JANUARY, 1861.
A UGUST 22, 1863, First Lieutenant John T. Castle, of Com- pany B, resigned; Corporal Theodore P. Forgey was eom- missioned in his place.
The " Baltic" was one of the Marine Brigade boats, a trans- port fitted up for general purposes. It was amphibious, intended for operations on both land and water. It had artillery on wheels and with horses. It was heavily barricaded against ritle balls. This boat was not able to hold two regiments, but the orders were to put them on, and it had to be done. The Forty-sixth was on by 10 o'clock. The Twenty-ninth was hardly on by daylight. All of the Forty-sixth's property was on except the wagons. With six other boats, the "Baltie" started at 6 o'clock. At 4 o'clock p. M. the fleet was at Natchez, and at 7 o'clock the regi- ment was on its camp ground, waiting for the wagons. Two were finally borrowed and a portion of the property brought up. In the morning the remainder came. By the 7th of August, the regiment was comfortably fixed in good quarters.
Up to the 13th, the regiment remained enjoying a well earned rest, when orders came for a removal. At 5 r. M. of that date, three wagons were borrowed, and the regiment, with the Eleventh Indiana, loaded on the "Des Are." By 8 o'clock everything was on board except the men of the Forty-sixth. The boat being crowded, it was thought pleasanter on the ground. A three hours' rain in the night discounted the conclusion considerably. Just at daylight the regiment marched through town and onto the boat. The "Des Are" was found to be the successor of the "Goklen State," the boat on which some of our companies came down the
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TIIE FORTY-SIXTH INDIANA.
Ohio in 1862. Some of the same officers were on the new boat, and they were much pleased to meet the Forty-sixth.
The boat stopped a short time at Port Hudson, and rounded to five miles above New Orleans at S o'clock, on the 17th of August.
Up to the 12th of September, the regiment enjoyed a good rest. Occasional rumors of sundry expeditions excited their appre- hensions, but nothing serious until, on the 12th, an order for a march came. The regiment was at its very best. The men had good clothes, and an abundance of camp equipage, and were in good health. The order to move was not really unwelcome, for the boys were anxious to see what else the Confederacy had.
On the 22d and 29th of August, and on the 4th of September, grand reviews were held by Generals Grant and Banks. There was a splendid display, and the regiment received as much atten- tion as any. In the line were forty regiments of infantry, a thou- sand cavalrymen and eighty pieces of artillery. On the 4th of September, General Grant, while riding at high speed, ran into a carriage, was thrown from his horse and severely injured.
The regiment left Carrollton with the Twenty-fourth and the right wing of the Eleventh, on the "Meteor." In an hour they were landed at Algiers, opposite New Orleans, and at the eastern terminus of the New Orleans and Opelousas railroad. The regi- ment laid down along the track, and at midnight, with the Twenty- fourth, boarded a train of fifteen flat cars for Brashear City. The cars were already loaded with pork and crackers, and the men had to accommodate themselves on the barrels and boxes. The train started with the loudest yells the men could give. The Algerines were alarmed, and their terror was not decreased on learning that more western men were passing through their town.
Brashear City was reached at 6 o'clock. The sun was intensely hot. The men sought shelter under anything that offered a shade, and the early part of the day was spent in trying to keep cool.
A new battle flag was received from Governor Morton while the regiment was at Brashear.
At Carrollton, orders were issued cutting baggage down to the smallest possible quantity. The order said: "Personal baggage will be reduced to a valise or carpet bag and a roll of blankets for each officer. No cots or bedsteads will be taken, or tables or chairs. A mess chest of 100 pounds will be allowed to each mess of three to five officers, and 250 pounds to from six to ten officers. Rubber blankets will be issued to the men."
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BRASHEAR. - THE "NEW HOOSIERS."
Being without tents, the men built shelters out of the seant material at hand. A number of wagons and guns had been destroyed by the rebels, when they recaptured the place some time before. The remaining material was collected, and, with the blankets and ponchoes, passable shelters were constructed.
A colored regiment, numbering a thousand, belonging to the Nineteenth Corps, was at Brashear: The men were stout and hearty, and spoke French.
Previous to the recent advent of troops, the place had been occupied by eastern regiments --- " Nutmegs," the residents called them. When the Twenty-first Indiana (artillery) came, its men were the first "Hoosiers" that had been seen, and the people, taken with their manners, so different from the "Nutmegs," trans- ferred their regards to the former. This was especially the case with the ladies, a few of whom resided at Berwiek. When the Third Brigade arrived, another element was felt at Berwick. The "New Hoosiers" were different from the others. They were · excessively familiar and sociable. The chief establishment in town was the " hotel," where some of the officers of the other regiments boarded. Attached to the hotel was a "bar," but the sale of liquors to soldiers had been forbidden by the provost marshal. Some sales were made, however, on the sly. The lady proprietor obeyed the order as against the "New Hoosiers," which naturally irritated those gentlemen. Retaliation was determined upon. Late one night a party came in front of the gallery and serenaded the ladies. They sang the new war songs, and delighted the andi- enee. In the meantime, another squad had gone into the bar-room and rolled out several barrels of beer and other luxuries. The pro- prietress, suspecting a flank movement, went into the house and discovered the depredation. She became frantic, and was taken in charge by a friendly regimental surgeon, who did his best to pacify the irate lady. The good doctor turned upon the men and severely denounced their conduct. He gave them a terrible lectme. 'The men listened with the most respectful attention, and the young ladies gave the doctor the most profuse thanks for his gallant inter- ference. The despoiled proprietress believed in the reformatory influences of the doctor's service, and was regarding him as her best friend, when a young darkey ran up and announced that the ""New Hoosiers" were again in the bar-room. While a portion of the men were deluding the doctor and the ladies with a penitential hearing of his lecture, another squad had utterly sacked the
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