USA > Indiana > History of the Seventy-fifth regiment of Indiana infantry voluteers. its organization, campaigns, and battles (1862-65.) > Part 26
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of Indiana Infantry Volunteers.
(double) and Gleason's the second line (double), as a support. Walker's Brigade was also in support. Our Brigade formed in an open field immediately in the rear of the Third (Este's), with the First (Walker's) Brigade on our right. The Seventy-fifth and Eighty-seventh Indiana composed the first line in rear of Este, the former Regiment (Seventy-fifth) on the left, resting on the railroad, and the latter Regiment, (Eighty-seventh) on the right. The One-hundred and fifth Ohio was on the right, and the One-hundred and first Indi- ana was on the left in the second line in rear of Este. The Second Minnesota was deployed in the rear of our Brigade centre, as a third line. In this relative position, the Regi- ments of our Brigade advanced with the troops in our front, until the enemy was routed. The signal was given about 4:45 p. m., and Este's men dashed off. It was a complete victory, and one of the most brilliant assaults of the war. The National Tribune of March 28th, 1889, editorially says: "Baird's magnificent, bayonet charge at Jonesboro was more than a match for the charge of Pickett's Confederate
Division at Gettysburg." Este's Brigade went into the charge with a strength of 1, 139, and lost in the contest, which lasted but half an hour, 330-being a little more than 30 per cent of the force engaged. The bayonet was freely used all along the line. Three brothers belonging to the Tenth Kentucky (Federal) leaped over the Confederate parapet to- gethier, and two of them pinned two Confederates to the ground with their bayonets. The "Rebel yell" and the "Yankee yell" too were distinctly heard above the roar of Artillery and rattle of musketry. The Brigade captured 426 prisoners, among whom were 55 officers from the grade of Colonel to Lieutenant. The battle flags of two Regiments and of a Battery were among the captured trophies. Surely, more eloquently than words, these facts reveal the sublime heroism and terrible character of the contest. The Confed- erates who were attacked were Lewis' Brigade of Kentuck- ians and Govan's Brigade of Arkansas troops, belonging to Bate's and Cleburne's Divisions of Hardee's Corps.
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History of the Seventy-fifth Regiment
Just prior to the charge, our Brigade constructed temporary works under the enemy's heavy fire of both Artillery and musketry. A solid shot from one of the enemy's Batteries knocked off a huge log on top of the works behind which the Seventy-fifth Indiana was posted, which fell on about twenty men of F Company and held them fast to the ground. Some of the members of the other Companies went to their relief and rolled the log off of them.
The casualties in our Brigade during the engagement were one killed and seven wounded. Among the wounded was Corporal James W. Batterson of B Company, who was struck in the arm by the fragment of a shell.
In his official report of this action, Colonel Gleason says:
Although not engaged with the enemy in the grand and successful assault of his works at Jonesborough, my command kept well closed up in support under a heavy fire of artillery, and did all as a supporting column that was. required. Officers and enlisted men all behaved splendidly, and deserve great praise for the gallant and determined manner in which they moved forward to meet the enemy. The casualties of the brigade during this en- gagement were I killed and 7 wounded.
On the morning of the 2d of September, our Regiment took position in the Confederate fortification in the vicinity of Jonesboro. We heard unusual sounds in the direction of Atlanta. The Confederate army, which had defended the city so long and well, was now evacuating. A reign of terror and excitement among the citizens set in. Scores of families packed what furniture they could into a cart or wagon, and left the city with Hood's army; and those who had to wait for lack of transportation were frenzied with fear. The rear guard of the Confederate army loaded many freight cars with ammunition, which could not be removed, because we had cut the railroad, and ran them out on the track south of the city, and burnt them just as they stood there. When the flames reached the loaded shells, the sound of the fiercest bombardment we had ever heard was not equal to the noise. The explosions were so rapid, that all sounds were lost in
325
of Indiana Infantry Volunteers.
one grand roar. Shells were projected into the air like rockets, bursting in their flight. Amidst the terrible uproar was a constant sound like mnusketry from the explosion of the cartridges.
We remained in the enemy's old works until noon of the 6th, when we marched two miles north of Jonesboro and formed in line of battle facing south, and on the morn- ing of the 7th we moved in the direction of Atlanta, encamp- ing at Rough and Ready. At 7 o'clock on the morning of the 8th, we marched for Atlanta, following the railroad inost of the way, and encamped south of the city, taking position in line near the suburbs facing towards the south. We en- camped on the right of the Campbellton road. We were in- spected by our Division commander, erected shanties, did guard and picket duty, until October the 3d.
The Division commander reports the following:
. September 3, it was announced that Atlanta had been evacuated, and our campaign was at an end. In this long, remarkable, and glorious campaign the soldiers of this army have endured fatigues, sufferings, and privations which will never be known or related. The quiet and heroic patience with which all has been undergone, and duty performed, whilst establishing for them the highest reputation as soldiers, will still tend to cause their hard- ships to be forgotten. Starting without transportation and with only the supplies for an expedition of three or six weeks, these things have been re- quired to last for four months, so that often our officers, lying in the dirt and rain for days without shelter, have been unable to preserve the ordinary cleanliness which is essential to health, and many have broken down for want of proper food. During the greater part of the time our men have lain constantly under the enemy's fire, at every moment liable to be picked off, whilst the sound, not of distant artillery and musketry, but of the closely- whistling bullet and bursting shell, has seldom been out of their ears. The rest which they have experienced by the simple cessation of these noises has been great. Our losses, in the slow operations of the trench, on picket, on daily and nighly skirmishes, as well as in battle, although distributed over a great length of time, yet equal in the aggregate the casualties of the greatest battles. The following report exhibits the total loss of the division in killed and wounded during the campaign front the 7th of May to the 7th of September :
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History of the Seventy-fifth Regiment
Killed. Wounded. Missing.
Total.
Officers
Men.
Officers.
Men.
Officers.
Men.
Officers.
Men.
Aggregate.
Division staff ..
I
I
2
2
First Brigade .
7
55
I5
277
2
22
334
356
Second Brigade.
3
23
IO
179
4
13
206
219
Third Brigade. .
4
109
31
487
IO
35
606
64 1
Total Infantry
14
187
57
943
16
72
1,146
1,216
Artillery .
·
9
9
9
Total of Division .
14
187
57
952
I
16
72
1,155
1,225
.
.
This loss of 1, 225 officers and men is to be compared not with the aggre- gate effective force of 8,460 men with which we entered upon the campaign, but with a much smaller average in the field, as the time of many regiments soon expired, reducing our strength at the end of the campaign to an aggre- gate of 4,840 officers and men.
The division captured during the four months 908 men, including 61 offi- cers. One hundred and forty-seven of these desired to be sent to the rear and classed as deserters, the rest as prisoners of war. It will be seen by this that while the division has not lost in all 20 prisoners, that it has taken from the rebel army, independent of those killed and wounded, almost as many men as it has lost in battle. Some flags have been captured, but not all turned over to me. Of material trophies, however, we have obtained little except arms of no great value to our ariniy.
A. BAIRD,
Brigadier-General, Commanding Division.
The Brigade commander reports the following:
During the whole of this laborious and eventful campaign the officers and enlisted men of this brigade have at all times manifested that patience and cheerful attention to duty for which they have heretofore been so signally distinguished. Where all have done so well it would seem unjust to dis- criminate. I cannot, however, fail to commend the faithful conduct of Lieut .- Col. W. O'Brien, commanding Seventy-fifth Indiana Volunteers ; Lieut .- Col. Thomas Doan, One-hundred and first Indiana Volunteers; Lieut .- Col. J. W. Bishop, Second Minnesota Veteran Volunteers ; Lieut .- Col. E. P. Hammond, Eighty-seventh Indiana Volunteers ; Lieut .- Col. George T. Per- kins, One-hundred and fifth Ohio Volunteers, and Maj. Joseph L. Budd, Thirty-fifth Ohio Volunteers ; also Maj. C. J. McCole, commanding Seventy- fifth Indiana Volunteers since July 20, and Maj. Charles G. Edwards, com-
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of Indiana Infantry Volunteers.
manding One-hundred and fifth Ohio Volunteers, in support of the skirmish line during the advance on August 5, and Maj. R. C. Sabin, Eighty-seventh Indiana Volunteers, commanding skirmish line, all of whom have handled their respective commands with promptness and ability. These officers de- serve great credit for their gallant, strict and faithful execution of orders on all occasions. There are many line officers and enlisted men who deserve special mention, but the limits of this report will only allow me to respect- fully refer to the reports of regimental commanders. When the brigade left Ringgold the effective force numbered 2,549. Two regiments, the Ninth Ohio and Thirty-fifth Ohio, have left the brigade 011 account of the expira- tion of their term of service. The Second Minnesota is still absent. Effective force present in four regiments, 1, 120.
Casualties of four regiments :
Killed
Wounded.
Total.
Officers.
Men.
Officers.
Men.
Officers.
Men.
Aggregate.
87th Indiana Volunteers, Lieut. Col. E. P. Hammond. . . 75th Indiana Volunteers, Maj. C. J. McCole. .
3
I
23
I
26
27
IoIst Indiana Volunteers, Lieut. Col. Thomas Doan .
2
2
28
2
30
32
George T. Perkins ..
4
I
29
I
33
34
Total .
15
5
99
5
II4
119
The casualties of the Second Minnesota and Thirty-fifth Ohio regiments will bear a proportional average with the above regiments, including one officer in each regiment killed. The members of the brigade staff-Capt. Clinton A. Cilley, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General; Captain Samuel L'Hommedieu, Assistant Inspector-General ; Capt. Sanford Fortner, Provost Marshal; Capt. M. D. Ellis, Topographical Engineer; Lieut. C. C. Col- burn, Acting Aide-de-Camp; Lieut. W. H. Osborn, Acting Commissary of Subsistence; Lieut. W. H. Conner, Acting Assistant Quartermaster-have faithfully discharged the duties of their respective departments. Captains Cilley and L'Hommedieu having been absent since July 15, Captains Fort- ner and Ellis have performed their duties, the former that of Acting Assist- ant Adjutant-General, the latter Acting Inspector, in a highly efficient man- ner. I am, Major, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
N. GLEASON.
Colonel Eighty-Seventh Indiana Vols., Comdg. Brig. MAJ. JAMES A. LOWRIE,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
6
I
19
I
25
26
105th Ohio Volunteers, Lieut. Col.
.328
History of the Seventy-fifth Regiment
The following is the report of Major McCole for the Seventy-fifth Indiana Regiment:
HDQRS. SEVENTY-FIFTH REGIMENT INDIANA VOLS.,
Near Atlanta, Ga., September 9, 1864.
I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations of this Regiment since last report; also a statement of the strength of Regiment May 7, 1864, and casualties since that time. I do not consider it necessary to mention the marches, etc., of this Regiment that were performed jointly with the command, and under your immediate observation. That omitted, leaves but the operations of August 31 and the morning of September I, 1864, to report. During that time this Regiment was connected with the expedition under the command of Colonel Hunter, of the Eighty-second Indiana, which had for its object the destruction of the railroad between Atlanta and Macon, Ga. That object was successfully and efficiently accomplished, this Regiment taking an active part, laboring without any intermission in building fortifications and in destroying the railroad track, until ordered to rejoin the conimand.
The effective strength of this Regiment was-
May 7, 1864:
Officers . . 21
Enlisted men 403
424
.September 9, 1864:
Officers ..
17
Enlisted men 309
326
98
Accounted for as follows:
Company C, detailed to guard medical supplies. 27
Sick, sent away, greater than number returned . 27
Wounded, not fatally . . 23
Killed and died of wounds. 9
Detached as hospital attendants, etc. I2
Total
98
C. J. McCOLĘ,
Major Commanding Regiment.
CAPTAIN CILLEY,
Assistant Adjutant-General, Second Brigade.
It will be noticed that from the Seventy-fifth Indiana, Colonel Gleason reports six killed and twenty wounded on the Atlanta campaign, aggregating twenty-six. Major Mc- Cole reports killed and mortally wounded, nine; and wounded, not fatally, twenty-three, aggregating thirty-two, which is
of Indiana Infantry Volunteers. 329
next to the highest loss of any Regiment in the Brigade. The report of the Regimental commander is the correct one. The following is the list of names: Killed and died of wounds: Robert M. Brown and John G. Mote, of A Company; Allen W. Hosier, of B Company; Isaac M. Larick, James Porter and David Riley, of F Company; William Brown, of K Com- pany; Elijah Lewark, of G Company; and Joseph Conklin, of D Company.
Wounded imore or less severely: Lieut .- Colonel William O' Brien, commanding the Regiment; Lemuel Freeman, of A Company; Corporal Jamies W. Batterson, of B Company; Earl S. Stone and Joseph Lloyd, of D Company; Corporal Benj. B. Barnum, David Eubank, Andrew P. Bilbee, Jacob Coffman and Stephen H. Myers, of E Company; James Hol- loway, of B Company; Ebenezer Blossom, Walter B. Kress and David Gift, of H Company; Corporal John Powell, Cor- poral John Sperry, Elias Summers, George W. Passwater, John Baker, John W. Richardson and Jeremiah Sherman, of I Company; and two others were wounded, whose names cannot now be recalled-one of them on August 4th.
The effective force of the Second Brigade, taken from the report of July 4th, 1864:
Command.
Officers.
Men.
Total.
Second Brigade, Col. N. Gleason, 87th Indiana, com . manding :
2d Minnesota Volunteers, Lieut Col. J. W. Bishop.
19
349
368
35th Ohio Volunteers, Maj. J. L. Budd. .
15
258
273
105th Ohio Volunteers, Lieut. Col. G. T. Perkins.
19
290
309
75th Indiana Volunteers, Lieut. Col. William O'Brien.
20
352
372
87th Indiana Volunteers, Lieut. Col. E. P. Hammond.
15
274
289
IOIst Indiana Volunteers, Lieut. Col. Thomas Doan .
24
319
343
Total.
II2
1,842
1,954
19th Indiana Battery, First Lieut. W. P. Stackhouse.
3
I34
I37
22
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History of the Seventy-fifth Regiment
The losses of General Sherman's army from Chattanooga to Atlanta (May 5th to September 8th, 1864) were as follows: Killed, 4,423; wounded, 22,822 ; captured, 4,422-total, 31,687.
The losses of the Confederate army confronting us, under Generals Johnston and Hood, were killed, 3,044; wounded, 18,952; captured, 12,983-total, 34,979.
The campaign for the capture of the city of Atlanta was great in the records of war; and the losses were fearful in the annals of humanity. It was probably the most difficult and hardest campaign of the war for the suppression of the re- bellion-certainly the severest through which the Seventy- fifth Indiana Regiment had ever been called upon to pass. It was characterized, however, by no great battle in which the arıny was generally engaged; the frequent fierce combats by Brigades, Divisions and Corps, which occurred by reason of the flank movements and night marches, did not attain to the sublimity of a general engagement. The advance was, never- theless, a campaign of the science of war-of the very highest strategic manœuvres- involving a continuous fusilade of musketry and duels of artillery for the period of a hundred days. It was a campaign of figlits by day and funerals by night. During the night we slept on our arms and built our fortifications, and during the day we fought behind our works and lived in our gopher-holes, above whichi very often we could not lift our heads without receiving a shot. For four months we advanced in the face of a formidable and well- intrenched foe, through mountain fastnesses and over wide rivers, on an average of a mile per day.
Van Horne's History of the Army of the Cumberland says: " The fall of Atlanta was hailed by the Northern people as a result of great moment. The noise of cannon all over the land, orders of congratulation from Washington and army commanders, gave expression to the general appreciation of the campaign and its issue. The moral effect of the con- summation was, indeed, great, North and South, and, yet, as
331
of Indiana Infantry Volunteers. .
10 army had been destroyed or signally defeated, the posses- sion of Atlanta was only a partial solution to the war problem in the West. The march southward of Sherman's armies, despite the heaviest concentration that could be made in re- sistance, the destruction of extensive manufactories of ina- terials of war, and the palpable diminution of the central insurgent forces, were grand results, indeed; but the Con- federate Army of the Tennessee was not annihilated, and until it and the one in Virginia should be, the end of the war could not come."
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 134. Atlanta, Ga., September 9, 1864.
HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE CUMBERLAND,
SOLDIERS OF THE ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND:
The major-general commanding, with pride and pleasure, congratulates you upon the fact that your achievements during the campaign which has just closed, in connection with those of the Armies of the Tennessee and Ohio, have received such distinguished marks of appreciation as the thanks of the President of the United States and of the major-general commanding the Military Division of the Mississippi.
Your commander now desires to add his thanks to those you have already received, for the tenacity of purpose, unmurmuring endurance, cheerful obedience, brilliant heroism, and all those high qualities which you have displayed to an eminent degree, in attacking and defeating the cohorts of treason, driving them from position after position, each of their own choos- ing, cutting their communications, and in harassing their flanks and rear, during the many marches, battles, and sieges of this long and eventful campaign.
It is impossible, within the limits of an order like this, to enumerate the many instances in which your gallantry has been conspicuous; but among them may be mentioned the actions of Rocky Face Mountain and before Dalton, fought between the 8th and 13th of May, of Resaca on the 14th and 15th, of Adairsville on the 17th, and of New Hope Church on the 25th of the same month, of Kolb's Farn June 22, Peach Tree Creek July 20, and the crowning one of Jonesborough, fought September I, which secured the capture of the city of Atlanta, the goal for which we set out more than four months ago, and furnished a brilliant termination to your struggles for that long period.
Let these successes encourage you to the continued exercise of those same high qualities, and to renewed exertions in the cause of our country and humanity when you shall again be called upon to meet the foe, and be as- sured the time is not far distant when your prowess will conquer what terri- tory now remains within the circumscribed limits of the rebellion. A few
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History of the Seventy-fifth Regiment
inore fields like those whose names now crowd your standards, and we can dictate the terms of a peace alike honorable to yourselves and our country. You can then retire to your homes amid the plaudits of your friends and with the proud consciousness that you have deserved well of the country.
Our rejoicings are not unmixed with a proud regret for our brave coin- rades who have fallen. Their graves mark the spots where they went down amid the din and roar of battle, dotting every field and hillside, or lying beneath the spreading boughs of the forest along our route; they will in future days serve like finger boards to point out to the traveler the march of your victorious columns. Those silent mounds appeal to us to remain true to ourselves and the country, and to so discharge the liigh duty devolving upon us that their lives, which they so freely offered up, may 11ot prove a useless sacrifice.
By command of Major-General Thonias:
WM. D. WHIPPLE, · Assistant Adjutant-General.
SPECIAL FIELD ORDERS,
HDQRS. MIL. DIV. OF THE MISS., In the Field, near Jonesborough, Ga. No. 66. September 6, 1864.
I. The General-in-Chief communicates with a feeling of just pride and satisfaction the following orders of the President of the United States, and telegram of Lieut. Gen. U. S. Grant, on hearing of the capture of Atlanta:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D. C., September 3, 1864.
The national thanks are tendered by the President to Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman and the gallant officers and soldiers of his command before At- lanta, for the distinguished ability, courage, and perseverance displayed in the campaign in Georgia, which, under Divine favor, has resulted in the capture of the city of Atlanta. The marches, battles, sieges, and other mil- itary operations that have signalized the campaign, must render it famous in the annals of war, and have entitled those who have participated therein to the applause and thanks of the nation.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington City, September 3, 1864.
Ordered:
First. That on Monday, the 5th day of September, commencing at the hour of 12 noon, there shall be given a salute of 100 guns at the Arsenal and Navy-Yard, Washington, and on Tuesday, the 6th day of September, or on the day after the receipt of this order, at each arsenal and navy-yard in the United States, for the recent brilliant achievenients of the fleet and land forces of the United States in the harbor of Mobile, and in the reduction of
333
of Indiana Infantry Volunteers.
Fort Powell, Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan. The Secretary of War and Secretary of Navy will issue the necessary directions in their respective De- partments, for the execution of this order.
Second, That on Wednesday, the 7th day of September, commencing at the hour of 12 11001, there shall be fired a salute of 100 guns at the arsenal at Washington, and at New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pitts- burg, Newport, Ky., Saint Louis, New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, Hilton Head, and New Berne, or the day after the receipt of this order, for the brilliant achievements of the army under command of Major-General Sherman in the State of Georgia, and the capture of Atlanta. The Secretary of War will issue directions for the execution of this order.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States.
CITY POINT, VA., September 4, 1864, 9 P. M.
MAJOR-GENERAL SHERMAN:
I have just received your dispatch announcing the capture of Atlanta. In honor of your great victory I have ordered a salute to be fired with shotted guns from every battery bearing upon the enemy. The salute will be fired within an hour, amidst great rejoicing.
U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.
II. All the corps, regiments, and batteries composing this army may, without further orders, inscribe "Atlanta" on their colors.
By order of Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman:
L. M. DAYTON, Aide-de-Camp.
CHAPTER XIII.
EXPEDITION TO GAYLESVILLE, ALABAMA, IN PURSUIT OF THE CONFEDERATE ARMY UNDER GENERAL HOOD.
(OCTOBER 3D TO NOVEMBER 15TH, 1864.)
ATLANTA, at the time our army was in possession of it, was about the largest and most important town in Northern Georgia. Its population was about 5,000 at the time we cap- tured it. It was a place of great business activity, with four railroads running into it, which made it a depot for all the cotton and grain of many of the adjacent counties. During our occupancy, General Sherman converted the city into a military garrison, and gave orders for the removal of the whole civil population, furnishing the citizens with free transportation to the North or South, as they themselves pre- ferred. This order, which, notwithstanding the hardships and sufferings it entailed, was a military necessity, provoked a bitter correspondence between Sherman and Hood.
During the month of September we got a long, good rest at Atlanta, in nice, clean, healthy quarters. But few of the members of the Seventy-fifth Indiana Regiment were sick at this point. While encamped here one only-Martin S. Mer- rill, of B Company-died of disease, which occurred on the 22d of September. The disabled from wounds, diseases and other causes in the campaign were sent to Chattanooga and points farther North.
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