USA > Indiana > History of the Sixth regiment Indiana volunteer infantry. Of both the three months' and three years' services.. > Part 11
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The plans of the enemy not being vet fully de- veloped, and in view of the uncertainty that existed whether he would fall on McCook's front, or mass on Thomas near Fairfield, Rosecrans issued the following order :
"General Crittenden to advance to Lannan's Stand, six miles east of Beech Grove, and open communications with General Thomas. General Thomas to attack the rebels on the flank of his advance position at the forks of the road, and drive the rebels toward Fairfield. General McCook to feign and advance, as if in force, on the Wartrace road by the Liberty Gap passes."
The members of the old Sixth can now see why we were kept up in Liberty Gap so long. The truth is that we were waiting for Thomas to exe- cute certain orders. He was to attack the rebels
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WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE A SOLDIER.
on their right Hank, and if he succeeded in driving them toward Wartrace, he was then to cover that road with a division, and taking the remainder of his troops was to move rapidly on Manchester. MeCook was then to move in and take Thomas place at Beech Grove, holding Liberty Gap with a division, which was ours, and was finally to with- draw that and follow Thomas with his entire com- mand to Manchester.
Thomas was entirely successful in driving the enemy beyond the Wartrace road, and this, of course, called them away from our front and made our presence up in the gap no longer necessary, and, in order to get with the balance of our corps. we had to retrace our steps down the gap and strike out for Manchester.
But, before we leave this gap, I will say that. notwithstanding the Sixth Indiana took an active part in the very severe skirmishing necessary to drive the rebels from their hiding places among the cliffs and rugged surface of this mountainous region, the boys did their work so well that they got through without the loss of a man either killed or wounded. Not every man is suitable to send on the skirmish line. He should not only be thoroughly drilled in the art of war, but brave and courageous, yet cautious as a cat. The Sixth Indiana was composed of just such men. Our regiment was not only well drilled in the various movements, but a braver lot of boys was not in the service than the old Sixth. They shrunk no
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
danger when duty called on them to act. Cautious, prudent, brave boys. I always felt safe, no matter how hard or dangerous the task, when the old Sixth went to the front. It was the Sixth regi- ment that was called on to defend our battery at Shiloh, and at the critical moment charged the en- emy, sending them whirling to the rear, and turned the tide of battle in our favor, resulting in a great victory. It was the Sixth Indiana that held her place in line against the heavily massed charging rebel forces in the open field, on the evening of the first day at Chickamauga, sending the rebels to the rear again when our own troops, both on our right and left, gave way and passed to the rear a half mile. The Sixth Indiana is one of the very few regiments that held the post assigned her on morning of the second at Chickamauga, although our position was charged many times. The only rebels that ever reached our temporary works of defense were those foolish enough to charge up so close that it was certain death to try to get back, and were forced to come in as prisoners. The Sixth Regiment held her position throughout the entire day, falling back only in obedience to orders received late in the day.
It was the old Sixth that was placed on the front line in the capture of Brown's Ferry, and while she did her work well, it was at the expense of one officer killed, Lient. G. B. Green, of Co. K, and one other man killed, and three men captured. who
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THE SIXTH PLACED ON THE FRONT LINE.
afterwards died in rebel prisons south. The cap- ture of Brown's Ferry was a bold. daring. dan- gerons feat, but it was a complete success, and opened up what the boys called a " cracker line " to the almost starving army.
The Sixth Indiana was one of the regiments placed on the front line in the storming party at Missionary Ridge, and in the face of shot and shell, and a shower of minnie balls, she went to the top of the hill with the bound and spring of a tiger, and planted the stars and stripes on the rebel works, while the smoke was still hissing from their red-hot cannon that belched death and de- struction at us as we went up the hill. But why should I dwell upon the deeds of heroism and bravery of this grand old regiment ? Its history is a part of the history of the war for the Union. and one that its members may well feel proud of. and one which their friends and relatives need not be ashamed of. But there are other qualities which are just as essential in the make-up of good soldiers as are those of bravery and heroism, and they are such as patience and powers of endurance. and right here, before we leave Liberty Gap, is as good a chance as I shall ever have to show up these last two named qualities in the proper light.
We left Murfreesboro and started on the Tulla- homa campaign the 24th day of June, soon after dinner. We had gone only a short distance when it began to rain, and it not only rained every day. but it, seemed to me every hour from that time on
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
up until about the third day of July. It rained so much and so hard that we ceased to regard it a matter of any consequence, and simply stood up and took it, without attempting to seek shelter or screen ourselves in the least. Why should we, when we were already wet to the skin? Shelter was a matter of impossibility, except the few " dog tents " which only a part of the boys had, and they could only be used at night, and even then they only covered a part of us, for our feet and legs up to our knees always took the weather as it came, no matter whether it was wet or dry; and during this nine or ten days, no man attempted to remove a particle of his clothing, he simply went to bed like a horse, with his shoes on.
The incessant rain had filled every little stream and gulch to overflowing, while the water was rushing down the sides of the mountains in great sluices, and had filled the stream, up which we came, and along which passes the only road that allows any possible chance to escape, until it was full from bank to bank, rushing and tumbling along down the rough, rugged and rocky channel, thick.with mud, foaming and frothing, and roar- ing in a most threatening manner. The reader will please remember that we are just now at the very head of this long, deep gap, and about six miles from its mouth, waiting for orders to " follow Thomas" by way of Beech Grove, which would compel us to pass down this angry stream, and
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ON THE WAY TO BEECH GROVE.
one among the many strange things is that such orders should reach us at 8 o'clock at night, and by 9 o'clock the whole division was on its way, splashing along down the muddy stream. Dark as the bottomless pit, and raining straight down : splash, splash, splash, splash, sometimes knee deep, sometimes waist deep, and always in water ; slop, slop, slop, slop, here we go, sometimes in the road, and sometimes stumbling over logs and stones. Every once in a while you could hear some one call out, " where are you, Bill ?" " Here, what the thunder are you doing away out there?" Pretty soon it would be, " where are you, Company A ?" or, " where are you, Company K?" This was the only possible way for the different companies to keep anywhere near together. On one occasion one of the members of my company stumbled over something, and as he pitched forward he lost his gun in the muddy water, quite knee deep. It so happened that he was right in front of me, and was just in the act of stooping to feel for his gun when I ran against him, and away we both went head- long into the water. I soon got on my feet again, with the muddy water dripping from my clothes, and was trying to think of some suitable words to express myself, when all at once Andrew Sands, who happened to be the man I had ran over, broke forth in the most eloquent language I think I ever heard. It took only a moment to convince me that he was doing the case full justice, and I bore my part in silence. In fact, I am not right sure
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
that it would have been very safe for me to let myself be known just at that time, anyhow.
But still we go, splash, splash, down the muddy stream, until, I think it was 3 o'clock in the morn- ing, the bugle blew halt, and soon word came back for us to turn in for the night. Turn in where! I thought to myself, with mud and water all around us, and everywhere. It was so dark we could not see an object beyond an arm's length. The companies were all mixed up, or, in other words, there was simply nothing like order or or- ganization among the companies or regiments, and when the order to "turn in " was received, it was "every fellow for himself" from that time until daylight.
Lieutenant George B. Green, of our company, and myself happened to be near each other when the bugle sounded, and we decided to make the most we could of our condition and together we struck out for higher ground. We had gone only a short distance when we run into a brush-pile where some man had trimmed a tree and piled the brush. We spread this out and added a few loads of green paw-paw brush to it, and on this we made our bed for the remainder of the night; and, not- withstanding the fact that I was wet to the skin and hungry as a wolf, I slept well, so well, in fact, that I did not get up until daylight. It was curious to see the boys getting together next morning. But after a hurried breakfast, the bugle again blows the "fall in " and away we go for
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DESCRIPTION OF THE MARCH.
Beech Grove. We soon strike the Manchester pike, and another day is put in amidst mud and rain.
A short halt at noon for coffee and on we go, through mud and rain. Another short halt at supper time for coffee, and again me move on. Dark sets in, and still we press forward. About 9 o'clock at night a very heavy thunder storm came up, and for a change the most terrific storm of thunder and lightning prevailed, while the rain came down in torrents, but still we move on. The lightning was so vivid and thunder so rapid and terrific as it played among the treetops which slashed each other as their branches met over the narrow, muddy road along which we still followed as best we could in the inky darkness, that it seemed to me that Satan himself had been turned loose. Ten o'clock comes, and still we are plodding along in the dark and mud, while the lightning is still darting livid streams of fire among the treetops, and in a sporting way would now and then hit some old seraggy rock on the mountains a whack just to see the slivers fly. Eleven o'clock comes and still we press forward, wet to the skin and mud to the knees, while it was with difficulty that I could lift my feet out of the deep mud. I stagger as I walk. Merciful father, give us strength to endure these hardships, that we may not fall and perish by the wayside ! Half past eleven and we have reached the top of the mountain. Hark! The bugle sounds the
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
halt, and amidst the pelting rain and roaring thunder, we receive orders to " turn in" for the night. My partner of last night was nowhere near me, nor did I take the trouble to look him up. Again it is a case of self-preservation, and on my own hook I began to cast about for a resting place for the night. By the aid of the flashing lightning I made my way to a rail fence near by, and securing a couple of rails, I placed one end of them on a log while the other end rested on the ground, turning the heart edges in, then with my haversack placed on the log between the rails for a pillow, I stretch myself between the rails, place my hat over my face, and under an oil-cloth cov- ering me from head to feet, I folded my arms across my breast and was soon unconscious of past troubles.
I have been a little particular in giving my ex- perience in this case for two reasons :
First. My experience is that of every member of the regiment who was on this march.
Second. That the reader might see that the qualities of patience and endurance are just as es- sential in a soldier as are those of courage and patriotism. Men, like horses, in order to be service- able, should be patient, tractable, have plenty of muscle, and lots of good horse sense.
" The darkest cloud has a silver lining." When I awoke next morning (it was the first day of July), the sun was just sending his "golden rays " of light up over the eastern hills in a manner which
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ON THE ROAD TO TULLAHOMA.
seemed to say to the raging elements, " Peace, be still." All was calm and serene. All nature seemed to have settled down to its usual quiet, and the only noise to be heard was the singing of the birds among the tree tops.
Orders to be ready to march hurried up a meager breakfast, and soon we were on the road again, headed, this time, toward Tullahoma, as General Thomas had pressed the enemy so hard that he had abandoned his strong works at Shelbyville and was concentrating on Tullahoma.
The three army corps began to close in around Tullahoma, and by the morning of the 2d cach corps was in its place, in line of battle, and pre- pared to test the strength of Bragg's army in an open field fight. But scouting parties and captured prisoners reported that Bragg was evacuating the place. . A closer investigation proved the cor- rectness of these reports, and while a portion of the army was sent in pursuit of the retreating en- emy, the balance was ordered into camp again at various points. The old Sixth went into camp near Tullahoma; and I want to say to you that it would be hard to find a worse set of used-up boys than the Sixth Regiment was at this time. Muddy, hungry, tired and foot-sore, an opportunity to clean up and rest, and get a square meal, was a matter of necessity. Our camp here was located and tents put up about the 3d day of July, and not one man in ten had had his shoes or boots off since we broke camp at Murfreesboro, on the 24th day of
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
June. For my own part. I will say that I had not pretended to take off my boots until after our tents were up here on the 3d, and one of the boys took a knife and simply cut them from my feet, and in removing my socks pieces of skin as large as twenty-five cent silver pieces were pealed from the blisters on my ankles. My feet and ankles swelled to double their natural size, and I did not walk a step for over a week, and I was only one of many who were in the same condition.
While the campaign was short, yet it was bril- liant in the extreme. Bragg had simply been out- generaled. He had been routed and put to fight without the shedding of blood. He had been compelled to abandon Middle Tennessee forever, and with no hope of ever returning to it again ; and while Bragg himself never did get back into Tennessee, I have a faint recollection of a certain fellow whose surname was Hood venturing back there as far as Franklin, but unfortunately for this fellow, there happened to be a man the boys called " Pap Thomas " stationed at Nashville, and one day old Pap Thomas sent one of his Lieutenants by the name of Schofield down to Franklin to in- vite this man Hood up to Nashville to a Christmas dinner. He accepted the invitation and went, and somehow either he did not like the rations, or he and Thomas could not agree on the division, and Thomas told him to " git," and he got, but before he went he decided to leave with Thomas about 35,000 of his men, 72 pieces of his artillery, 70
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HOOD WENT UP TO SEE THOMAS.
stands of his colors. besides about all the small arms. wagons and other material that he took to Nash- ville, and even then did not stay for dinner.
The news of the surrender of Vicksburg reached us even before the terms of surrender were com- pleted. This, added to our own brilliant success. did very much indeed to gladden the hearts of our boys, and, with rest and good treatment, we were soon ready for duty again.
Nothing of special interest occurred to or in our regiment while we laid here at Tullahoma, ex- cept that we received a visit from the pay-master. The boys were always glad to get their money. which was nearly always sent to the needy ones at home. Now and then some fellow would keep back just enough to get on a "high low," but this was seldom done. We had a splendid time gath- ering blackberries while we lay here. This afforded us not only recreation, but diversion, as well as an abundance of fine berries. Old Uncle John used to feed us on " blackberry cobbler" nearly every day.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CHICKAMAUGA CAMPAIGN.
We move by way of Salem-Description of the route and people- Crossing the mountains -Peaches, huckleberries and big rat- tlesnakes-Sky farmers and tobacco-chewing women-Our march down the mountains-Hundreds overcome from heat and thirst-We strike the Tennessee and go into camp-We cross the Tennessee-Sand Mountain and Wills Valley-Bragg evacuates Chattanooga-Our Corps ordered to Alpine-Our Corps in great danger-We fall back on top the mountain- We see the rebels concentrating in Chickamauga Valley-We move off toward Crawfish Springs.
But while we were laying around comparatively idle, our Commander, General Rosecrans, was plan- ning for another campaign and forward movement. His plans were all completed by the middle of Au- gust, and on the 16th the Army of the Cumber- land again began to move.
Our corps moved off to the right, while our di- vision went by way of Salem and Larkin's Ford to Bellefont, and struck the Tennessee River at Caperton's Ferry, about forty miles below Chatta- nooga, and here we crossed the Tennessee River on a pontoon bridge.
But before we cross this river let us take a kind of a survey of the route along which we passed in order to reach the crossing point. I do not know the exact distance, but we were some twelve or
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DESCRIPTION OF THE ROUTE AND PEOPLE.
fourteen days on the road from Tullahoma to the Tennessee. The road was rough and mountain- ons, very poor land, and miserable little patch farms, poorly cultivated. The natives, in appear- ance, corresponded well with the country, and were nearly all white. The negroes here were, of course, slaves, and these white people were all too poor to own slaves, and this accounts for their ab- sence. These poor natives were what the slave- owners called " poor white trash," and that pretty nearly told it. As for school houses, there were simply none, and I doubt if some of these ever saw a newspaper in their lives. The boys had lots of fun as we trudged along the gravelly roads, up hill and down, and seemingly without hurry, and while it was very warm, vet a greater portion of the road was shady, and there was a great abund- ance of pure spring water all along the line. An- other thing that helped us out amazingly-peaches were ripe, and the fence corners and the hill-sides seemed to grow nothing better than peach trees. The crop was good this year, and we struck the country at just the right time to get the benefit of it. All moved off nicely until we struck a spnr of the Cumberland Mountains, the extreme south- ern range. This mountain was a little less than one mile high, and very steep, and the road up it was somewhat in the shape of an old-fashioned rail fence. It required ten horses and all the men that could get around it to take a piece of artil- lery up the hill, and it took our division about
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
four days to get up, and as our regiment was about the first of the troops that arrived up there, we had a good time waiting up there on top and gathering huckleberries. To the last item of sport, however, there was one very serious draw- back, as well as a little danger, and that was the most horrid, vicious looking, rusty old rattlesnakes I think I ever saw. The boys brought into camp a number of these old fellows having as many as twelve or fifteen rattles, but the greatest curiosity we run on up there was what the boys called a scorpion. It resembled a crawfish more than any- thing else. Its body was round, instead of being flat like that of a crawfish; it had two large pinchers in front, with small legs back, much like the crawfish, and instead of a flat tail it termi- nated in a sharp point, more like the tail of a wasp. When the boys would plague it, by using a stick and never the fingers, it would rear up like a huge old crawfish and throw up its pinchers in a threatening manner, whirl on his back, and dart from this black tail a sting fully three-fourths of an inch in length, black as jet, and as keen as a needle. Another peculiar trait this monster had was that its movements were as quick as a flash. This was the only creature of this kind I ever saw, and I confess I was not particularly struck with the idea of trying to tame it as a pet.
It was late Saturday night when the division all got on top of the mountain, and Sunday morning- early we got orders to march, and away we go for
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TOBACCO-CHEWING WOMEN.
the river, some thirty miles distant. The natives had heard of the army being up on the mountain and near them, so, dressed in their best, they came up and stationed themselves along the roadside to see the Yankees pass. Not a man was among them, nothing but women and children-big, lit- tle, old and young-a few colored, but nearly all white.
The young ladies who were the better dressed ones, wore striped cotton dresses that buttoned up in front with brass buttons, and I will stake my reputation as a soldier that not one of them had ever seen a corset or hoop-skirt. Nearly all wore sun bonnets, while a few wore " scoops." Every once in a while one of them would call out, " How are you, Yanks?" and such a smile, while their under jaws were playing perpetual motion on " long green." If one of the boys happened to pass near them they never failed to ask. " Can't ye gim me some terbackey?" It was claimed that some of the boys deserted while along here, but I don't think it was any of the Sixth Indiana. But on we go, down, down a long ridge, and I thought it was the longest ridge I ever saw, high and dry, and very steep on both sides. And while we had had plenty of good water until we struck this mountain, up here we simply had none, and it seemed to me that " hot " was no name for it : and then another thing, the further we went the faster we marched. We stopped a few minutes about noon for coffee, but when we started again it was
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
simply the worst case of hot and fast marching that ever struck the old Sixth during our three years' service. About 2 o'clock the boys began to fall out, exhausted, that's all, while now and then we would pass some poor fellow stretched upon the ground and two or three of his comrades fanning him, while another was bathing his head with the remnant of warm water left in his can- teen. Hundreds could be seen seated by the road- side, pale and sick, using their hats for a fan, while not a few were vomiting. I want to say, upon the honor of a man, that this matter is not colored: it is the plain, simple truth, and I refer to every man of our regiment to verify what I have said.
Why we should have been put upon such a forced march under the existing circumstances, was then, and is to this day a mystery to me, and the officer who was guilty of this outrage upon common decency and humanity, be he high or low, deserves the everlasting contempt and hatred of the victims of his cruelty. There can be no rea- sonable excuse given for this lack of discretion and cruelty, for we reached the river and went into camp before night. The boys will remember that when we struck the main road running up and down the river, that we turned up the river toward Stevenson, and went only a short distance until we struck a small stream, which we went up only three or four hundred yards and went into camp. The boys will also remember that the ori- gin or source of this little stream was a large
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BRAGG EVACUATES CHATTANOOGA.
spring, which boiled up near the center of a little piece of bottom land, while it was entirely level all around it. They will remember that we could walk all around the spring except where it run off down and formed the stream, which was twenty or thirty feet wide, and perhaps two feet deep, and very clear and cold. It would have been better if we should have been until 10 o'clock at night in making the trip, if water was the object, and there seems to have been none other.
We moved from this camp the next morning after an early breakfast, going down the river until we reached the ferry, and here we crossed the Tennessee and strnek out to take a part in the campaign which resulted in the battle of Chick- amauga. After we crossed the river we struck out toward Sand Mountain and over it into Wills' Valley. From here we moved into and seized Winston's Gap. We were now about twenty-five miles from where we had crossed the river. It was here that McCook succeeded in concentrating his corps, and he was notified that Bragg was evacuating Chattanooga, and was also ordered to move rapidly upon Alpine and Summerville in pursuit, to intercept his line of retreat and to at- tack on his Hank. But when MeCook got to Al- pine he discovered that Bragg had not retreated very far. He also made the discovery that he was in rather a dangerous position, and instead of attacking Bragg's Hank he found that Bragg's whole army was in his immediate front and was
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