USA > Indiana > History of the Sixth regiment Indiana volunteer infantry. Of both the three months' and three years' services.. > Part 15
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279
ANDY CONNER IN A TIGHT PLACE.
Company D, who did not stop when we hesitated long enough to fix bayonets, but pressed on, had reached the works some thirty or forty feet ahead of his company. He had, for some reason, picked up an ax on his way up the hill. I just happened to look in that direction when he attempted to mount the works, when a rebel made a thrust at him with his bayonet, and Andy, to save himself, sprung backward for six or eight feet, lighting on his feet with his face toward his enemy. He squared himself, and, gathering the ax in both hands, sent it whizzing at the fellow's head. The rebel ducked his head and the ax went on over without harm. Andy then drew his sword and made another rush at the "Johnny," who again came at Andy with his bayonet, and again Andy saved himself by springing back down the hill. By this time Andy's company was up to his back, and once more the brave Lieutenant, with drawn sword, sprung on the works, while his enemy dropped his gun, settled back in the ditch and threw up both hands. This was enough, he was not harmed.
"From General Bragg's declarations that his line was first pierced on his right-that is, to the north of the house which he occupied as his head- quarters-and from the observation of those occu- pying elevated positions, there is no room to doubt that General Wood's division first reached the summit. General Wood's troops enfiladed the enemy's lines to the right, and to the left as soon
280
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
as they broke through it." And now may we not flatter ourselves, that as General Wood rode into our regiment and spoke to us the way he did, that the old Sixth was among the first, if not the very first regiment, to reach the summit in this gallant charge. Again, it is a fact that no member of our brave old regiment had any reason to accuse any of his comrades of showing a lack of staying qualities. Our boys were so well drilled, and had been in so many battles, that they knew just what to do and just how to do it.
The record does not show any officers killed or wounded in this engagement, but it is a fact, all the same, that Captain Frank P. Strader, of Com- pany H, was wounded, and died from the effect of this same wound December 10, 1863.
The different companies lost as follows :
Co. A. James T. Barber, wounded ; died Decem- ber 25, 1863.
Elijah Hankans, killed November 25, 1863. Lambert Schill, killed November 25, 1863. Edward M. Sheppard, killed November 25, 1863.
Co. B. James I. Sears, killed November 25, 1863. William B. Walker, killed November 25, 1863.
Samuel H. Tull, died January 3, 1864; wounds received November 25, 1863.
Michael McGinty, killed November 25, 1863.
Co. C. Theodore Ward, killed November 25, 1863.
281
THE RESULTS OF THE BATTLE.
Co. D. JJohn L. Devon, wounded at Missionary Ridge.
Charles Dunahew, wounded at Missionary Ridge.
Co. E. Benton MeCafferty, wounded at Mission- ary Ridge.
John Azbell. died November 26: wounds received at Missionary Ridge.
Josiah Farley, killed November 25, 1863. Napoleon Hebird, killed November 25. 1863.
Thomas Taylor, killed November 25, 1863. Joseph D. Teverbaugh, died November 29 : wounds received November 25, 1863.
George M. Wheeler, died December 16. 1863: wounds received November 25, 1863.
Co. F. Mitchell B. Cook. died November 26 : wounds received November 25, 1863.
Lewis H. Hardenbrook, killed Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863.
John R. Townsend, killed Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863.
Co. G. Banner Davis, wounded Missionary Ridge. November 25, 1863.
John M. Hook, wounded and died same day, Missionary Ridge. November 25. 1863. Christopher O'Neal, wounded Missionary Ridge. November 25, 1863.
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
Co. G. Nathaniel Owens, wounded Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863. John Vickery, wounded Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863.
Co. H. John W. Davis, wounded Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863.
William P. Eads, wounded Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863. Co. I. None reported in the Record.
Co. K. John W. Blankenship, wounded Mission- ary Ridge, November 25, 1863.
Thomas W. Jackson, wounded Mission- ary Ridge, November 25, 1863.
Here we have a loss to the regiment in this en- gagement of one officer and thirty enlisted men. The total loss to the Union Army was killed 757
The total loss to the Union Army was wounded 4,529
The total loss to the Union Army was miss- ing 330
Total loss 5,616
The total loss Confederate Army, killed 361
The total loss Confederate Army, wounded. 2,181 The total loss Confederate Army, missing ... 6,142
Total loss 8,684
I can not refrain from giving the comments of General Henry M. Cist in his history of the Army of the Cumberland, in regard to Grant's idea of
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283
COMMENTS ON THE BATTLE.
our army when he came to Chattanooga and took command. He says :
"In the general engagement Grant's plan of battle had been for Sherman with tive divisions to make the main attack, sweep everything before him down the- ridge, and when he had the rebels in full retreat, the Army of the Cumberland was then to aid in the pursuit, after patiently wait- ing until the fighting was over. Hooker, under Grant's original plan, was to simply hold Lookout Valley secure ; and when the enemy was driven by Sherman, he too was to join in the pursuit. All the fighting of the battle was to be done by Sher- man, and all the glory thereof was to be his. In Sherman's Memoirs, we are favored with Grant's views of the Army of the Cumberland, when Sherman first reported in person to Grant, at Chattanooga, to learn of his plan and the part he, Sherman, was to take. Sherman says that Grant told him, that the men of Thomas' Army had been so demoralized by the battle of Chickamauga, that he feared they could not be got out of their trenches to assume the offensive, and that the Army of the Cumberland had so long been in the trenches, that he wanted my troops to hurry up to take the offensive first, after which he had no doubt the Cumberland Army would fight well. So, under Grant's plan, the Army of the Cumber- land was to stand by and be taught a grand object lesson how to fight, as given by Sherman. Dur- ing the course of the engagement the plan was
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
modified twice. Under the original plan Sherman was to make a demonstration up Lookout Valley, in the expectation that Bragg would strengthen his left at the expense of his right, thereby mak- ing Sherman's part of the plan so much the lighter as the line on his battle-front was weakened.
To carry this out Hugh Ewing's division was sent to Trenton, but this accomplished nothing. Grant, fearing that Bragg's right might be too strong for Sherman to give his lesson to the Army of the Cumberland properly, finding Osterhaus' division cut off from Sherman, ordered it to report to Hooker who was directed to take it and Geary's division, with Cruft's division of the Fourth Corps, and make a demonstration on the rebel left at Lookout Mountain, to attract the attention of Bragg, while Sherman was getting into position to take the end of Missionary Ridge as far as the tunnel. Hooker, on the day previous, learning that Howard's Corps was going into Chattanooga. and probably into the fight, asked to be allowed his right to be with his troops under fire. Under his original order he was simply to hold Lookout Valley, which he did not relish if part of his con- mand should engage the enemy. When his orders came to make a demonstration, he determined he would take Lookout Mountain and drive Bragg's left out of his works. With less than ten thousand troops, over two-thirds of whom were the Army of the Cumberland, Hooker fought his " battle above
285
COMMENTS ON THE BATTLE.
the clouds " that will last in history forever, and grow in faney and song as the years roll on.
Hooker took Lookout Mountain, and down the rebel left to Rossville, over five miles, before Sher man reached the tunnel. He made Sherman's task none the easier, however, because Bragg then threw the two divisions Hooker had whipped upon Sherman's front. Then, when Sherman had been fighting for nearly two days, and had failed to make the headway Grant's plan contemplated, the plan underwent another modification. On the 25th Grant ordered Thomas to move out his troops from the center to make another " demonstration " in Sherman's behalf, so he could take the tunnel in accordance with the original plan. Thomas was ordered to take the first line of rifle-pits and hold his command there, while Bragg was expected to draw off part of his troops from Sherman's front and strengthen his line in front of the " dem- onstration."
Thomas' orders to his corps and division Gen- erals were given in accordance with Grant's in- structions, and as the orders reached the brigade and regimental commanders, as far as the officers were concerned, the movement was only to be a ยทยท demonstration."
When the troops reached the rebel line, captured it, and then found themselves under the heavy fire from the enemy's lines on the heights above. without orders, and even against orders, the sol- diers of the Army of the Cumberland, who were "so demoralized that they would not tight."
286
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
pressed up the face of the ridge under the deadly musketry fire that greeted them, with cannon in front, to the right and the left, raking with con- verging fire, and won for General Grant the battle of Missionary Ridge, driving Bragg away from Sherman's front, and thus enabling him to take the tunnel as ordered.
Whenever the victory of Missionary Ridge shall be narrated on history's page, this gallant charge of the brave men of Woods' and Sherman's di- visions, with those of Baird and Johnson on their left and right, will always be the prominent fea- ture of the engagement as told in the coming years, and will be the last to lose its glory and re- nown. No wonder that General Grant failed to appreciate this movement at the time, not under- standing the troops who had it in charge. When he found these commands ascending the ridge to capture it, when he ordered a "demonstration " to be made to the foot of the hill and there to wait, he turned sharply to General Thomas and asked : " By whose orders are these troops going up the hill ?" General Thomas, taking in the situation at once, suggested that it was probably by their own. General Grant remarked that it was all right if it turned out all right, and added : "If not some one would suffer." But it turned out all right, and Grant, in his official report, complimented the troops for following closely the retreating enemy without further orders.
From the above it would seem that no man ever gets too old or too wise to learn.
CHAPTER XVII.
WE MARCH TO THE RELIEF OF BURNSIDE.
Description of our route to Knoxville-The staple product, ugly women and dogs-Longstreet breaks his neck against Fort Saunders-He lets up on the siege of Knoxville-We go up to Strawberry Plains-The cold New Year's at Clinch Mountain- Frequent raids after Longstreet-We travel about 400 miles- Orders to veteranize-We return to Chattanooga-Strength of the army-Accounting for our lost-Interesting statements- Preparing for the Atlanta campaign.
It seems that General Grant was very anxious about the critical condition of General Burnside, who was stationed at Knoxville. His force was only about strong enough to hold out against the enemy before Bragg detached Longstreet's corps from his own army and sent to Knoxville, and now after the addition of another corps to the rebel forces in the vicinity of Knoxville, and the short supply of rations, Burnside was certainly in a very critical condition. But now that General Bragg had been defeated. General Grant gave attention equally to the pursuit of the routed enemy and the relief of his lieutenant at Knoxville, and during the evening of the 25th gave orders looking to the accomplishment of both objects. He directed Gen- eral Thomas to recall the Fourth Corps to prepare for forced marches to Knoxville. Accordingly
288
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
Thomas ordered Woods' and Sheridan's divisions to return to Chattanooga. We lie in Chattanooga until the 30th of November, when we pulled out for Knoxville. General Howard marched from Parker's Gap to Cleveland on the 29th, taking the lead in the movement upon Knoxville. The enemy did not appear in his front in sufficient force to retard his rapid movement, and he reached and crossed the Little Tennessee River on December 5. Here information was received that Longstreet had raised the siege of Knoxville and retreated east- ward. The distance from Chattanooga to Knox- ville is eighty-four miles, and on the 6th there was a concentration of all the Union forces at Marys- ville, a small town about ten miles south of Knox- ville, so it will be seen that our division only marched about seventy-five miles in five days, or fifteen miles a day, which is not so badly forced after all. Here at Marysville the whole army was ordered to halt, while Sherman, who had command of the "East Tennessee Expedition," went on to Knoxville and held a "pow-wow" with General Burnside. It was agreed that the Fourth Corps should remain, while the balance of the army should return to Chattanooga. To give the num- ber of miles our regiment marched each day while on this expedition, and the hour we broke camp in the morning or halted for the night, is neither practical or of any interest to the old comrades or the general reader, yet there was much of interest that transpired along the route. We had put forth
289
UGLY WOMEN AND DOGS.
no extra exertions in the battle at Chattanooga. The most our regiment did was in the storming of Missionary Ridge, and this only lasted about an hour, and being allowed to resta few days at Chat- tanooga before we started, fitted us pretty well for the march, and we had ample time and opportu- nity to enjoy the beautiful scenery along up this fine, rich valley. There are several very nice and thrifty towns situated in the valley of the Tennes- see. First is Cleveland, some eighteen miles from Chattanooga, a fine town on the railroad. Next is Charleston, some eight miles on, situated also on the railroad, and also on the beautiful little river, the Hiawassee. About twenty miles still further on we come to Athens, on the railroad. This is a good business town of some note. Twelve miles on we come to Martinsville, situated some four miles east of the railroad. This is a little old town of not much importance and no enterprise, and noted only for dogs, ugly women and white-headed chil- dren. The next town we struck was Marysville. about fourteen miles further on, quite a nice place, and showing considerable signs of thrift and enter- prise. Marysville is situated about ten miles east of the Tennessee River, in a beautiful valley which lies between the mountains on the east and high, rolling land on the west, between the town and the river. It was here the army concentrated when nearing Knoxville, some fourteen miles on. The Tennessee Valley, between Chattanooga and Knox- ville, is not only very rich, but very healthy, and
19
290
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
abounds with thrifty farmers who are prosperous and happy. The population are of the better class and comparatively clear of the negroes, as slavery did not thrive well so far from the cotton field.
The mountain on either side of the valley fur- nished an abundance of pure, clear spring water to supply the numerous tributaries of the beauti- ful Tennessee, which wound its serpentine course down toward the Father of Waters. The climate is simply delightful, while the seasons are perfect, rendering it one of the finest fruit-growing regions in the State. Many a member of the Sixth In- diana promised himself that if he was spared through the war with life and health, that he would return to this beautiful valley and take up his abode for life, and to-day, a quarter of a cen- tury after the close of the war, the valley of the East Tennessee numbers among her citizens many an old comrade.
General Granger's corps moved up from Marys- ville to. Knoxville on the 8th and 9th of Decem- ber. Our division went over on the 8th, in the afternoon, and on the morning of the 9th the boys of our regiment were allowed to go at will and examine Fort Sanders, which proved to be the post against which four thousand picked men from Longstreet's corps succeeded in butting their brains out. On the 29th of November Longstreet made the assault on Fort Sanders, the key to the position, and was repulsed with heavy loss. This fort was built of the dirt dug from making a deep,
291
LONGSTREET ASSAULTS FORT SANDERS.
wide ditch on three sides of it. From the top of the fort to the bottom of the ditch was about twenty feet, but the ditch was ten feet deep and twelve feet wide. All around the fort, except the opening left for going in and out, was descending. and had been covered with small timber and bushes. These bushes had been cut off, leaving a stump, say about fifteen or eighteen inches high. To these stumps wire had been fastened, running from one to the other, all over a large tract of land. Wires were also stretched so as to trip and throw a person into the ditch surrounding the fort. This fort was filled with sharp-shooters. provided with plenty of ammunition, and also with hand grenades. These are large balls filled with slugs of iron and powder, and provided with a fuse, which can be arranged by the operator to explode in one second or longer, as desired.
About 4 o'clock on the morning of the 29th of December four thousand of Longstreet's selected men made the assault on this fort. The result was terrible. The charge on the fort was made at 4 o'clock in the morning, as stated above, and before it was light enough to see the wires or other dan- gers, the foremost men tripped over the wires and fell, others came rushing up, and in the darkness stumbled over those already down, and in this way on they came, tripping and falling over each other until they got to the ditch surrounding the fort, and into this they began to tumble. Once in this ditch was like being in prison with the door locked.
292
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
But on came the yelling victims, still tumbling into the ditch until it got so full that they stood up on each other so that the top ones were enabled to get out again. But about this time our boys, who had been slaughtering them by the hundreds by shooting them, began to throw over into the ditch the exploding missils. The scene was terrible and most horrible to contemplate; the work was short but it was complete. The enemy lost in this charge 1,000, killed, wounded and prisoners, while our loss was four killed and seven wounded. But this disastrous charge broke Longstreet's " grip," and made him let up the siege. And, although it had been ten days since the slaughter occurred, we could see tufts of human hair and spots of blood all over the ground in front of the fort.
Longstreet detached several small raiding par- ties to pillage the country around Knoxville, and the whole winter through they carried on a kind of an Indian warfare, doing considerable damage.
About the 12th of December we left Knoxville for the vicinity of Strawberry Plains, a station on the railroad, and where the railroad crossed the river, and about fifteen miles distant from Knox- ville. General Shackleford followed Longstreet's retreating army as far as Bean Station. The enemy turned on him and severe fighting took place. Our forces fell back as far as Tazewell. The Union loss was reported at 700, killed, wounded and prisoners; the rebel loss was 900. This took place on the 14th, and our brigade was ordered up
.
293
COLD NEW YEARS AT CLINCH MOUNTAIN.
as support for Shackleford. and got as far as Clinch Mountain, where we learned the fighting was over, and were halted and went into camp. We occupied this camp about a month, and was in this camp during the cold New Year's (the 1st day of January, 1864), which all the boys remember so well. Some of the boys of the regiment went on pieket duty the night before, and when they came in the next morning their clothes were frozen like sheets of ice on their persons. The storm started with a cold rain, then turned to sleet. We built a fire : while some of the boys would eut and others carry large logs and pile on this fire until we had a log-heap as high as one's head. and around this we would roast our shins, and while one side would scorch the other would freeze. But we got on pretty well until night came. Our tents, of course, had been left behind, and now, that the ground was covered with snow and sleet, and so cold that blood would almost freeze in the veins, how would we manage to sleep this night away, in the woods with only the trees for shelter? Well, I will not pretend to relate our experience that night, but will only say that I hope the reader will never be caught in like condition.
We broke camp about the 14th of January, and started for Dandridge, but before this we had made various trips out from Strawberry Plains, either as a scare, or for the purpose of surprising some for- aging parties that were constantly threatening Knoxville. We had been up to New Market once,
294
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
and then again up to Morristown, but had never been in a fight until we went to Dandridge, and while the regiment did not get into a fight here, some of the companies were thrown out on the skirmish line when we started retreat. On the 15th our division took the lead and advanced against Longstreet's Cavalry, then stationed at Dandridge. We drove them from the town, and supposed they had gone off, and we went into camp, but only to stay over night instead of the balance of the win- ter, as the boys supposed, for the next morning Longstreet's whole army was in our front, and al- though our division was joined by Sheridan's Di- vision and MeCook's Cavalry, it was not deemed safe to hazard a general engagement, but for two days there was brisk skirmishing, and late in the afternoon of the 18th there was a brisk conflict, mainly between McCook's Cavalry and Long- street's advance. Our own regiment was not en- gaged, but were badly scared, and kept up in ranks nicely on the retreat to the rear, and, for once, I think I can safely say that not a single man left the regiment to forage while on the march. Our whole army fell back to Strawberry Plains, crossed the river, and went into camp.
From here we struck back toward Knoxville, and on to Marysville, where we again went into camp. It was now about the last of January, and we lay in camp here until about the middle of February, when we again broke camp and started after Longstreet, who was near Strawberry Plains.
295
ORDERS TO VETERANIZE.
The Sixth boys did not very much like this retro- grade movement, but Grant had ordered Thomas to send to General Foster, who had been placed in command of our department, sufficient forces to drive Longstreet out of East Tennessee, and our likes and dislikes did not change the thing a bit. When they said " Go," we went.
But, fortunately for us, the movement against Longstreet was abandoned before an engagement. and again we turned our faces southward and ar- rived at Loudon about the 18th day of April.
But I should have said that when we started after Longstreet he retreated from Strawberry Plains to Bull's Gap, destroying bridges and his camp equipage. We went as far as Bean Station, some forty miles from Strawberry Plains, then back to the Plains, and then another trip above Morristown and back to the Plains, and then on to London, where we went into camp for a little rest. This last trip terminated our wanderings up in East Tennessee, and in all we traveled about 400 miles during the winter. The general health of the regiment was good all winter, and at this late day I ean think of no serious mishap that de- serves the reader's attention.
The general order to veteranize the soldiers whose time was about to expire created some little excitement in our regiment ; quite a number re- enlisted and some even started for home and got as far as Loudon, and were recalled to take part in the last expedition up above Knoxville after
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
Longstreet, but they had thoroughly cooled off before they could get away again, and simply re- fused to go. Consequently the Sixth Indiana did not veteranize. Wood's and Sheridan's divisions remained near Loudon until the 6th of April, when we broke camp and started, as we thought, for Chattanooga, but were halted at Cleveland, and again went into camp. The reason of this was that Longstreet had not yet left East Ten- nessee, and we were simply waiting to see what he did, and then, I suppose, be governed accord- ingly. We remained here at Cleveland until about some time- in the last week of April, when we again broke camp and struck out for Ringgold, where we arrived the 4th of May.
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