USA > Indiana > History of the Sixth regiment Indiana volunteer infantry. Of both the three months' and three years' services.. > Part 8
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153
BRAGG FORCED TO FIGHT AT PERRYVILLE.
MeCook was to rally all his army, it was now in possession of the enemy in force. Thus it will be seen that we had not only failed to force Bragg into a fight at Bardstown, but had as signally failed to prevent the consolidation of his forces.
The other two corps of Buell's army, under Gil- bert and Crittenden, under the supposition that Bragg would give us a battle at Bardstown, were heading in that direction when Bragg evacuated the place. But when this was discovered they pushed on toward Perryville, after the retreating rebels, concentrating on Harrodsburg. Bragg, under the impression that only one corps of the Union army was moving toward Perryville, or- dered Polk to send sufficient force back to Perry- ville to crush and put it to rout, and then to hurry back to the assistance of Kirby Smith, whom he supposed was confronting the main part of the Union army then at Frankfort. This brought about the strange state of affairs of one rebel corps being sent to Perryville to confront two corps of the Union army, while two other corps of the rebel army were held near Harrodsburg to confront one corps of the Union army. Bragg, in sending troops to Perryville, led Buell to believe that he intended to concentrate his army at that point to give battle. Consequently Buell ordered MeCook to change his line of march to the right toward Perryville. This was done on the 7th, and forced Bragg to re-enforce the troops sent to Perryville. And thus a fight was forced on Bragg,
154
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
although he did everything in his power to pre- vent a general engagement. Of course, where he could jump on a small detached portion of the Union army, and force a surrender without a fight, like he did at Munfordsville, and as he thought he could do here at Perryville, he was not slow to improve the chance. But the fight at Perryville was a surprise to him, and had our troops been properly handled the whole rebel army could have been crushed or completely seat- tered and destroyed.
As soon as Bragg discovered that he was con- contending against Buell's whole army, he refused to fight and struek a quick retreat ; and right here again General Buell made the great mistake of his life. Had he pressed his advantages, even after the battle of Perryville was over, he again had the power to have entirely destroyed Bragg's army. It is claimed that it required a train forty miles long to carry the supplies Bragg captured while on this Kentucky raid. All this might have been saved to the Government, besides thousands of head of mules, cattle and hogs.
But let us return to the old Sixth, and see what she is doing. Fortunately our regiment escaped a close engagement at Perryville. The reader will remember that General Sill's Division on the 4th of October went into Frankfort on one side when Kirby Smith was going out on the other. Smith, while he intended to go to Harrodsburg, went by .
155
GENERAL SILL ORDERED TO MOVE AT ONCE.
way Versailles in order to make sure of the im- mense amount of supplies he had captured. At Versailles he ordered his supply trains on east and immediately crossed his army over the Kentucky River and struck the pike running from Frankfort to Lawrenceburg, near Salvisa, and from here moved south through Lawrenceburg on to Har- rodsburg. Our division moved on after Kirby Smith, taking the pike toward Lawrenceburg in- stead of Versailles.
When we reached Lawrenceburg, General Sill received orders to move at onee to Perryville and join the balance of the corps. Consequently we left the pike at Lawrenceburg and turned west toward Perryville. On the march, and while near a place called " Rough and Ready," our division was attacked by a part of Kirby Smith's forces, which were repulsed in good style, and the march continued and we arrived in Perryville on the 11th.
Bragg had been urged by leading Kentuckians in his command, and others, to undertake the campaign in Kentucky, with the promise of im- mense numbers of recruits and large quantities of supplies. He anticipated that his crossing would be hailed as that of a deliverer, and that the young men of the State would flock to his banners and fill up his army, so that he could attack Buell at any point. Bragg's entire command in Kentucky was estimated at thirty-tive to forty thousand. He anticipated enlisting twenty thousand recruits, and took arms to Kentucky for that number of
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
new troops. Buell's command, with his losses and the garrison at Nashville, was less than this, but at Louisville he received some twenty thousand new troops. The number of infantry recruits for Bragg's army was very small, for in his report made at Bryantsville, when he was preparing to leave the State, he utters this howl of despair : " With ample means to arm twenty thousand men, and a force with that to fully redeem the State,. we have not yet issued half the arms left us by casualties incident to the campaign."
It is true that Bragg added a few new recruits to his army on his raid through Kentucky, but it is just as true that a large number of men belong- ing to Kentucky regiments deserted his army when they learned that he was leaving the State. They returned to their State as they thought to fight for their homes, and were ready and willing to do it. But when they saw that Bragg refused to fight only when he was cornered, and his object seemed to be only plunder and pillage, they needed no one to tell them, when they saw the whole rebel army headed for Cumberland Gap, that it meant, so far as Kentucky was concerned, "Fare- well to my old Kentucky home," and under these circumstances thousands of the rank and file of his army bid him farewell and returned to their homes, never to be known again as rebel soldiers.
Buell did not leave Perryville until the 12th of October, four days after the battle. This gave
BRAGG ESCAPES THROUGH CUMBERLAND GAP. £ 157
Bragg time to concentrate all his army at Har- rodsburg. Bragg himself went to Harrodsburg on the 9th, taking with him the troops he had at the Perryville tight. The distance from Perryville to Harrodsburg is only ten, miles. Kirby Smith, who had gone to look after General Sill, arrived at Harrodsburg on the 10th, and on the 11th the whole rebel army, with its immense supplies. moved on toward Bryantsburg and Cumberland Gap, and on the evening of the 12th Buell got into Harrodsburg just in time to capture the sick and wounded of the rebel army. However, the pursuit was kept up and the rebel army pressed as closely as it was thought prudent by General Buell : but Bragg had got the start of him, and by burning the bridges in his rear, kept Buell in his rear until he finally made his escape through Cumberland Gap, and out of the State.
MeCook's Corps was halted at Crab Orchard, and the pursuit, so far as our corps was concerned, was at an end. We reached Crab Orchard on the 15th, and went into camp, to our great relief and satisfaction. We lay here about ten days, during which time we got rested and trimmed up and was again ready for the fray.
CHAPTER X.
GENERAL BUELL REMOVED.
General Rosecrans takes command-The Army of the Cumberland -Halleck's order not obeyed -Rosecrans starts for Nashville -We march 700 miles in 54 days-The soldier's life not all sunshine-Each Company has its funny man-Pretty g rls smile on us as we pass-Our Regiment misses the Perryville battle-Kirby Smith attacks us at Rough-and Ready-We go for him and he retreats-Our pursuit stopped and we go to Bowling Green-The whole army moves to Nashville-We make 72 miles in three days-We go into camp at Nashville, Nov. 9-Capt. Brown, C'o. K, goes foraging-His experience with a goat-Our Captain invites the Colonel to see him drill the Company.
General Buell left us here and went to Louisville, placing the army, for the time being, under the command of General Thomas. General Buell, be- lieving that Bragg intended to strike for Nashville, and if possible crush the garrison at that place be- fore it could be reinforced, on the 26th of October ordered General Thomas to at once put the army in motion for Bowling Green and Glasgow, prepar- atory to a movement to Nashville. MeCook's Corps moved by way of Stanford, Lebanon, Somerville and Cave City, and struck the Louisville & Nash- ville Railroad at Bowling Green, about the last day of October, where we received a fresh supply of rations, clothing, etc.
159
HALLECK'S ORDER NOT OBEYED.
It was about this time that General Buell's offi- cial head fell into Halleck's waste basket, and Major-General W. S. Rosecrans was placed in com- mand. The Army of the Ohio was also changed to the Army of the Cumberland. It was very un- fortunate for the country that General Halleck was ever made Secretary of War, just at this particular time at least, as he was totally nutit for the posi- tion only in times of profound peace. His actions at Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh, proved him wholly unfit to command an army in the field, and in fact totally void of that military genius necessary and so essential in the make-up of a military hero. He was nowhere near the equal of Grant, Sherman and Thomas, and indeed, Buell was, in my opinion, his superior in every respect. He first suggested and then peremptorily ordered Buell to press on after Bragg and follow him up through Cumberland Gap, and to move on up into East Tennessee, mak- ing his headquarters and base for supplies at Knox- ville, leaving Nashville and the small garrison in charge of it, wholly at the mercy of Bragg. With Buell np in East Tennessee, two hundred and forty miles away, Bragg had only to move onto Nash- ville and it and all it contained would have been his. This would have given him entire control of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, and would have virtually placed him in possession of all of Tennessee worth contending for, while Louisville, and in fact the whole of Kentucky, would have been an easy prey. For refusing to obey this
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HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
order General Buell lost his head, and General Rosecrans was placed in command of the Army of the Cumberland. This change occurred October 30, in compliance with General Order No. 168, War Department, dated October 24, 1862. This order gave General Rosecrans the command of the " De- partment of the Cumberland," which embraced that portion of Tennessee lying east of the Tennes- see River, with a prospective enlargement from such portions of Alabama and Georgia as his army might gain.
By the same order the troops of the department were designated as the " Fourteenth Army Corps." In a day or two after Rosecrans assumed com- mand, the concentration order by his predecessor was effected. Our corps was now at Bowling Green, also General Gilbert's, while Crittenden's was at Glasgow. Halleck still had East Tennessee on the brain, and as soon as Rosecrans took com- mand, ordered him to prepare his army at once for the campaign, and proceed immediately into East Tennessee. It is sufficient to say that the order was treated as the idea of a crank by Rose- crans, just as it had been by General Buell, and not executed by either one of them, but instead, prepa- rations were at once made to carry out the plans of General Buell, by moving the army to Nash- ville. The veteran portion of the army needed rest and re-equipment, and the new regiments needed discipline, but the activity of the enemy
161
ROSECRANS STARTS FOR NASHVILLE.
gave no time for the recuperation of the one por- tion, or the training of the other. The purposes of General Bragg were not at once revealed, but the conjectured advance of his army toward Nash- ville was almost immediately indicated with cer- tainty by the appearance of his forces at Murfrees- boro. As, therefore, Nashville was in danger from the advance of the army withdrawn from Ken- tucky, conjoined with Breckenridge's force, there was reason to fear that General Negley would be compelled to surrender unless speedily reinforced. To prevent this, General Rosecrans ordered an ad- vance to that city on the 4th of November. Gen- eral MeCook then moved from Bowling Green through Franklin, Mitchellsville and Tyree Springs, and reached Nashville on the morning of the 9th. making a march of seventy-two miles in about three days.
But, my dear old comrades of the Sixth, I fear you will conclude that I have lost sight of our dear old regiment, and now let us halt here at Nash- ville for a moment and see where we have been. and what we have been doing since we left this same place just fifty-four days ago. During this short period we have marched nearly seven hun- dred miles, and that, too, in the hottest and driest season of the year. We have been compelled to go for days and days without changing our cloth- ing, and many times not even afforded an oppor- tunity of removing the hot, dirty and sweaty clothing when we stretched ourselves upon the
11
162
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
steaming hot ground, for sleep and rest, at night. We have traveled for miles, and miles, with the scorching hot sun beaming down upon us, with the dust so thick we could scarcely breathe, and been compelled to drink the lukewarm water from our canteens, when our throats were already scorched with heat and thirst. We have feasted many times on the dirty, dust-covered crackers and salt bacon, carried in our haversacks perhaps for forty-eight hours. During this fifty-four days our beds have been spread in the open air, while on very many occasions this same bed consisted of the blessed bare ground, with the blue sky for a covering. This was not only a very cheap bed, but a very convenient one, for no matter where we stopped, we always had plenty of the same ma- terial to make a new bed, and it saved us the trouble of carrying our beds with us, and then, you know, boys, it's not good for one's health to change beds very often. You remember all those boys who took a fenee furlough at Louisville came near dying with bad colds when they returned to the regiment, simply because they were foolish enough to sleep on a feather bed the night they were gone.
While the soldier's life is not all sunshine, it is far from being all clouds and storms. Nearly every company had its funny man, who was con- tinually getting off some joke, or making some odd expression, to make the boys laugh. This does a great deal toward driving away the blues,
163
PRETTY GIRLS SMILE ON US AS WE PASS.
or helping to while away the time, and then the boys will get a " rig" on some fellow in the com- pany, and they seem to take especial delight in whacking him over it until something else is sprung on some other fellow, and so it goes from day to day, and so the time is whiled away.
Our march from Louisville to Frankfort took us through a lovely country. It was worth a half a day's journey to see the bright, beautiful faces by the wayside, as they watched the Yankees go by. The smiles of the boys were not always made in vain. Neither were the kisses thrown at some pleasant face always lost, as they were nearly always caught and returned with a grace and smile that made the sender feel good all over.
The beautiful scenery along the splendid pike from Frankfort to Lawrenceburg is hard to beat in any country. The boys of the regiment were feeling pretty good on this march, as we had had some rest, and had generally changed clothing. We had also been having square meals for several days. We got along nicely over this part of our route until we heard the guns over at Perryville. This made me feel a little bad, but still all went well until Kirby Smith made a dash at us over there at Rough and Ready, and then for awhile I thought my time had come. but it seemed he only meant this for a seare, but our boys were not made that way, and he soon found it out.
Well, I will not travel over this ground any more. The old Sixth fared pretty well generally
164
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
all through this campaign. We had plenty to eat and not very much rapid marching to do. The hardest marching we did was from Bowling Green to Nashville, from the 4th to the 9th of November. Our regiment, while fortunate in meeting with no losses in action, is nevertheless several men short in numbers for duty from what we were when we left here fifty-four days ago. Take the army all through, however, and it may be stronger now than it was then, as we received 22,000 new re- eruits while at Louisville.
The advance of McCook and Crittenden relieved Nashville from siege, to the great disappointment of the enemy, who had several times in the last month arrogantly demanded its surrender. Gen- erals Nelson and Negley, who were the officers in command up until we arrived there, thought dif- ferent, and decided not to do so unless they had to do it. But when our corps and Crittenden's moved over and camped just south of Nashville, there were no more demands for surrender.
We remained here in camp from November 9th until about the 26th day of December. During this time the boys of the Sixth, as well as the whole army, fared well, and got a good rest. But our new General seemed to think that it would not hurt us to know how to drill, for company, regimental and brigade drill was the order of the day, while we underwent inspection every Sunday. The boys of the Sixth did get time, now and then between drill hours and picket duty. to slip out to some
165
GOAT MEAT AS A LUXURY.
old farmer's barnyard and capture a goat. I promised the boys that I would say nothing about these goats, but it won't make it any worse for the goat nor the boys either.
I can not tell why, but there were an unusual number of goats in the neighborhood of Nash- ville, and even after the ravages of both armies for several months previous, there still existed a considerable number. And they make pretty good meat, too, and indeed as a change from "sow- belly " it is a luxury. The boys kept talking to ine about fresh goat meat until they got my curiosity excited, and I asked them to give me a mess, as I would like to try it for myself. They said certainly, I could have all I wanted, but as the Captain and I messed together, how would I manage him. I told them that would be all right, I could manage him. So I saw Old John. the cook. and told him the boys would send me a mess of goat meat for dinner, and for him to cook it right nice and serve it for dinner, and not to say a word about it. When we went out to dinner the Captain was wonderfully tickled over the fresh meat, and of course the first question was, " where did you get it ?" and " what is it ?" A soldier don't consider it any sin to lie to each other when in camp, so I told him I had been down to market and bought it, and that they told me it was mut- ton. He ate it with a relish and said something about sending me to market every day. Soon after dinner I met one of the boys who asked me
166
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
how the Captain and myself liked the mess of goat. I told him, splendid; and also told him how I managed the Captain by lying to him, at the same time told him the Captain would find out all about it, and that I had just as well tell him the whole story. The real facts were that officers were under the most rigid orders as to pillaging, and they were held responsible for any members of their companies found outside of camp, and while they tried to be particular with the boys, they not only allowed them to forage some now and then, but broke over the lines themselves oc- casionally.
Well, this boy told me that at a certain planta- tion out about a mile and a half, there was a flock of goats penned up under a barn in a cellar, and that very few of the boys knew of them ; he pro- posed that I go down with him and buy a goat, and he would dress it, and we would go snucks. I told him it was a go, but proposed that we take the Captain along. " All right," he says, " see him and let's go this evening." I did so, and the Cap- tain was quick to take up with the idea, and the next ten minutes found us on the road for the plantation, which fortunately was inside of the picket lines. We soon made the trip and went at once to the house and told our business. The old lady at first denied having any goats, when our guide spoke up and asked whose goats those were under the barn. This made the old lady wilt, and she admitted that they were hers, and told the
167
CAPT. BROWN, OF CO. K, GOES FORAGING.
Captain he could have one for two dollars: the Captain proposed that I pay half of it, which I agreed to do ; when the goat was paid for, she told us how to get to them and away we went. Our man soon got the door open and while he went in to explore we stood guard ; after a short race and some racket here he came with a nice, fat spring kid : he came out and the door closed ; but the next thing, it must be killed and dressed right here in the barn lot, so in looking around for a suitable place, I spied an old sled just around the barn : on this the poor kid was placed and his throat cut : while the boy was doing the dressing the Captain and I were looking on. The kid was only about half dressed when I happened to look up and saw that the goats were all out, and that not over fifteen feet from the Captain and coming right up in his rear was a huge billy goat with head down and tail ereet. I yelled at the top of my voice. " look out!" The Captain, supposing the rebels were right on us, grabbed for his revolver, but be- fore he near got it out of his pocket, the old billy jumped up and handed him one just below the small of the back, which knocked him plump over the sled, boy, goat and all : abont this time I was on top of the barn-yard fence and looked back just in time to see the boy catch the full weight of the old billy in the side, which knocked him some less than a rod, but he got up running and he too was soon on the fence. The Captain was pretty badly hurt, aside from having his shins skinned
.
168
HISTORY OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT.
and one wrist badly sprained, and some how he had got his feet tangled in the sled and conse- quently was slow about getting up, but he suc- ceeded in extricating himself and got on his feet just in time to see the old billy backing out for another charge ; the Captain and billy both made the start about the same time. The Captain for the fence and billy for the Captain. It was a tight race and the Captain would have come out all right but he was pretty badly hurt, otherwise he would have cleared the fence at a bound, but he- caught the top rail with both hands and set one foot up a few rails, intending to spring, but this was too good a chance for old billy to lose, and he took the Captain another bump on the same spot he hit him before, and the poor fellow landed on the other side of the fence, striking on his head and shoulders and pulling two or three rails over on top of him. The poor man was badly hurt and we went to his relief (of course jumping down on the outside of the fence). An old darky heard the racket and came down to see what was the matter, and it was well for that old billy goat that the nigger got him under the barn and the door closed, before the Captain was able to stand on his feet. I prepared a seat for the Captain to rest while the boy finished dressing the kid. Everything ready the dressed kid was slipped into a sack, brought along for that purpose, and we started for camp; we went out in about thirty minutes, but I think it took us fully two hours to
169
COLONEL INVITED TO SEE COMPANY DRILL.
go back. It was quite a while before the Captain reported for duty, and it was over a year before any fellow dare in his presence say goat.
General Rosecrans, in order to make his army as efficient as possible, required company drill every day. Our Captain never could drill very well, but this did not excuse him. He was Cap- tain, and had command of the company, and he must drill it. So, one day, he took us out and be- gan to drill us in a large meadow. The Colonel got on his horse and rode out near by and watched us until he was satisfied, and the bugle blew the recall. In going out we passed through an open- ing in a stone fence just wide enough for a team to drive through. Our Captain thought he would show the Colonel what an expert he was in drill- ing. So he started his company across the meadow toward the gap in the stone wall. in line of battle. All went well until he got to the gap, and he could not think of the proper command to get them through the gap, and they kept on going until they were about to run into the fence. when the Captain yelled out halt; and waiting awhile, he gave the command, "break ranks and form on the other side."
CHAPTER XI.
THE ARMY REORGANIZED.
A general forward movement-Our Corps moves, Dec. 27, by way of Triune-We push the enemy toward Murfreesboro-The enemy contests every inch of ground-A running fight for 20 miles-Rosecrans builds fires to deceive the enemy-But they don't deceive-Our right completely crushed-Sixth Indiana on reserve-Stragglers our first knowledge of disaster-We, too, fall back with the retreating army-We are nearly cap- tured-We rally and repulse the enemy-We sleep on our arms in possession of the field-We win a victory the last day of the year -- A hard fight New Year's day-Bragg out-gener- aled-Bragg comes again the 2d of January-Fifty-eight pieces of artillery sweep him from the field-Col. Millet deals the death blow-Bragg mortified and discouraged-January 3 finds us masters of the field-Midnight of the 3d, Bragg's army in full retreat-We bury the dead, Sunday, January 4- Results of the battle, etc .- The Sixth Indiana and her losses- We move into Murfreesboro-Go into camp.
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