USA > Indiana > Greene County > Vicksburg > Indiana. Vicksburg National Military Park Commission. Indiana at Vicksburg > Part 17
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The Confederate officers were found sleeping in residences. The commotion awoke Colonel Vincent, in command, in time to make his escape through the woods in the darkness. This was all done so quietly that a courier, with dispatches from the general in com- mand, to Colonel Vincent, rode up to the house formerly occupied by the Confederates before a guard had been put out, and was captured by a number of the 16th Regiment, who, wet and cold. had taken possession of the house to warm themselves.
And, about the same time, two or three men of the 16th Regi- ment, having a disposition to be inquisitive, ventured out a short distance along a new road they discovered, and were captured by a picket post still remaining on duty, utterly oblivious of what had transpired, and were carried away to Tyler, Texas, as prisoners.
The 16th was actively engaged on April Sth at the battle of Sabine Crossroads, and the battle at Pleasant Hill the next day. In both engagements it suffered loss in killed and wounded, and in a charge made in the second day's battle it captured the flag and a number of the men of a Texas regiment.
During this expedition the regiment took part in fifteen engage- ments.
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INDIANA AT VICKSBURG.
On the return of this expedition the regiment was ordered to report to General Cameron, commanding the Lafourehe District of Louisiana, and was the only cavalry organization on that frontier doing active outpost duty. Here it remained on duty till ordered to report at New Orleans for muster out at the close of the war, where they were reviewed by General Grierson, who highly complimented the regiment for its appearance and faithful service.
The recruits belonging to the regiment whose terms had not ex- pired were transferred to the 13th Indiana Cavalry, and the old 16th, by order of General Canby, was mustered out of the service June 30, 1865, and proceeded to Indianapolis, where it arrived, July 10, 1865, with 365 officers and enlisted men, and it was enthusias- tically received, addressed by Governor Morton, General Hovey, and others.
The 16th lost in killed and mortally wounded three officers and 83 enlisted men, and 227 enlisted men by disease, making a total of 313 deaths, and very few of this three years' organization eseaped without wounds more or less serious.
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INDIANA
INDIANA
BTH INFANTRY
ATH HEARTAT
Monument of 18th Infantry.
(Monument Tablet Inscription.)
Ist BRIGADE 14th DIVISION 13th CORPS 18th INFANTRY
Colonel HENRY D. WASHBURN
Captain JONATHAN H. WILLIAMS
Engaged: Port Gibson, May 1; Champion's Hill, May 16; Big Black River Bridge, May 17; Assault, May 22; Sieze, May 23-July 4 Casualties: Killed 26, wounded 103, missing 1, total 130; Major John C. Jenks and Lieut. John L. Lowes mortally wounded.
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EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT INDIANA INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS.
The 18th Indiana Infantry was organized at Camp Morton, In- dianapolis, in the summer of 1861.
At a special session of the General Assembly of that year, pro- vision was made for organizing six regiments of state troops in addition to those accepted by the general government under call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men for three months.
When the next call of the President was issued, a portion of these state organizations entered service of the United States, but a number remained in the state service as parts of companies, and also many individuals from other regiments. These were all trans- ferred to Camp Morton and organized into battalions, designated as the 18th Indiana Infantry in part.
After a short sojourn in this camp, it was determined to dis- charge all of these troops except such as would enter service of the United States, and therefore the companies were recruited to the maximum number, and by addition of new companies arriving in camp the 18th was made up to a full regiment, and was mustered into service of the United States August 16, 1861.
Field and staff officers were mustered and commissioned as fol- lows :
Thomas Pattison, Aurora
Lieutenant-Colonel.
Henry D. Washburn, Newport.
DeWitt C. Thomas, Sale'n
Major.
Geore S. Marshall, Indianapolis.
Adjutant.
John H. Popp, Richmond
Quartermas'er.
George W. Ames, Greencastle.
Chaplain.
Samuel W. Peck, Washington
John W. Hitchcock, Terre Haute
. Assistant Surgeon.
Many of the field and staff off. ers resigned cr were promoted to higher rank and were duly succeeded by those next in rank, from time to time.
The following company officers were mustered in with the regi- ment :
Captain. 1st Lieutenant. Andrew P. Dauch'ers,
2d Lieutenant. Robert G. Cunningham.
Co. A. Jesse L. Holman,
Co. B. Samuel W. Short,
William S. Cooke,
Parker Pearson,
Co. C. John C. Jenks,
James A. Bell,
Jasper Nebeker.
Co. D. - Rinaldo R. Ruter,
William W. Shepherd,
William F. Davis.
Co. E. James R. Bryant,
George M. Harrold, George W. Kimb'e,
David E. Adams.
Co. G. John W. Jones,
James T. Howell,
Theophilus F. Morrisor.
Co. H. Wm. Stanley Charles,
Charles F. Johnson,
John Tilson.
Co. I. Jonathan H. Williams,
Co. K. Samuel Donalson,
Elijah N. Wines,
Michael Imhoff.
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Hiram W. Rooker.
James B. Black,
Silas A. Wadsworth.
Co. F. Peter C. Woods,
Colonel.
.Surgeon.
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INDIANA AT VICKSBURG.
Vacancies of commanding company officers occurred in all these companies, caused by promotion, fatalities in battle, death from wounds, sickness or resignations during the service, and promotions followed by worthy officers next in rank.
The next day after muster the regiment proceeded by rail and boat to St. Louis, Missouri, where it was camped for a time in Lafayette Park, named "Camp Jessie," in honor of the wife of General Fremont. From thence the regiment went by rail to Jef- ferson City, and on foot to Boonville, Missouri, where it embarked. with other Indiana troops, on boat and proceeded up the Missouri River to reinforce the besieged city of Lexington, but before it could reach that place our troops there had surrendered. After an adven- ture in rear of Glasgow, known as the "Paw Paw" fight, wherein the Union troops fired on each other in the dark, the whole force returned to Boonville.
During the fall and winter of 1861 and 1862 the regiment oceu- pied various camps in Missouri at and near what was then the ter- minus of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and in the autumn of 1861 went with Fremont to Springfield, and after he was superseded by General Hunter, returned to the railroad and participated in a campaign to and capture of Blackwater, where it, with other troops, captured a large body of recruits en route to join Confederate Gen- eral Price's army.
In the spring of 1862 the regiment took part in a general ad- vance, as ordered by the President, and took part in battles of Pea Ridge, Elk Horn and Lee Town. At the latter place it assisted in the recapture of the Peoria, Illinois, battery of artillery, which had been captured from the Union troops at Pea Ridge. Later in the spring the regiment marched to Batesville, Arkansas, where it re- mained in camp some time, and from thence it marched with other troops down the valley of White River to Clarendon, Arkansas, and from thence across to Helena, on the Mississippi River.
In the fall of 1862 the regiment returned up the river and spent the winter in south and central Missouri in severe campaigning. Early in the spring of 1863 the regiment embarked on boats at St. Genevieve, Missouri, and, proceeding down the Mississippi River, landed at Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, where it joined General Grant's army, being concentrated at this point for the campaign and final capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and was attached to the 14th Division of the 13th Army Corps. With these commands it participated in the flanking of Grand Gulf, under General Carr;
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EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT.
battle of Port Gibson, May 1, where the regiment captured a stand of colors from the enemy, and also the battle of Champion's Hill, May 16th ; Black River, 17th, and on the 18th of May arrived at, and was stationed in line of works besieging Confederate fortifica- tions in rear of the city of Vieksburg, where it actively participated until the fall and surrender of that stronghold, July 4, 1863.
During the assault of the Confederate fortifications, May 22d, the 18th gained and placed its colors on the enemy's works, where they remained for eight hours, but because of reinforcements of the enemy and heavy cross-fire on the regiment, it was unable to cap- ture and hold the works in its front. Immediately after the sur- render of Vicksburg the regiment, with other troops commanded by General Sherman, marched to Jaekson, Mississippi, where, after the evacuation of this place of Confederate General Johnston's force, the regiment returned to Vicksburg, and was soon thereafter trans- ferred to the Gulf Department, and proceeded by boat to New Orleans.
In this department the regiment first took part in the campaign of General Banks, in the fall of 1863, in the Teche country, in oper- ations in western Louisiana, from whence it returned to Atcha- falaya and from thence, on the 12th of November, embarked for Texas when, on the 17th of November, it engaged in the capture of a fort on Mustang Island, and on the 27th in the capture of Fort Esparanza.
January, 1864, the greater part of the regiment re-enlisted at Indianola, Texas, and started home on veteran furlough.
On arriving at or near Baton Rouge, the regiment disembarked to aid in defending the Union garrison of that place. After dis- persing the Confederate forces, who were organized for an attack, the regiment proceeded to Indiana, where. after its thirty days' furlough, it was ordered to Washington, D. C .. and joined the East- ern Army on the James. After short service at Bermuda Hundred and Deep Bottom, it returned to Washington and joined the 19th Army Corps, to which it had been attached. and with that corps took part in the campaign under General Sheridan of the Shenan- doah Valley, participating in battles of Opequon, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. In each of these engagements the regiment lost heav- ily in killed and wounded.
On the 6th of January, 1865, the regiment was ordered to Sa- vannah, Georgia, and reached that point by transports on the 16th, and was occupied for three months building fortifications. On the
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INDIANA AT VICKSBURG.
3d of May it was detached from General Grover's Division and or- dered to Augusta, Georgia, and was first to raise the stars and stripes on the old United States Arsenal at that place.
Returning to Savannah, the regiment was later transferred to the southern part of Georgia, where it remained until mustered out on August 28th, 1865, and, being ordered home to Indiana, it ar- rived September 17th and was publicly welcomed by state officials and its former colonel, II. D. Washburn, and in a few days was finally discharged from the service.
The regiment lost during service 5 officers and 68 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded, and one officer and 130 enlisted men by disease ; total, 204.
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DIDIANA
Monument of 23d Infantry.
(Monument Tablet Inscription.)
1st BRIGADE 3rd DIVISION 17th CORPS
23rd INFANTRY
Lieut. Col. WILLIAM P. DAVIS
Engaged: Port Gibson, May 1; Near North Fork of Bayou Pierre, May 3; Raymond, May 12; Champion's Hill, May 16; Assault, May 22; Siege, May 23-July 4. Casualties: Killed 31, wounded 157, missing 24, total 212, Lieut. Henry C. Dietz and Lieut. Christian C. Zulauf killed, Capt. William M. Darrough mortally wounded.
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TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT INDIANA INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS.
The 23d Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry was organized pursuant to an order of the Adjutant-General of the State, dated June 24, 1861, issued under the authority of the first call of the President for troops for three years' enlistment, although a num- ber of the companies had been recruiting for two or three weeks prior to that date, anticipating the call for additional troops. The regiments included in this call from the State of Indiana were the 19th to 28th, inclusive.
The companies of the 23d Indiana were assigned to rendezvous at the old fair grounds at New Albany, afterwards designated as "Camp Noble," from which point southern Indiana recruited and forwarded several other regiments during the continuance of the war. Companies A, B, C, F, HI and I were mustered into the serv- ice July 27th, and Companies D, E, J and K July 29, 1861, the en- tire regiment having been accepted on the latter date.
The following officers mustered in with the regiment :
FIELD AND STAFF.
William L. Sanderson
.Colonel.
DeWitt C. Anthony
Lieutenant-Colonel.
William P. Davis ..
Major.
Eugene Commandeur
. Adjutant.
Isaac P. Smith
Quartermaster.
John D. Rogers
Chaplain.
Thomas D. Austin
Surgeon.
Robert Kay
Assistant Surgeon.
COMPANY OFFICERS.
Captain.
1st Lieutenant.
2d Lieutenant.
Co. A. Frederick Pistorius,
Thomas Krementz,
William P. Orth.
Co. B. William W. Caldwell,
William M. Darrough,
Daniel Trotter.
Co. C. David C. Kay,
Marion W. Smith,
Hiram Murphy.
Co. D. George S. Babbitt,
John T. Gleason,
Madison M. Hurley.
Co. E. Thomas Clark,
John T. McQuiddy,
Lonis P. Berry.
Co. F. William P. Davis,
John S. Davis,
Harvey C. Moore.
Co. G. Alonzo Tubbs,
Lemuel C. Mahlon,
Conrad H. Hiner.
Co. H. William E. Abbott,
William H. Bullington,
George H. Kendrick.
Co. I. Henry C. Ferguson, Co. K. Vincent Kirk,
Benjamin F. Walter,
Joshua W. Custer.
Jerome Beers,
Silas E. Warden.
It was not until the 15th of August that the command left Camp Noble for the field, fully equipped, except as to arms. The first march from Camp Noble to the depot at Jeffersonville, a distance of about eight miles, where it embarked by rail for Indianapolis, was an extremely severe one, incident to the heavy knapsacks and per- sonal belongings with which the raw recruit was wont to equip hin-
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INDIANA AT VICKSBURG.
self-though he learned better later. The regiment arrived at In- dianapolis after midnight and dragged itself wearily to an already established camp, two miles from the station.
Late in the afternoon of the following day it commenced its journey by rail to St. Louis, where it arrived during the afternoon of August 17th, undergoing another weary march from the ferry to camp in Lafayette Park-these little insights into marching being profitable in giving the new soldiers a slight idea of what was to confront them during the four years that were to follow.
Within a few days the regiment was provided with arms and remained at St. Louis until September 9th, during which time every spare moment was devoted to instruction in the duty of the soldier; and that, coupled with the constant drill that they had received at Camp Noble, had so improved them as soldiers that as they marched from camp to the steamer to embark upon their first duty in the field, at Paducah, Kentucky, they no longer appeared as raw re- cruits, but bore themselves with the nonchalance of tried veterans.
Paducah was reached on September 11, 1861, at which point a brigade was organized under command of General Lew Wallace, consisting of the 23d and 11th Indiana and the 8th Missouri, and attached to the army under command of Gen. Charles F. Smith.
Paducah, while within the Union lines, was harassed to a great extent by guerillas, and the service was constant and warlike, picket duty was exacting and arduous during the winter, and night alarms were frequent and exciting, all of which, together with one or two small skirmishes with the guerillas, inured the men to the hard- ships of grim-visaged war, and placed the regiment in the list of seasoned troops.
On November 6th or 7th, the regiment was attached to the com- mand of Brigadier-General Payne, for a march to the relief of General Grant at the battle of Belmont, Missouri. Although not reaching that point in time to participate in the battle, the march was probably one of the most severe of the many in which the 23d participated. Leaving camp at Paducah about 7:00 o'clock in the morning, the march was continuons until after 9:00 the following morning, with only four or five short stops, not one of which ex- ceeded thirty minutes; but, even then, before reaching the battle- field, the command was turned to the rightabout and started back towards Paducah (the necessity for which is not apparent to the writer), and the march on the return trip was continued until past midnight. At that time, not yet having reached Paducah, Colonel
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TWENTY-THIRD INFANTRY.
Sanderson, in his devotion to his men, deliberately withdrew his regiment (then inside of our own lines) and went into camp, at the risk of court-martial for his action, although the balance of the command continued the mareh into Paducah, arriving about 6:00 o'clock the next morning. The 23d had marched continuously for forty-one hours without even time to cook a meal.
On this march the men learned from bitter experience the ne- cessity for lightening their burdens, and the line of march was strewn with heretofore treasured possessions-extra clothing, sur- plus bedding, fancy toilet articles, cooking utensils, anything and everything that would tend to make the way harder was thrown away, and when the regiment again reached the original camp at Paducah the personal belongings of the men had been reduced to the minimum, and gun, cartridge-box, blanket and haversack only re- mained.
Returning to Paducah the following morning, after the men had recuperated, the regiment remained until JJanuary 2, 1862, during which time fortifications were constructed, the 23d furnishing its full quota of men for the work. On January 2d, accompanying a division under Gen. Charles F. Smith, it took up the line of march for a reconnaissance in force that was to develop the Confederate fortifications on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, convoyed by the gunboat "Conistoga," skirting the south bank of the Tennes- see. Having located Fort Henry, on the north, and Fort Hieman, on the south bank of the Tennessee (which resulted also in fixing the location of Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland) with the sole intention of developing the fact that these forts were garrisoned, shots were exchanged by the "Conistoga" with Fort Henry, while the infantry made a slight attack on Fort Hieman, retired at once and took up the line of march for the return trip, arriving at Pa- ducah on the 14th.
Little mention has ever been made in history of this particular campaign, which was one of exceeding hardship, on account of the rise in the bayous and streams, incident to what is known as the "January thaw." The troops were compelled to ford numerous streams, often more than waist deep, and wagons and artillery were buried in the mud and swamped in the streams to an extent that compelled the infantry, at all times, to furnish assistance in order that the wagon trains and artillery might be moved at all; and in several instances guns and wagons were entirely dismantled and dragged piecemeal through the seas of mud and mire. While the
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INDIANA AT VICKSBURG.
entire distance going and returning was scarcely 150 miles, yet it required the greatest effort, constant labor and much suffering to complete the journey in twelve days.
Returning to Paducah, the command embarked on steamers, February 2d, for the now famous campaign of General Grant against Forts Henry and Donelson, where he earned the sobriquet of "Unconditional Surrender Grant." Proceeding up the Tennessee River, convoyed by the fleet under command of Commodore Foote, the troops disembarked at Camp Union, some five or six miles below Fort Henry, on the south side of the river, on the evening of the 5th. On the morning of the 6th the command marched up the south bank of the river and engaged and captured Fort Hieman, while the gunboats battered down the earthworks of Fort Henry, which unfurled the white flag of surrender early in the afternoon of the same day.
During the engagement at Fort Henry, Company B of the 23d Indiana was assigned to service on the gunboat "Essex," one of the heaviest vessels of the river navy, and incident to the cutting of a steam pipe, eaused by a shot from the enemy, a number of the men were killed and seriously injured, and Lieutenant Trotter, of Company B, was instantly killed.
The weather, in the interim between the fall of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, was extremely severe. Snow fell to the depth of six inches, freezing at night and thawing in the daytime, and the regiment was fortunate in not being pushed to the front at Fort Donelson, remaining on duty holding the ground that had been gained at Fort Henry and Fort Hieman. During a period of a week or more the regiment was absolutely without blankets or other protection than ordinary clothing, and the suffering was ex- tremely severe.
After the surrender of Fort Donelson, February 16th, on or about March 14th, the regiment again embarked on steamers and moved up the Tennessee River, on what is known as the Yellow Creek Expedition, a preliminary move to the concentration of forces at Pittsburgh Landing for what was afterward known as the battle of Shiloh. Stopping en route for a short interior expedition, the command under Gen. Lew Wallace, to which the 23d was at- taehed, returned to the steamers and disembarked therefrom at Crump's Landing, located some five miles below Pittsburgh Land- ing, about the 19th of March, and from that point, through one of the most terrifie rain and electric storms ever experienced, marched
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TWENTY-THIRD INFANTRY.
five or six miles into the interior to what is known as "Stony Lone- some."'
The 23d Indiana was the first regiment of the command to leave the steamers, and to the best of the writer's knowledge and belief was the first on the ground in the concentration of forces which afterwards participated in the battle of Shiloh-at least, it was positively the first on the ground of the command under Gen. Lew Wallace at Stony Lonesome, although it is possible that other regi- ments had disembarked at Pittsburgh Landing earlier in the day.
It was while at this point that the members of the 23d were com- pelled to discard the very handsome cadet gray uniform which the State had provided on their entering the service and assume the blue blouse and "camp-kettle" hat-very much to the chagrin of the boys, who had always been proud of their natty gray suits. Of course, the necessity for the change was fully appreciated, the Con- federates having by that time fully adopted the gray. This neces- sity, however, did little to soothe the feelings of the members of the regiment, who were particularly proud of the appearance of the 23d, which up to that date had been unexcelled, if equalled, by any regiment in the service.
Up to this time the 23d had not been engaged in the heated con- test of any severe battles, although it had had a campaign experi- ence in the way of arduous marches and a number of skirmishes, which cannot be mentioned in detail, had sustained losses by death and wounds and a depletion of ranks by sickness, and had experi- enced hardships and privations, which entitled it to be designated as a "veteran regiment." having had in all probability more field ex- perience than 75 per cent. of all the volunteer troops that were en- gaged in the battle of Shiloh.
The history of the battle of Shiloh, fought on April 6th and 7th, 1862, has been too frequently written and criticised to make it nec- essary for the writer to attempt any elaborate description of that memorable engagement, or to try to give any reasons why General Wallace's command did not reach the field of battle until near dark of the first day. Yet, neither the 23d Indiana nor any of General Wallace's command was idle during the period, as they were mareh- ing constantly and making every effort to reach the field, from 8:00 o'clock in the morning until nearly 6:00 at night. While an earlier hour of reaching the field undoubtedly would have brought de- cidedly different and possibly better results, the writer questions if their efforts were wasted or if it was not better, in the long run.
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INDIANA AT VICKSBURG.
that Wallace's veteran command should be on the ground and in condition for the second day's fight, rather than to have inevitably suffered severe losses in the first day's onslaught. However that may be, the record of Wallace's command on the second day should fully compensate for any errors of judgment that may have oe- curred on the first.
It was the 23d Regiment. supporting the 9th Indiana Battery. that opened the engagement on the extreme right at 5:00 o'clock on the morning of the 7th, and there was no period from that time in the morning until the command reached the point occupied by the skirmish line of the enemy on the first day, about 6:00 o'clock at night, that the regiment was not advancing and driving the enemy before it, excepting of course the intervals when the retreating Confederates made their determined stands and required sharp fighting to dislodge them. It is true that the loss of the 23d was not extremely heavy on this date, as compared with those of some other regiments, yet it was under heavy fire constantly, repulsed a vicious charge from a regiment of Texas cavalry, and closed the day with a loss of one officer and 51 men killed and wounded, which seems almost miraculous when one considers the opposition and the constant and heavy fire with which it was confronted.
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