USA > Indiana > Greene County > Vicksburg > Indiana. Vicksburg National Military Park Commission. Indiana at Vicksburg > Part 18
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During the campaign, from the time of leaving Paducah until this date, the regiment was attached to the 2d Brigade, 3d Division of the Army of the Tennessee.
Remaining on the battlefield of Shiloh until April 17th, the 23d. with the rest of the army, was moved forward to participate in the siege of Corinth, Mississippi, at which place it was attached to the right wing of the 13th Army Corps, which formed the reserve sta- tioned at Pea Ridge. But before the siege was raised, the regiment was detailed for outpost duty and, accompanied by the 9th Indiana Battery, moved to Bolivar, Tennessee, which forces for a consider- able period held that point, notwithstanding the continued annoy- ance of Confederate cavalry and guerillas. The command was re- inforced from time to time, until finally it reached the proportions of a division. under command-of Gen. Leonard F. Ross.
During the summer months spent at Bolivar, the regiment. with other portions of General Ross' Division, was engaged in a number of skirmishes, two or three expeditions to Purdy, which was in- fested with Confederate cavalry, and finally in the action at Purdy. on August 30th. In the meantime a number of small engagements occurred in the vicinity of Bolivar. mostly fought by the eavalry.
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but supported by infantry, of which the 23d contributed its full share.
On September 1. 1862, the regiment embarked by rail for Jack- son, Tennessee, en route to Inka, Mississippi, and participated in the battle at that place and the several skirmishes incident thereto. On September 19th it made a return march to Iuka and participated in a small way at the second battle of Corinth and the battle of Mat- amora. Returning to Bolivar, it marched to the Hatchee River on October 5th, and, while not reaching there in time for the heated portion of the engagement, was still in time to participate and ren- der valuable assistance in the routing and pursuit of the enemy.
Returning after the battle of the Hatchee River to Bolivar, which, by this time, was occupied by two divisions under command of General Hurlbut, the 23d remained until the organization of the 17th Army Corps, under command of Maj. Gen. James B. McPher- son, to which corps it was attached, remaining during the balance of the war.
During October the 23d, with a number of other regiments, made a forced march in pursuit of Ripley, during which time it accom- plished the marvelous feat of marching fifty-two miles in two days, going from and returning to Bolivar. After the concentration of the 17th Army Corps at La Grange, Tennessee, in the early part of November, it took up the line of march, participating in Grant's central Mississippi campaign toward Granada in his efforts to reach Vieksburg from that point-which, as is well known, failed because of Van Dorn's capture of Holly Springs. Mississippi, and the de- struction of supplies, which forced the abandonment of the expedi- tion and a return to Memphis.
On the return trip the regiment, having occupied for a few days Oxford, Mississippi, reached the Yocknapatafa River on Christmas Eve, 1862, at which time practically the whole command, and espe- cially that portion to which the 23d was attached, was without ra- tions. and for a period of nearly ten days was dependent for subsist- ence entirely upon a country through which two armies had already marched. That the supply of provisions was extremely limited will be realized when it is known that it became necessary to issue ordi- nary dry corn as the only ration, from which subsistence was prin- cipally derived by grinding the same into meal and also by popping it in ashes, which is very delightful to the children on a winter night. but it is not a food that is calculated to give strength or encourage- ment to a soldier in a hard campaign, nor at all appropriate as a
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"Christmas dinner." A variety, however, was secured in some instances by the use of what the soldiers designated as "nigger" beans, being field beans raised largely for the support of the slave field hands. Later, the railroad having been repaired to some ex- tent, supplies were received, and on January 10, 1863, the command marched to Colliersville, Tennessee. The period spent at Colliers- ville was extremely severe, because of the extraordinary cold and heavy snow, followed by thaws, which made the roads almost im- passable.
On January 20th the regiment took up its line of march to Mem- phis, Tennessee-not, however, in its full strength, for, because of the exhaustion growing out of the severe campaign, inadequate food and lack of shoes for a large number of men, fully 125 were com- pelled to move to that point by rail, being unable to march. On this trip, however, the men were encouraged by the prospect of se- enring a much needed rest after the ardnous marches through een- tral Mississippi, as well as clothing of all kinds, of which the troops were much in need, preparatory to the beginning of the campaign against Vicksburg.
At Memphis the army was fully recuperated and newly equipped, and on February 21st the regiment embarked by steamer for Lake Providence, Louisiana, at which point Grant was concen- trating his army for his combined assault on Vicksburg by the army and navy, from the front and rear. Colonel Sanderson was detached and left at Memphis in command of the troops at that point, and Lient. Col. W. P. Davis assumed command of the regi- ment. During the stay at Lake Providence the levees of the Mis- sissippi River were eut by command of General Grant and the sur- rounding country overflowed, as a protection from assault upon the army from the rear, which precaution proved wise and successful. This measure forced the command to move to a point of high ground a few miles above, locally known as Berry's Landing, where it remained during the concentration of troops. On April 17th it moved to Milliken's Bend.
Grant's effort to divert the channel of the Mississippi River having failed, he then decided to run the blockade of the Vicksburg batteries and carry his supplies and ammunition to a point below where the armies would concentrate, using the same boats after their arrival to transport the troops, which were then marching by land, across the river to a safe footing on the Vicksburg side.
The date for the running of the blockade was fixed for April 21st. Volunteers were called for to man these boats, and the 23d
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Indiana, being largely composed of steamboat men, volunteered in numbers far in excess of the demand. The steamer "J. W. Chees- man" was manned largely by members of the 23d, including the captain, pilot and a part of the engine-room crew, as well as many subordinates. In addition to that, a portion of the crew of the steamer "Horizon," which was severely injured by the batteries at Vicksburg, were members of the 23d Indiana. When it is consid- ered that these were simply the ordinary passenger boats, without any protection whatever except such as could be temporarily made by piling cotton bales around the boilers for safety against the enemy's shells, that the pilot houses were torn away entirely, and that the bulkheads (which shielded the engineers and crew from storm and weather, but were no protection from shot and shell) were entirely removed, so that the officers and men who manned the boats worked in the open, in plain view of the gunners who were firing at them, it will be understood that it required more than ordi- nary nerve for men to volunteer to fill such positions. And yet there were a hundred men still remaining in the 23d Indiana who bemoaned their fate when they learned that their services were not required and they must remain behind. It is true that the loss of life in the 23d in this instance was not great, yet it stood its full proportion of wounded and sustained one death.
On April 25th the regiment marched from Milliken's Bend to a point opposite Grand Gulf, a campaign lasting until April 30th ; was with the shore forces at the time of the terrific naval engage- ment at the latter point, and was actually in the engagement at Port Gibson on April 30th. It was now thoroughly launched into Grant's famous campaign in the rear of Vicksburg. On May 1st, the 23d was engaged in the battle of Thompson Hill, or Port Gib- son, losing one officer and nine men, which was followed on the 3d by a severe skirmish at Bayou Pierre.
Continuing the march towards Vicksburg, the enemy was again encountered in force on May 12th, at the town of Raymond, about thirty miles from the enemy's stronghold. In this engagement the 23d Indiana lost 127 officers and men in killed, wounded and miss- ing, the missing consisting of one officer and 23 men of the skirmish line, who were taken prisoners, the most severe engagement for the time occupied during the whole Vicksburg campaign. The regi- ment, having become detached from the main body, had marched into what was practically an ambush and alone met the onslaught of five Confederate regiments, two on one side and three on another, being almost entirely surrounded. But, notwithstanding this fact
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and the inability of the men to reload their guns after the first dis- charge, with fixed bayonets and clubbed muskets, they successfully emerged from what seemed to be an almost hopeless position, fell back to the main line, reformed, and continued in the engagement until its elose, near nightfall, when the command took up the pur- suit of the enemy in its flight towards Jackson. In this engagement the color-bearer was killed, but through the heroism of the second lieutenant of Company C, who rescued the flag and reached the rallying point, the regiment was reorganized without disorder, and without a single soldier continuing in the rear of the color line.
At Jackson the enemy was again overtaken on the morning of the 14th, where an open field battle was fought, lasting until late in the afternoon, but on account of the protected position the loss of the 23d in killed and wounded, of which the writer has no exact record, was comparatively small.
On the morning of the 15th the command retraced its steps towards Champion's Ilill, arriving on the field of that battle on the night of the 15th, and was the first regiment to come to the assist- ance of Hovey's division during the heat of the battle on the 16th. Although engaged from morning until nightfall, the 23d was fortu- nate in the loss of only 4 officers and 14 men, killed and wounded.
The enemy was pursued during the greater part of the night and was again overtaken at Black River on the 17th-the 23d. however, not reaching that point until after the enemy had been driven back towards Vicksburg. The latter point was reached on the 18th of May, the regiment participating in the assaults on the Confederate strongholds May 19th and 22d. During the latter engagement the 23d reached a position immediately at the base of the enemy's en- trenchments, and many of its members gained the top, led by Lieu- tenant Zulauf, of Company A, who met a gallant death at the very crest of the enemy's works.
The 23d Indiana, together with the 45th Illinois, held the posi- tion at the very base of the enemy's works, which was the center of the line, in Logan's Division on the White House road, until the surrender of Vicksburg, more than forty days later, during which time these two regiments constructed and exploded the mine under the particularly strong stronghold of the enemy, known as Fort Hill, and after the explosion, which occurred at 4:00 o'clock on the afternoon of June 25th, alternate details. of 100 each from these regiments occupied the crater caused by the discharge, from 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon until daylight the following morning. This engagement, because of the peculiarity of the situation, was
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conducted by the interchange of hand-grenades and six-pound shells thrown by hand, between our own troops and the enemy.
It was also a volunteer detail of Companies E and B of the 23d Indiana Regiment which, taking advantage of their position at the foot of the enemy's works, constructed the famous observation tower, so frequently written of and illustrated in publications of the time.
During the whole period of occupation of the position in front of the enemy's works, the regiment was, of course, without any pro- vision for shelter, and those immediately under the enemy's line; were not in position even to prepare their meals. Consequently it was necessary to dig zig-zag trenches for ingress and egress, and the food was prepared ontside of the location and carried back and forth under the protection of the friendly trenches. In the mean- time, not only that portion of the regiment immediately under the enemy's works, but the entire command, lived and slept in holes dug in the hillsides for that purpose, which served as a protection from the enemy's shells as well.
During the period of the investment of Vieksburg, independent of the battles in the approach thereto, the loss of the 23d Indiana was 5 officers and 50 men killed and wounded in the trenches. During the entire campaign, from the crossing of the Mississippi River, at Grand Gulch, to the surrender of Vicksburg, the total loss in killed, wounded and missing was 212.
When the troops entered Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 (although the surrender was practically on the 2d), the 23d Indiana and the 45th Illinois were designated, as a post of honor in reward for their services, as two of the few regiments to enter the city to receive the surrender, marching in by the well-known White House road. In the meantime, General McPherson having been promoted to com- mand the Army of the Tennessee, the 17th Corps was assigned to Gen. Frank P. Blair, of beloved memory, who was its commander until the close of the war. The regiment remained in camp within the Confederate fortifications at Vicksburg until August 28th, when it was selected, with three others, under command of Brigadier-Gen- eral Leggett, for the expedition across the State of Louisiana to Monroe, on the Ouachita River, for the purpose of ridding the eoun- try of guerillas that were then harassing the inhabitants and pre- venting their return to legitimate pursuits. Upon the return from this expedition it remained in camp at Vicksburg until October 12th, when it was again called upon to participate in the expedi- ton to Canton, Mississippi, and return, lasting until October 22d.
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for the purpose of destroying the railroad and equipment to pre- vent their use by the enemy in moving troops and supplies.
Returning to Vicksburg, winter quarters were established at Ilebron, a short distance from Vicksburg, and during the winter encampment the regiment re-enlisted "for three years more," or until the close of the war, though at that time the regiment was very much depleted in numbers. Having as yet received but few recruits, there were, according to the best records at hand, 280 odd of the enlisted men who re-enlisted, out of a total number of less than 500 then reported for duty, though a number of the members of the regiment not re-enlisting were before and at that time trans- ferred, at their own request, to the navy.
Returning again to Vicksburg, the 23d Indiana remained until February 3, 1864, when it accompanied Sherman on his raid to Meridian, Mississippi, accomplishing the destruction of the rail- road track, its equipment and supplies, the entire distance of more than one hundred miles east from Jackson to Meridian, thus depriv- ing the enemy of facilities to reach either Jackson or Vieksburg, to harrass Grant's and Sherman's armies encamping at or near those points.
In the latter part of March the regiment left Vicksburg on the regulation thirty-day veteran furlough and returned in a body, by steamboat up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, from Vicksburg to New Albany, the place of enlistment, at which point arms were stacked and equipment stored, and the members dispersed to their various homes for the enjoyment of a well-earned and much-needed rest.
At the expiration of the veteran furlough the men again re- ported for duty and moved directly from New Albany, by steamer, to Bird's Point, Missouri, where the regiment remained for a short time, receiving a considerable number of recruits. From that point it proceeded, on May 5, 1864, by steamboat up the Tennessee River to Pittsburgh Landing, marching through the old battlefield of Shiloh, via Huntsville, Alabama, to join the Army of the Tennes- see, then concentrating for the campaign against Atlanta, reaching Aekworth, Georgia, June 9th, where it was again attached to the 17th Army Corps, under Gen. Frank P. Blair.
During the many operations incident to the siege of Atlanta, the 23d participated in the engagements at Kenesaw Mountain and Busby Mountain, between June 9th and June 15th ; at Big Shanty, June 19th; the assault on Kenesaw Mountain, June 27th ; Niekajack Creek, July 4th, and engagements at the latter point, July 6th and
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8th. It also took part in the various engagements in the approach to the Chattahoochie River, July 8th to 12th ; at Decatur, July 19th ; the engagements at Leggett's Bald Hill. July 20th, and Peach Tree Creek, July 21st (where Gen. W. Q. Gresham, division commander, was seriously wounded and sueceeded by Gen. Giles A. Smith). and the battle of Atlanta, July 22d, which commeneed the actual siege of Atlanta, lasting from that date until September 2d, includ- ing the well-known engagement at Ezra Chapel, July 28th (which battle is frequently referred to as "Logan's Battle," that general having assumed command of the Army of the Tennessee after the death of General McPherson, on July 22d), and also participated in the heavy skirmishes about Utoy Creek, between August 5th and 7th. During the entire period, from July 22d to September 2d, the regiment, when not participating in the engagements named above, occupied the trenches and was under daily constant fire.
On July 27th and 29th (or within a few days thereof, as the discharge papers were received), the original officers of the regi- ment then remaining were all mustered out by reason of the expira- tion of their term of service, except only Capt. George S. Babbitt, who was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and assumed command of the regiment, and the writer, who had before been mustered in as adjutant. Vacancies were promptly filled, however, by promotion of non-commissioned offieers, selected by their respective companies. So that each company had a full complement of officers, but the vacancies in the field and staff were not filled and the regiment was without field officers other than the lieutenant-colonel and adjutant until the elose of the war, except by detail.
When Sherman made his flank movement, with the view of en- tieing the enemy out of the works at Atlanta, the command to which the 23d was attached moved on to Jonesboro and engaged in a heated battle at that point during the whole day of August 31st. During the heat of the battle at Jonesboro, the regiment moved from its position near the center of the line to the extreme right, to reinforce General Kilpatrick's cavalry, which was being hard pressed, and in this engagement the 23d was under a heavy fire from the Confederate batteries, occupying the rifle-pits of the enemy, from which it had been driven by the advance of the 23d.
From Jonesboro the regiment moved to Lovejoy Station, Sep- tember 2d, and on September 6th returned to Ackworth on outpost duty, until it joined in the pursuit of Hood into Alabama in a campaign lasting from October 3d to 26th, during which time it took part in the second engagement at Snake Creek Gap, October
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15th, having followed Hood's command almost to the Tennessee River, when a rightabout was made and Sherman returned to At- lanta for the purpose of making preparations for the famous March to the Sea.
During the period of preparation the 23d Indiana was en- camped at West Point, close to Atlanta, and with the rest of Sher- man's army commenced its March to the Sea November 15th, reach- ing Savannah on December 10th. During the march the regiment was actively engaged at the battle of the Oconee River, where, on November 24th and 25th, it was confronted by a heavy force of Wheeler's cavalry, and again encountered the same force at the Ogoochee River. December 7th and 8th, these two engagements causing the greatest delay and the heaviest fighting that Sherman's army confronted during the entire March to the Sea.
Arriving at Savannah on December 10th, the 23d Indiana par- ticipated in the siege, which lasted eleven days, during which time there was heavy firing all along the line, though fortunately the casualties were not great and the regiment suffered but slight loss, there being none killed and only a few of its members wounded. During the period of siege, however, as is well known, the troops suffered to a very considerable extent because of the lack of rations. Having trusted to foraging the country through which they had just passed for supplies, and none having reached the command on arrival at Savannah, the army was sorely pressed for provisions until the day following the evacuation, December 22d, when sup- plies were received in abundance from the vessels lying in the offing.
The command remained in camp around Savannah until the early part of January, 1865, when it again took up the line of march for the campaign through the Carolinas. The 23d moved by ves- sel from Savannah to Beaufort, South Carolina, and experienced its first and only voyage by salt water. After remaining at Beau- fort a few days. it took up the line of march northward, participat- ing in engagements at Pocotaligo, South Carolina, January 14th to 16th ; at Salkehatchie. February 3d to 5th; at South Edistoe River, February 9th; at North Edistce River, February 12th and 13th ; at Congaree Creek, February 15th, and reached Columbia, South Car- olina, February 16th, and remaining there until the 18th. was pres- ent at the burning of that city, many of its members assisting, un- organized, in the effort to suppress the conflagration.
Leaving Columbia, it proceeded north and took part in the cap- ture of Cheraw, March 2d and 3d. and practically alone captured Fayetteville. North Carolina, March 11th, having double-quicked
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for a distance of four miles to the relief of a detachment of Sher- man's Bummers, who had had the audacity to attack and attempt to capture the place unaided; and, but for the quick relief of the 23d Indiana, which was afterwards reinforced by other regiments, the original eaptors would have been forced to abandon it, and possibly a severe battle would have ensued to regain it.
Proceeding north, the regiment was engaged actively at the bat- tle of Bentonville, North Carolina, March 19th and 20th (with but a small casualty list), which was the last of the battles fought by Sherman's army, as no actual engagement occurred after that date. although it occupied Goldsborough, North Carolina, on the 23d of March.
So thus it will be seen that the 23d Indiana, which marched to the relief of Grant at Belmont in November, 1861, and actually engaged in the battle of Bentonville in March, 1865, can be truth- fully said to have engaged in Grant's first battle of the war and in Sherman's last, having, directly and indirectly, participated in forty-three engagements, large and small, exelusive of the forty days in the trenches at Vicksburg and the eighty-seven days before Atlanta, forty-two of which were actually spent in the trenches, every hour of which time was one of exposure to the shot and shell of the enemy.
At Goldsborough news was received of the fall of Richmond, and, with light hearts, the regiment started forth from that point. April 10th, to continue its march north with Sherman's army and assist, with these commands, in receiving the surrender of Johns- ton's army to Sherman, at Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 26, 1865, the glorious and befitting ending of an arduous campaign of almost four years.
Following the surrender, the regiment proceeded north by easy marches through Richmond and on to Washington, at which point it participated in the triumphal march of the concentrated armies of the United States through the streets of the capital and past the reviewing stands of the great commanders, whose ability and cour- age had brought to a successful ending the most wicked war that had occurred during the age of civilization; and only the presence of the great guiding mind of the loyal side of the conflict, whose thread of life had been snapped by the hand of an assassin, could have added to the joy and pride of this crowning occasion.
From Washington the 23d Indiana proceeded to Louisville, Ken- tucky, where, on the 23d of July, 1865, it was honorably discharged and mustered out of the service.
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