USA > Indiana > New history of the 99th Indiana Infantry : containing official reports, anecdotes, incidents, biographies and complete rolls > Part 11
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Interview With Colonel Fowler.
the conversation in substance in some cases, in others his exact words.
"Do you remember the officers of the regiment?"
"Yes. I find this to be true, there are many men that I remember, privates as well as officers, from some peculiar circumstances under which I met them at times, some incident on the march, or in camp, or in battle, brings up the name and appearance of the one engaged in it. Of course my connection was more directly with the officers, and my acquaintance was better on account of the official relations. In the army as in civil life there are men of more congenial tastes than others, and these will form their associations so that they will be-
come better acquainted. Adjutant McGlashon, Ser- geant-Major Brewer and yourself were in my mess, and I have always thought of you when I have thought of the old regiment. McGlashon and Brewer were both young men, not of age, but splendid officers, competent and faithful. Two men may be equal as soldiers, as gentlemen, and yet you will become more attached by association to one than the other. Now, the business of the commander is to not allow this friendship to sway him in official action. That was one thing I tried to avoid, but I can look back now and see in some cases where my friendship for a man led me to favor him, but I feel sure I never did a man an injustice because he was not particularly friendly with me. If I ever did so I do not believe there is an officer of the old regiment but had sense enongh to know that I did him no wrong in- tentionally. The private soldiers of the 99th were many of them the equals of their officers in education and intelligence."
I told him that many of the officers and men of the regiment had succeeded in life and were doing well, honored and respected by the communities in which they lived, when he said: "I know that must be true for they were many of them young, but of extremely good sense. If any class of men ever deserved to attain success, it is the men of the 99th for they were good soldiers. One
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of the strange things is the fact that there are some good men in the world who cannot stand up under fire. Of course these men are called cowardly, but a man who has never been under the fire of an enemy has no right to criticise them for he cannot judge, does not know what he would do under like circumstances himself, and a man who has been under fire will have a measure of sympa- thy for them. Two officers of the regiment came to me after a battle and told me they could not stand up under fire and I permitted them to resign, and I have always. been glad that I did, for they were good men and were willing to try, which many a man was unwilling to do. It is a fact also, that some men under the excitement of battle become what I call reckless. A brave man is wil- ling to risk his life in doing his duty, but he must also. not forfeit it unnecessarily. For instance, at the battle of Atlanta on July 22d, while the fight was going on I was riding my old white horse, which all the members. of the regiment will remember, and I found, by the way the bullets were coming, that I was becoming a conspicuous. target and so I dismounted for a time and went up and down the line on foot, leaving my horse in charge of an orderly. In the midst of the engagement I was near Colonel Greathouse, of the 48th Illinois Infantry, and as the enemy began to fall back after a repulse, he mounted the works brandishing his sword and calling on the en- emy to "come on, come on," in a challenging way, and in about a minute he was shot and killed. He made him- selt a target and took more risk than was necessary. He was a brave man and a splendid soldier, but his act was an impulse and not one of deliberate judgment-at least it seemed so to me at the time and seems so yet, as I look back upon it."
"It is the preparation, or waiting for battle, that is. the hardest is it not?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied, "a man sometimes suffers as much from anxiety as anything else. For instance, at the battle of Mission Ridge where we were holding the side of the hill, now called Sherman Heights, it was one of
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Interview With Colonel Fowler.
SERGEANT HENRY W. WISE, COMPANY C. 1900 (See page 163.)
the most exciting and anxious times to me I ever passed. We had a skirmish line in front and two men had been brought in dangerously wounded, and the wounded of General Corse's brigade on our left were brought by our regiment, among them the General himself. General Sherman's headquarters were just above us and a little to our left and I was there a good deal waiting orders. I could see the failure of Colonel Loomis' brigade on our right and Corse on the left, to reach the ridge, as well as the apparently hopeless task of attempting the ridge in our front, when he told me to hold my regiment in readiness to make the attempt, by moving out to the right. I went back and in a short time the order came
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to fall in and get ready. We did so and waited in sus- pense for some time; I do not know how long for time seems very slow on such an occasion. I knew what it meant to move-it meant a loss of one-third of the brave fellows of my command at least. Just as we were or- dered to move, the 90th Illinois, the regiment on our right, the left of the First brigade swung into the place in the valley below us and the order for us to charge was countermanded. The 90th Illinois made a brave but un- successful charge and the commander, the gallant Colonel Omeara, was killed and the regiment lost heavily in killed and wounded. When the sun went down that night it closed the longest day of my life, and yet I had been in no great danger, except from the shells which you remember generally went over our heads. It was the anxiety, the waiting that made it."
Here I ventured to ask, "Colonel, were you ever scared in a fight?" to which he responded:
"Yes, I was once. It was in Dallas when the enemy made a night attack. We were under orders to with- draw quietly when the attack commenced. It was very dark, and you could not see anything. Every cannon and musket in the whole confederate line was in use and the noise was terrific. I could not tell what was coming, or from where, and for a few minutes I was somewhat frightened. It seemed to me that what I couldn't see was more terrible than what I could see. I felt a good deal like what General Sherman once said about General Grant and himself. He said: 'Grant is the great general, he makes his plans and goes ahead, cares nothing for what he cannot see, while some things I cannot see at times scare me like h-1.' I was a good deal that way the night at Dallas."
"I would like to have you give me your impressions of the officers of the regiment now, after so many years," was the next request. He took them up one by one and said:
"Colonel DeHart was with us not quite a year, when he went home to take command of the 128th Indiana.
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Interview with Colonel Fowler
SERGEANT HENRY W. WISE, COMPANY C. 1862.
Born November 19, 1839, in Crawford county, Ohio; came to Lake county, Indiana, in 1849, and it has been his home ever since. Enlisted in Company C in August, 1862, and served through the war. From 1884 to 1887 belonged to Third Regt. Indiana Legion. Mar- ried Eliza C. Alyea December 25, 1867, and they have two sons and two daughters, the youngest being 22 years of age. His ancestry were Pennsylvania Dutch; his great grandfather, born in 1751, served in the Maryland cavalry during the Revolutionary war. His grandfather; born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1786, served in the war of 1812. Comrade Wise taught eight terms of school in his younger days, but his principal occupation has been that of brick and tile making. His regard for his old comrades and interest in their welfare is manifest at all times, and he attends all the reunions he can. The picture above shows him as he was in the army, while the one on page 161 shows him as he is now.
164 New History of the Ninety-Ninth Indiana Infantry.
He was a good commander, but his ideas and methods of discipline were so different from mine that we did not always harmonize thoroughly, but I have a kindly re- membrance of him yet.
"Colonel John M. Berkey, who I always think of as Major, the position he held so long, was with me until I left the service, and I always got along well with him. We were together a great deal, and I liked him and often favored him when I could. Speaking of the Major re- minds me of an incident that I laughed at him a great deal about. The 70th Ohio was a kind of brother regi- ment with ours, and they being from Ohio and the 99th from Indiana, there was quite a good-natured rivalry between them. Our bass drum had given out and I authorized the major to get a new bass drum, as he was the treasurer of the regimental fund. When he returned to camp with it, I was astonished to see an immense great drum, and said: 'Major, why in the world did you get such a large drum, no one man can handle it and we cannot afford to detail two men to carry it.' In a sort of apologetic way he said, 'Well, I went over and measured the bass drum of the 70th Ohio and we cannot afford to have a smaller drum than they have, so I bought this big one.' The hearty laugh at the major's expense by a number who heard his apology was such that he began to explain again, but they would not hear him."
"Captain Farrar, who was so long the captain of Company D, and colonel at the time of muster out of the regiment, was a man of good mind, a good officer and soldier, but not always a pleasant man to get along with. I always admired his pluck and determination and steady straightforward methods, and had confidence in him, even if I did not always agree with him. I heard that he once expressed his opinion of General Ewing (Hugh) to that officer's face in a very strong way, and I have always remembered him kindly for that. I am glad to know he yet lives.
"Captain Powell, of Company I, who became lieuten- ant-colonel on the muster out of the regiment, was a
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Interview with Colonel Fowler.
CORPORAL RODNEY JEGER, COMPANY C.
1900.
Born March 21, 1844, in Pennsylvania, parents moving the same year to near Brownsburg, Hendricks county, Indiana. Enlisted in August, 1862, and served in all the campaigns, being slightly wounded May 28, 1864, at. Dallas, but continued until the regiment reached East Point after the surrender of Atlanta, when he was taken sick and was sent back to the hospital at Nashville, and from there was furloughed home. Recovering, he was sent to Chatta- nooga and was on guard duty until toward spring, when he joined the regiment near Goldsboro, North Carolina, and was mustered out with the regiment. Married April 28, 1867, at Lizton, Indiana, and engaged in farming and merchandizing. In 1881 was elected treas- urer of Hendricks county, and filled the office with credit and satis- faction to the people. In 1889 he moved to Kokomo and engaged in the sale of buggies and farming implements. The same year he met with a serious accident, having his thigh crushed by the kick of a horse which caused him to go on crutches for four years and lamed him for life. Is now engaged in the farming implement trade at Elwood, Indiana.
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good man, one of the older men, who went through to the end of the service, He was always rather quiet, as I re- call him, disposed to do his duty without any flourish. I am pleased to hear that he is still alive.
"Major Homan, the young captain of Company H, I remember very well. He got in a tight place at Atlanta and with a few others was compelled to surrender. He was fortunate in getting exchanged in a short time, how- ever. I think he is one of the men who will make his way anywhere."
"By the way, Chaplain," he said, "Is Captain Gwin alive yet?" I told him of a visit I made to him at the time of the regimental reunion at Brookston, his home, two years ago, when he said, "I would like to see the old captain to see if he has my 'animiles' yet. When we were getting ready to leave Atlanta on the ‘march to the sea,' I received an order to carefully inspect my reg- iment and send back to Chattanooga all men who were not fitted for a long march, and if any of them were offi- cers to permit them to resign. The captain was one of the officers worn down by the long season's campaign, and I knew he was not fit for a long march in the winter. He felt that way himself and I had a fine jack and jen- ney that I had picked up, and so, I proposed in a joking way, that I would send him home if he would take these animals home with him and keep them until I came home. He was delighted with the idea and said, 'Colonel, I'll take them 'animiles' home sure.' I knew he could not do it, but he was in such dead earnest I concluded to let him try it. He got them as far as the Chattahoochie river where he left them, and so if I can see him I will ask him what he did with my 'animiles,' as he called them in his emphatic way.
.
"I was sorry when I heard of the death of Surgeon Butterworth and Quartermaster Cathcart. I knew the doctor and was acquainted with Cathcart's father before the war. The doctor was an even tempered, steady sort of a man, with a set way of doing things that sometimes
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Interview with Colonel Fowler.
amused me, though he was very good at detecting whether a man was really sick, or whether he was pre- tending to be in order to avoid some disagreeable duty, a thing soldiers would sometimes do. His first question was, 'What is the matter with you?' and when the sol- dier had given his idea of his case, the next was, 'Let me see your tongue.' He would then give them a remedy and turn to the next. I am indebted to the doctor for one favor, the first, and as I recall it, the only pair of silk stockings I ever wore. You know how they rushed us off, after the retreat of Bragg from Mission Ridge, to relieve Burnside at Knoxville. We had been for two months on the march from Memphis to Chattanooga, and I was entirely without socks except one pair, and they needed a good deal of darning to make them wearable, and I was not an expert at darning even if I had the materials. The doctor somehow got hold of a fine pair of silk stockings which he gave to me. I put them on and felt more comfortable, if not more proud.
"I remember well the hospital steward, Martin I. Whitman, in fact, all the field and staff non-commis- sioned officers, Sergeant-Major Brewer, Quartermaster- Sergeant Severance, Commissary-Sergeant Parks, and Drum-Major Spaulding. They were all good and faith- ful officers. I have learned since the war that a wrong was perhaps done to Sergeant Severance. He was sent back to Chattanooga after the return from following Hood, in charge of some stores, and did not return when he was ordered to do so, as the quartermaster reported to me, so he was reduced to the ranks, and William T. Tubbs, of Company D, appointed in his place. On our arrival at Savannah I found myself unable to ride my horse on account of weakness in my back, and so I accepted the offer of the government in general orders to muster out all officers who had served for more than three years, and I came home from Savannah, leaving the army, so I did not know at the time of the muster out whether he had ever given an excuse or not.
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New History of the Ninety- Ninth Indiana Infantry.
I then told him that Severance had always claimed to me that he was wrongfully reduced to the ranks, quoting him the statement of Severance to me:
"I was sent to Chattanooga on detail to take the surplus wagon train of our brigade there and turn them over and get proper receipts for them. Before I could succeed in doing this, all communications between Atlanta and Chattanooga were abandoned and I was com- pelled to remain there all winter under command of Captain Pinker- ton, of the 48th Illinois. We were sent to Bridgeport and had a sorry time of it until spring, when we were ordered to Washington where we met our command, and I to find I had been reduced to the ranks some four months before."
Telling him this I asked, "Do you know anything about it?" to which he responded, "Only what I have said before. If Severance did not get the order in time to return, as he says, before the regiment left Atlanta, I have no doubt he was improperly reduced and you ought to say so in the new history. Of course no blame can attach in any way to Sergeant Tubbs, who took his place, for he did his duty in obeying orders to take the office."
This led to a canvas of an event in the history of the regiment that was the cause of much speculation then and has been since. In the original history of the regi- ment on page 20, I say:
' Colonel Fowler and Lieutenant Mackey were arrested and court-martialed at this place for not preventing the destruction of the goods of some extortionate sutlers. Although beyond their power to prevent, and both sick at the time, through some instru- mentality, I know not what, Colonel Fowler was suspended from command one month and Lieutenant Mackey dismissed the service."
"Now," I said, "I would like your version of the matter."
"It is a very plain case and of course I remember it. I went, as you know, in your company, being quite sick, on the train to Iuka with the convalescents, while the regiment marched through. When we got to Iuka, some sutlers had managed, against orders, to get a large amount of goods there and were robbing the soldiers
169
Interview with Colonel Fowler.
SERGEANT DAVID STITT, COMPANY I. 1900.
Born March 22, 1843, in Athens county, Ohio. Served faithfully in Company I during the war, being promoted to corporal April 12, 1864, and to sergeant August 12, 1864. Three days afterward, Au- gust 15th, during the siege of Atlanta he was quite severely wounded, but recovered and served until muster of the regiment. He was married October 31, 1867, to Harriet A. Lee, and they have four children, Stella, Leonard, Bessie and Jesse. He has lived in Harrison township, Miami county, Indiana, since the war, and his occupation that of farming. Comrade Stitt is a true com- rade and always greets his comrades at reunions when he can. His address is North Grove, Indiana. In a letter dated May 19, 1900, he says: "I met Colonel DeHart the other day and had the pleasure of taking the old colonel by the hand and talking with him. He looks well and hearty but is getting gray like the rest of us."
170 New History of the Ninety-Ninth Indiana Infantry.
without mercy. I sent for one of them and told him his prices were outrageous, ten cents for an apple, and other things in proportion .. No change was made, and as there were several thousand soldiers there awaiting their commands, one night they began a raid on the sutlers, who came to me for a guard to protect them. I said, 'I have no guard and if I had I would never furnish one to protect a man who charges a soldier ten cents for an apple.' It was for saying that and refusing to apolo- gize for it that I was suspended from command. I learned afterward that some of the officers had some financial interest in the sutlers' stores and that was what made it go so hard with me. Poor Mackey! they found some of the goods under his cot where the boys had hid them for safety, and that was enough, he had to go. I cannot say that I have ever regretted what I did. I would say and do the same to-day when I had remon- strated with men for such egregious extortion. They were sowing to the wind and they had to reap the whirl- wind. I might have lost my place in the army, but I never could endure to see a mean advantage taken of soldiers without helping them rather than the men that did it."
He paused here and came back to the officers, saying: "I remember Captain Wells, of Company A, Captain Andis, of Company B, he lives not far from Fort Scott; the old Captain Ash, of Company E, and Captain Moore, his successor, Captain Cochran, of Company F, and the tall and short captains of Company G, the tall one having a peculiar name and the short one was Thomas, I believe. (Captain Worrell, of Company G, was the tall man). Captain Myers, of Company I, was a good officer, and so was Captain Julian, of Company K. When I hear the names I remember them better."
"How did you come to be appointed colonel of the 99th?"
"When the war broke out I was living in South Bend and as I had served as sergeant in the regular army for four years, I was about the only man in the town with
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Interview with Colonel Fowler.
any military experience, so I at once proceeded to or- ganize a company and telegraphed the fact to Governor Morton and asked for orders. I received orders to hold my company at South Bend for further orders. I knew that was an impossibility, so I started with my company by rail for Indianapolis. In the meantime our represen- tative in the legislature told Governor Morton that he needed such men as I was, and when I came my company was put into camp, and made a company of the 15th In- diana Infantry, one of the first three years' regiments organized. Shortly after we entered the service I was promoted to major and served as such with that regi- ment until the time of my appointment as coloned of the 99th. I was in the division of General Thomas J. Wood and my knowledge of military life attracted his atten- tion and we became friends. One day he received a let- ter from Governor Morton, telling him that he wanted an officer of experience to command one of the new regi- ments organizing in Indiana, and lie informed me that he had sent in my name as a suitable man. At the time I was not well, on account of being thrown from my horse on the pursuit of Bragg after his invasion of Kentucky. As the result, I was laid up for a week unable to do any- thing, and so, went back to Louisville to recuperate. While there I saw in the papers that I had been ap- pointed colonel of the 99th Indiana. I went at once to Indianapolis to see Governor Morton and find out what it meant. He said after I introduced the subject: 'Your commission is at the adjutant-general's office, you can go there and get it.' I did so, went back to my regiment and reported to General Wood, who said: 'I am sorry to see you go, but I suppose it is for the best.' I re- turned to Louisville and joined the 99th. One of those ludicrous things occurred as I rode up to the camp of the regiment. None of the men knew me and I had no insignia of rank upon me. They had been without any wood with which to cook their food and a promise had been made that the wood contractor would be there that day, and they were anxiously awaiting his coming.
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New History of the Ninety-Ninth Indiana. Infantry.
When I came up they mistook me for the contractor and the cry went up all over camp, the wood contractor had come. Such was my reception by the regiment, and when they came to understand their mistake some of the officers came to apologize for it, but I told them that was unnecessary, it was all right, and my first act would be to see that they had some wood, and I am glad to say it soon came."
In response to the question as to what he thought of the officers under whom he served, he said:
"Sherman was a great general, there is no doubt of that, and always had a purpose before him. I was im- pressed very much with the fact when we were in the pursuit of Hood. I was in command of the brigade and we were in the advance. We struck the rear guard of Hood's forces about 4 p. m. near Rome and in a most favorable position for an attack, but I could not bring on an engagement without orders, and learning that Sher- man was just a little way from me in the rear, I rode back to where he was and told him the situation and that we were tired of marching and ready for a fight and in a good position to begin it. 'All right, Colonel, but I do not care about fighting Hood here, all I want is to get rid of him, I will let Thomas take care of him, and I have another use for this army.' I said, 'General, what is that?' He said, 'Say nothing of it now, but you'll know in due time.' I found out what he meant when the march to the sea began.
"I think General Logan was a great corps com- mander. I shall never forget the way he gave the order to General Harrow at Atlanta July 22d. The enemy by some means got through our lines at the cut in the railroad and part of the division fell back. We were looking over the ground when Logan rode up and ad- dresing Harrow, said, 'What in h-1 did you let that line fall back for?' To which Harrow responded, 'I couldn't help it.' 'Retake the line, retake it, I say, retake it.' It was not long until the line was retaken.
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Interview with Colonel Fowler.
"The 'march to the sea,' which was my last campaign, could not be better described than it is in the old song, 'Marching Through Georgia.' Before we left, all the old wagons, both of ours and the Confederate army, were gathered up and piled in the great iron depot, as it was proposed to destroy everything that could be used by the enemy for transportation, by rail or wagon road. When this was done it was set on fire and a wonderful fire it made; when all the factories where anything in the way of army supples could be made, were fired also, it was a picture of the destruction that war causes that is as viv- idly before my mind to-day as thirty-five years ago. The state of Georgia at this time, was largely the supply ground of the Confederate army. The Confederate gov- ernment had limited the cotton to be planted on each plantation to ten acres, while the rest was planted in corn, hence it was a great granary and its destruction was a blow from which there was no opportunity to re- cuperate. Our instructions were to give each person on the plantation five bushels of corn and all the rest to be destroyed. Every mile of railroad was also destroyed. We were allowed only one wagon and two ambulances to the regiment. I was permitted to have two pack mules, but I took a good milch cow in place of one of them, and a negro led and fed that cow all the way, and my mess had milk, and it was a great help to us to have plenty of fresh milk every day. The old song as I say, told how we lived :
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