USA > Indiana > Reunion of the 9th regiment Indiana vet. vol. infantry association, 1892-1904 > Part 34
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many of your gallant comrades fell. At Stone River your brigade commander, Gen. Hazen, said, Your steadiness under fire was incredible.' At Chickamauga the story of your gallantry is a matter of your country's history.
"On the Atlanta campaign, for over one hundred days and nights, you were almost constantly under fire, and made a magnificent record as a highting regiment, and in the closing battles of Franklin and Nashville you behaved with conspicuous bravery. You met and fought as brave men as ever wore the Confederate uniform, in eleven States of the so-called Confederacy, and came back at the close of the war, in September, 1865, from Sheridan's army in Texas, to your homes, and, turning over your trusty rifles and your battle-scarred flags, quietly dropped back into the pursuits of peace.
"You will perecive, ladies and gentlemen, that I know something of the Ninth luciana, yet I must confess I was only generally familiar with the regiment and its record until, of late. I had occasion to investigate its brilliant and marvelous record. Comrades of the Ninth, what a splendid record is yours! You fought in thirty-two historic engage- ments, in the greatest war known to civilization. Your total enrollment of the regiment was 1,776; total casual- ties, 353; number killed or died from wounds received in battle, 131; died of disease, 222; wounded, 600; making your whole loss in killed, wounded in battle, and death from disease, over 950 men, or half of those borne on your rolls. At Shiloh your wounded numbered 153. at Stone River 87, and at Chickamauga 91; total wounded in these three great battles, 231, and 41 killed in these three battles.
"From your gallant commanders, Milroy, Blake and Suman, and others of your gallant comrades, I have re- ceived inspiration, and for whom I entertain the profound- est admiration, and for the gallant men who formed the rank and file of your regiment I certainly have deep re- spect, and we still have with us your gallant comrades, Kessler, Ephlin and Badger, and we have learned to love them. In conclusion permit me, comrades of the Ninth, to say that just so long as one of you lives, LaPorte will ever be proud to salute you with profound respect."
Comrade Ed Ephlin, Sr., Harry C. Ephlin and Joseph Brown, with fife and drums, rendered stirring war-time music in such a spirited and enlivening manner as to evoke the heartiest applause, and as the audience clamored for
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more, the trio responded with a hearty good will, again receiving a storm of plaudits from the veterans and audi- ence generally. An old comrade said: "Ah, Ed's himself again when he gets hold of that old fife."
In a spirit of generous rivalry the gray-haired comrades of Patton Post Quartette, consisting of Comrades Dan- iels, Cutler, Shannon and Beyers, sang with effect a pa- triotic air.
Comrade Byron A. Dunn of Company C was called by Gen. Suman to the platform, and introduced as one of the veterans of the Ninth who carried a gun, and was wounded in battle at Chickamauga, and at Nashville. Comrade Dun said:
In substance, that he first enlisted in the Second Michi- gan Cavalry, but was rejected and sent home on account of his youth; but he was not to be discouraged, and crossed the line over into Indiana, and was accepted as a recruit for the old Ninth, and at once started for the regi- ment at the front.
The first time he saw the regiment in action was at Shiloh, where, without experience or drill, he was given a musket and received his first introduction to the gory God of War. From thenceforward he was in all the en- gagements in which the Ninth participated, until he was badly wounded in the first day's battle at Nashville, Dec. 15, 1864, and the last sight he had of the grand old regi- ment it was charging the center of Hood's intrenched line, and though he could not go with his old comrades as in other fights, they got there just the same. When under Capt. Martin's orders I was carried back from the firing line at Nashville, with what was then believed to be a mor- tal wound, I recall how that grand old surgeon, Dr. Sher- man, of the Ninth, then, I think, acting division surgeon, recognized me and said: "Bors. be careful of him; he is one of our old Ninth boys." To my mind, boys, the rea- son the old Ninth was a good regiment was because we had good officers, who cared something for their comrades of the rank and file. Why should not our officers care for us? We were a splendid lot of young men. In my own company there were a number of bright, earnest young fellows, who made the best of soldiers; intelligent and patriotic, they were in fact ideal soldiers. Citizens of La- Porte, you have one such here with you. I refer to Sam
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Kessler. He was an excellent young soldier, and I am pleased to hear from so many of your people that he has made an admirable citizen. Few people of this generation appreciate the extent and severity of the civil war. Think of it, friends-we had a battle line nearly 1,500 miles long, and a battle was fought for every one of the 365 days in the four years of desperate fighting. Soldiers are some- timesaccused of exaggerating in speaking of the great war, and their experiences. It may be that some of their stories do seem a triffle incredible at this time; but for all that, it is hard to tell a story big enough to portray fully what the volunteers of the Union did and suffered for the sake of the old flag. Some of these good old gray-haired fathers and mothers who lived and suffered in those trying times have some idea of the magnitude of that war, and what it cost to maintain the Federal U'nion. Why, in some of the farming districts and villages of the North, almost the entire male population were in the war. And only the old men and the women and children were left at home. God only knows of the anxiety and the suffering of the dear ones we left at home. Boys, I think they sui- fered more than we ever did at the front. The awful an- guish that wrung the mother heart can never be told. As I said. God only knows how our loved ones at home suf- fered in that four years of death and dark despair. God bless our fathers and mothers for their love, loyalty and constancy!
Patton Post Quartette rendered another admirable selection, after which
REV. E. B. WIDGER.
responding to the call of Gen. Suman, said, "he was not a member of the Ninth or any other regiment but that an uncle had perished in Andersonville where so many noble souls had been tortured to death for loyalty to principle. I may say that as the son of a soldier who died of wounds received at Gettysburg, I have a kindly feeling for these men and all veterans of the Union. I came upon the field of action a little too late for service in the civil war, and [ managed to keep out of the fight with Spain, but when the old Ninth came into town to-day I joined it, and I am going to stick right with these old comrades, anyhow. till
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the banquet is over. (Laughter.) The speaker paid a glowing and eloquent tribute to the manhood and intense loyalty of the volunteer soldiers of the Union from '61 to '65, and extolled them for the hardships endured and sac- 1ifices made in behalf of home, country, civilization, and the right. American manhood has shown the world that in battling for freedom and right, the American soldier or sailor is invincible. To-day this Republic holds the proud position of leader of civilization, because of the intelligence faithfulness and fearlessness of her sons in the defense of right, liberty and humanity. In conclusion, Rev. Widger earnestly urged the veterans, as the miles in their last march were fast narrowing to a finish, to enlist in the army of the great Captain of Man's Salvation-Jesus ('hrist."
After another song by Patton Post Quartette, the Chairman introduced, as a comrade competent and well qualified to speak of the record of the regiment,
CAPG. D. B. McCONNELL.
Ladies, Gentlemen and Comrades:
I have been requested by the committee to tell the story of the regiment to this LaPorte audience, to the end that they may know how well the duty was performed to which they cheered us on, more than forty years ago, when we left this beautiful city, in response to urgent orders to go to the relief of Gen. Reynolds, who was reported to be in imminent peril in West Virginia. This will involve a repetition of a part that was said this morning, in the response to the very pleasing address of welcome from your mayor. But even repetition is urged, on the ground that coming back to LaPorte is like coming back home to the regiment, and they want the people to hear their story. The story of a regiment, told by one who was there always seems like boasting; and these campfires of the survivors of 1861 have been designated "places where soldiers get together to brag." True, they do tell big sto- ries of what soldiers did. But I here aver, my dear friends,
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the stories they tell are not more mary lous than the truth. I listened to an address a few months ago by an Army Chaplain who now stands high as a minister of the gospel in our Capitol City, who said, "Soldiers don't lie. The stories they tell are true. Nothing which they relate at these campfires is false. It occurred somewhere among some soldiers, during the course of that awful war. There may be some confusion as to the actors. The relator may have appropriated to himself the act of another, and may have told it so often that he has come to believe that he was an actor, but you are not to conclude that there was 10 actor, or that such an event did not occur, for I assert the most extravagant story told by a soldier at these camp- . fires had its counterpart in some actual occurrence with some soldier, or soldiers, somewhere during the great war." i endorse what the Chaplain said. What thought- less people call bragging among old soldiers is not boast- ing in its personal sense. All of pride there is in it is pride in our country and her institutions, in the patriotism of her people, and the steadfast valor of her soldiers. Each regi- ment and each individual, it may be, must tell its, or his, own story, that all may be told. It has always been a the- ory of mine that one thousand men were as good as any other thousand men, under like conditions, and achieve- ment only waited upon opportunity. If our regiment did more than another, it was because it had opportunity; if another did less than others, it was from lack of oppor- tunity. I attended a soldier picnic a few weeks ago. One feature of the day's doings was a march around the grounds by the old soldiers. After they were formed in line, it was suggested that the roll be called, that each so !- dier should respond to his name, and give the number of his regiment and his company. I was deeply moved by that roll call. Many in response gave the Eighty-seventh Indiana as their regiment, and my mind went back to that fateful Sabbath day on the field of Chickamauga, when Longstreet having broke through the center of our army, the whole right wing was driven back. The center was
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driven back until the fighting was a mile in the rear of our left. Only the right of the Kelly field line remained stead- fast. The extreme left was being rapidly driven back on its right. I was in a position to see our men driven back on our left until the Lafayette road in our rear was reached. It seemed that we who were holding that part of the Kelly field line which had not been driven were destined to be surrounded-when out from the timber in our rear came a general officer and his staff, closely followed by what seemed to be a brigade, which immediately ran for- ward into line, and attacked the enemy. And then I wit- nessed the battle scene of my life. For a while the con- tending forces seemed to pour their fire into the bosoms of their foes; then the Confederate line began to recede. For a while it would go back, and ours would follow up; then there would be a pause in the movement, but no pause in the fury of the contest. Then they would move back a little, and our men would press up; so back our men pushed them, back and back, until our line was re- stored, and our left was saved. I thought when I saw that general officer it was General Rosencrans. We thought him at that time invincible, and my hopes arose at sight of one I thought was he. But I was mistaken. It was a greater than he-it was "Pap Thomas," who that day so gloriously won the right to be known in history as the "Rock of Chickamauga." The troops who won that fight were Van der Veer's brigade, and in it was the Eighty- seventh Indiana, which upon that field lost more men than any other Indiana regiment lost in any single engage- ment during the war. And i never hear the Eighty-sev- enth Indiana mentioned that my mind does not go back to that great fight of that gallant regiment, and the bri- gade to which it belonged.
In that roll call soldiers from many other states re- sponded. I heard a soldier give his name and company, of a Pennsylvania regiment. Immediately there came to my mind the story of Major Peter Keenan and the Sev- enth Pennsylvania Cavalry at Chancellorsville. Stonewall
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Jackson had crushed the Union right, and his columns were pouring over our works, in hot pursuit of Howard's flee- ing men. Gen. Pleasanton had collected twenty guns, but had no time to load and fire them. On came the yelling foe, ten thousand of them. Major Keenan had about four hundred of the Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry waiting in line. Pleasanton, turning to him, said: "Major, you must charge these men." Major Keenan, after one glance at the oncoming thousands, where to charge with his little force, was to go to certain death, like the hero he was, with a sad smile, said, "General. I will do it." And he and his gallant four hundred charged, and the leader of that charge was literally impaled upon the bayonets of the foc. and he gave up his life for the five minutes time which his General needed. Glorious sacrifice! The five minutes' time needed to load and fire the twenty guns was gained, and the charging foes were literally blown from the muuz- zles of the cannon. As the roll call went on I heard the name of Henry Shaddinger of the First Minnesota called, and my heart leaped with pride at the recollection of the gallant performance of that regiment at Gettysburg. Han- cock was forming his lines on the dead run, to meet Long- street's onrushing thousands. His men were coming on the run, when the superb Hancock realized at a glance Longstreet would occupy the ground first. He must gain five minutes' time for his men to get up and get into posi- tion. The First Minnesota stood there with 263 men. Hancock said, pointing to the onrushing thousands of the enemy: "Col. Colville, do you see those colors? Charge there and take them." And he did charge with his handful of men, and did take the colors and hold them. In doing so he lost 82 per cent of his men, but he gained the few minutes of time needed by his chief, to form his lines, and hurl back the enemy. Gen. Hancock said, "I would have sent them in there had I known every man of them would be killed." The glory of it was in having men who would go at the command of their leader. The story of these great deeds of the war might be prolonged
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almost without limit. We will better appreciate them if we compare them with some of the vaunted events of the wars of Europe. The charge of the Six Hundred at Balaklava is the most conspicuous and much vaunted as the most gallant charge in the history of modern warfare. How sonorous it sounds!
"Cannon to the right of them, Cannon to the left of them, Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered; Into the jaws of death, Into the mouth of hell. Rode the Six Hundred!"
The world rang with praise over this great feat, and yet their loss was but 36 per cent; the First Minnesota lost 82 per cent. The Six Hundred accomplished nothing; the First Minnesota took the flag and kept it and gained the precious time which the Union line needed to form its lines, and possibly gained the battle.
We should try to appreciate the achievements of our gallant men. They are not surpassed by anything in the world's history. You will see, my friends, by what I have said that in telling of what the Ninth Indiana did, we do not do it in a spirit of vain boasting, nor with the pre- tense that we did more than others. We simply give you a plain and unvarnished story.
We left our camp at LaPorte about the 20th day of September, 1861. And on the 3d day of October we were in battle at Greenbrier, W. Va. With constant scouting and skirmishes in the interval, we finally attacked the enemy in his stronghold on Buffalo Mountain on the 12th day of December. We met with a bloody repulse, but we made such a fight as to cause the enemy to allow us to withdraw at our leisure.
We joined Nelson's Division of Buell's Army, at Nash- ville, in February, 1862, and the latter part of March we marched from Nashville to Savannah, Tenn., to join Gen. Grant at Pittsburg Landing. We reached Savannah on
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Saturday night, April 5th. On the morning of the 6th there came to us on the air sounds of the cannon at Pittsburg Landing, some miles away. The battle of Shi- loh was on. And we were ordered to the battlefield. It was noon before we could get through with the issue of rations and ammunition. Boats could not be obtained, so we marched-much of the way on "double quick." As we neared the landing we began to meet stragglers, who had swam the river, and who reported "the army cut to pieces." Ammen's Brigade was in advance of us, and was ferried over in time to close the fight for the day. When we reached the west side of the river we found every- thing in confusion. Fugitives everywhere, many in tears bewailing the loss of commanders, comrades, guns, and regiment. All night long we stood in column, called to attention every fifteen minutes and moved forward a short distance. It rained most of the night. As daylight came on we came into line and with Companies C and K as skirmishers advanced upon the enemy. It was more than a mile before we struck them, during which we were march- ing over the battlefield of the day before, with all its horrors. I have not time to describe it to you; men wounded the day before were lying out in the rain, having had no help. But we had sterner duties to perform, and marched on to encounter the horrors they had gone through the day before. When we first struck the enemy they opened fire upon us with artillery, and the battle was on. It will take too much time to describe the battle minutely, it will be sufficient to say that the skirmish line of the Ninth Indiana drove the enemy away from his guns, and for a short time had possession of two guns, when a brigade of the enemy coming up engaged us, and we were compelled to fall back to the line with the regiment. We left some wounded there. We then had a stand-up fight across an open field, which lasted for a long time. The enemy had artillery, but ours was not up with us yet, and we had only the rifle. After a while we drove the enemy off, and I took a detail and went after our wounded on
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the skirmish line. Hardly were they removed when the enemy reoccupied the ground. and the combat was con- tinued until about noon or a little later. We were then relieved upon the front line by the Sixth Kentucky. We left the line, which we had held all day, by a beautifully executed movement. There was a strip of lower ground behind our leit which was sheltered. Col. Moody retired our regiment to that spot by a right wheel of the entire regiment, by the right of companies, which brought us into column of companies on the desired ground, perpendicular to the line we had been fighting on. We then came by a left wheel into line, and laid down. We were down but a short time when the enemy opened a tremendous fire upon the Sixth Kentucky, both upon its front and right hank, and this fire broke them all up, and the Ninth In- diana sprang to its feet without orders, and rushed up to support the Kentuckians. The two regiments mingled in the utmost confusion. The tremendous fire poured into the struggling masses was most destructive. I saw men falling all around me. I saw three men all fall together shot. They fell in such a manner that for a time they supported one another, but all toppled over a little later. After a time, during which the mounted officers tried to restore order, it was observed in the meantime that the Forty-first Ohio was forming a line in the rear of us to charge the right, whence the enemy was approaching in force. The Ninth Indiana and Sixth Kentucky quickly joined the Forty-first and by a charge drove back the strong line of the enemy, which had approached to within forty paces of us. And we drove them a quarter of a mile back, punishing them as we had just been punished by them, capturing in the charge one piece of cannon, which we held. After that the Ninth was sent to the left, to sup- port Ammen's Brigade, where we were again brought into close contact with the enemy and suffered severely. While engaged here, the Colonel was ordered to take his regi- ment back. A short distance back he came upon some regiments of fresh troops which seemed to be going into
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column of regiments. And seeing a space open, the Colonel marched us into the space as part of the column. Soon Gen. Nelson galloped up, and shouted. "What regi- ment is this?" The answer being the Nineteenth Ohio, he shouted, "Nineteenth Ohio, forward, double quick, march!" and away it went. To the next he said, "What regiment?" The answer was the Tenth. Indiana. Again he said, "Tenth Indiana, forward, double quick, march!" To the next, "What regiment is this?" The answer was the Fourth Kentucky, and the command was, "Fourth Kentucy, forward, double quick, march!" and the Fourth Kentucky joined the charge all around the line with which Grant closed the battle. Turning to the next regiment he said, "What regiment is this?" The answer was the Ninth Indiana. Quick came the reply from Nelson: "The Ninth Indiana has done enough ; Colonel, march your men back." And with us that closed the battle of Shiloh. I have been particular in detail as to this battle for more than one rea- son. U'p to that battle Gen. Nelson had shown continued animosity toward the Ninth Indiana. On the march to Shiloh from Nashville, chickens, ducks and geese some- times, it is alleged, attempted to bite the men of the Ninth, and in self defense they sometimes confiscated these fero- cious birds. The General said men who would do such things would not fight. After Shiloh he called the Ninth Indiana his "bull-dogs."
And later, by bis orders, a handsome silk flag was pre- sented to the regiment, as a token of his appreciation of what he was pleased to call "the splendid service of the Ninth Indiana." The Ninth lost more men at Shiloh than any other Indiana regiment. I cannot give to later battles in which the Ninth was engaged so much time as I have in describing its behavior at Shiloh. It became noted in the Buel-Bragg campaign in Kentucky in 1862 as a regiment leading the pursuit, being always able to keep the enemy moving, making frequent captures of men and cannon. The training of the men in the wilds of Northern Indiana stood the men in good stead in this
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service, some of the marksmenship being astonishing for its accuracy at long distance. I have of late years become acquainted with Capt. A. C. Ford of the Thirty-first In- diana, who served on the staff of Gen. Cruft, who com- manded another brigade in our Division on that march. He told some gentlemen in my presence, "No regiment stood higher in the Division than the Ninth Indiana. It was famous. We always felt safe when the Ninth Indiana was in front." On the short campaign which included the battle of Stone River the Ninth was always in close contact with the enemy, and in the battle on the 31st of December, 1862, the regiment occupied the point in the line of battle, at the railroad, upon which part of the line the battle pivoted. It held the only point on the Union line from which the troops were not driven that day. Aye, more, it was the only regiment of the Union army which was not driven from its position that day. It camped at night where it went into battle in the morning. It repelled re- peated charges again and again upon its front; if often faced by the rear rank, and swung its (now) right out to repel attacks upon its left rear. All day it clung to that point in the line. While the hundred guns massed by the enemy at the Cowan House roared and thundered, in answer to the hundred guns which Rosencrans had massed upon the elevation in our rear. and the air was full of rushing and exploding shells. When the battle closed, the field between us and the Cowan House was covered with dead and wounded until it looked like a newly reaped field of grain. We point with much pride to the reports of the officers of our Brigade and Division containing mention of the Ninth Indiana. Of the part taken by the regiment in the Tullahoma Campaign, which culminated in the great battle of Chickamauga, I have no time now to speak in detail. At Chickamauga it was for two days in the very center of the whirlwind of battle. It has been awarded by the National Park Commission five positions at which it performed distinguished services, and a glance at the map of that great battle will show every one of them in the
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