USA > Indiana > The Forty-Fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, history of its services in the war of the rebellion and a personal record of its members > Part 3
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I am, Colonel, your obedient servant,
HUGH B. REED,
Col. commanding #th Reg't Ind. Vols."
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FORT DONELSON.
The cool bravery of the commanding officer of the Regiment, in this his first battle, was the admiration and pride of the men. The great chieftain, General Grant, could not more coolly smoke his cigar, and give orders in the midst of the clash of armies, than did Colonel Reed in this conflict. At the moment of making the charge up the hill, so modestly referred to in his report, the Colonel dismounted, gave his horse in charge of an orderly, stepped to the front of his Regiment with a pistol in each hand, and called upon his men to "Come on." They promptly rushed forward, cheering loudly, and in connection with the Eighth Missouri on the right, under Colonel Morgan L. Smith, made the most brilliant charge of the battle. It was this charge that broke the line of the enemy, when he fled back to his entrench- ments, and it is believed discovered to him the necessity of immediate and unconditional surrender.
Sergeant Gordon relates, incidental to the second day's action, that some of the over-ranged projectiles from the rebel guns fell in the rear, and among the knapsacks of the Regiments, scattering them generally, and driving the guards to shelter. A cannon ball struck the base drum played by T. B. Totten, Co. F, who be- came quite excited over this unasked help in playing his drum. At night a detail from the Regiment was sent out to bring in the wounded, who, in the gloom and darkness, could only be found by their moans. Many, in their blood-drenched clothes, were found frozen to the ground. The wearied detail, about eight o'clock in the morning, heard a cry near the rebel picket line, but deemed it unsafe to go to the relief. Alexander Kin-
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FORT DONELSON.
mont, Co. F, who had charge of a detail of seven men, decided to attempt the relief of the unknown sufferer, and after some urging pursuaded his comrades to follow him. The wounded man was found almost inside the enemy's line, badly wounded, lying on his back, and his hair frozen to the earth. They cut him loose and brought him safely into hospital.
As illustrative of the valor of the citizens of northern Indiana, it may not be amiss to mention that James R. Devor, then a clerk for the Sutler of the Regiment, borrowed a musket, went into this battle " on his own hook," and fired some forty rounds at the enemy. Two years after he enlisted, and became a member of the Regiment.
Soon after the word came that the enemy had sur- rendered, General Grant and his staff rode by, and as he passed the head of the Regiment, he said to Colonel Reed, " Come along." The Colonel was not sure whether the order meant himself alone, or his command, but to be on the safe side he passed the word " for- ward" down the line ; and the Forty-fourth Regiment was the first to enter the town of Dover, and had the honor of receiving and stacking the guns of a number of rebel regiments.
The conduct of the Regiment in this battle elicited much applause at home. A public meeting was called at Fort Wayne, and Colerick's hall was filled to over- flowing. Hon. Lot S. Bayliss, who had been on a visit to the Regiment at the time of the battle, gave a de- scription of the part performed by the Forty-fourth,
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FORT DONELSON.
which was followed by resolutions highly complimentary of the officers and men engaged, making especial men- tion of their fellow-citizens, Colonel Reed, Chaplain Beeks, and Lieutenant Story, and of Major Stoughton and Surgeon Martin. At this meeting Mrs. Charles Case, President of the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society of the city, was presented a rebel flag, captured from a Virginia regiment, bearing upon it the words: " The Faulkner Guards. In God We Trust."
The killed and wounded of the Regiment in this battle were :
KILLED.
John C. Dee, Company C; the first to fall.
Daniel Lichten walter, Company B.
Marshall Kyle, Company B.
Isaac Graham, Company B.
Andrew J. Stillwell, Company E.
Nelson Parrott, Company E.
David Nelson, Company H.
WOUNDED.
Company A .- Orange Throop, John Ryan, Samuel Tinsley.
Company B .- John Cagen, Thomas Caldwell, Co- lumbus Crawford, William W. McCourtney, Joseph Kirkpatrick.
Company C .- Fred Stein, M. Drury, P. Hoban, Wil liam P. Hedges.
Company D .- D. McCord.
Company E .- Capt. William Cuppy, Henry Rhoades, Adam Barsh, William Hildebrand, Alexander Goff, Cary Primlott.
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FORT DONELSON.
Company F .- Solomon Kinsley, Samuel Jaques, Thomas O. Sloan.
Company HI .- Jacob Deeter, Daniel Bowers, James Longeor, William Starkey, Elias Holsinger, Hiram Pontius, Daniel Spero, William Crow.
Company I .- B. F. Layton, Lewis A. Money, Hiram Missler, Ambrose C. Lamb, A. P. Waterhouse.
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SHILOH.
CHAPTER VI.
FORT HENRY TO PITTSBURG LANDING .- SHILOH BATTLE.
IMMEDIATELY after the capture of Fort Donelson the . Forty-fourth moved with the advance across the country to Fort Henry, and then went into camp. While here, it, with the other regiments which constituted the origi- nal 13th brigade, and, in the recent conflict, the Ist brigade, 3d division, was now assigned to the 4th divis- ion, General S. A. Hulbert, and numbered the 4th, with Colonel Cruft in temporary command.
On the roth of March the army again broke camp, and boarding some sixty steamers and transports, pro- ceeded by a number of gunboats, moved up the Tennes- see river, making probable the most imposing display of river craft during the war. There was a halt of two or three days at Savannah, during which Companies G. and K came up and rejoined the Regiment. The fleet moved forward, to Pittsburg Landing, on the 15th, when the 4th brigade was the first infantry landed. General Hulbert's division went into camp on the Hamburg road, about one mile from the landing, the 4th brigade taking position on the left between the road and the river.
During the voyage up the Tennessee River, and while in camp here, the command suffered severely from diar- rhœa, which became so generally prevalent that hardly .
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SHILOHI.
a man in the Regiment was known to be entirely exempt from it. The praiseworthy ambition of a commander to make as good a show in numbers as possible, of men ready for duty, and the duty of the medical officers to protect the sick and disabled, will not always harmonize. The morning sick call, the detection of impostors, the excusing of the unfit from duty, always delicate and important duties on the part of the surgeons, became here more than usually embarrassing. The Colonel could make but a sorry show of men for duty. Not feeling sure that his medical officers were not too lenient towards the men, he sent one morning for the Assistant Surgeon who attended the sick call. and excused the men complaining in quarters, to inquire into the matter. The large number who had just been excused seemed to him unnecessarily large. The medical officer sug- gested that all who had reported at sick call that morn- ing, the excused and non-excused, be called back, and formed in line in front of the Colonel's quarters, and that he and the Chaplain, who was formerly a physi- cian, examine the men themselves. The suggestion was adopted, and the result was that the heart of the Colonel, who had a quick sympathy for the really suffering, was touched, and the excused list was somewhat enlarged, rather than diminished. Confidence in the medical officers was also increased, and never thereafter was their verdict of fit or unfit for duty called in question. The sick here were mainly treated in regimental hos- pital. A few were taken to the hospital boat, the Memphis, at the Landing. There died here, before the battle of Shiloh :
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SHILOH.
Andrew Oberlin, Co. F, March 26. William Bennett, Co. A, March 25. George Holsinger, Co. H, March 28. Augustus Coleman, Co. A, March 29. David McCord, Co. D, April 2. Alvin Danner, Co. B, April 6.
Richard Swain, Co. - , March 26, on hospital boat Memphis, and
William Bender, Co. B, April 6, while being carried to the landing from the hospital, during the battle.
Sunday morning, April 6th, 1862, opened as lovely and as beautiful as any sung of by the poets. No min- ister or priest seemed needed to direct the mind upward from nature to nature's God. 'The balmy air, the bright new foliage, glimmering in the rising sun, the gentle treble of the blue-birds in the overhanging boughs, seemed all-sufficient to awaken in the soul reverential regard for the Author of all beauty and all good. But the scene soon changed. The demons of war were let loose. The roar of musketry at the front announced the approach of an enemy. The frightened blue-birds ceased their loving twitter; the loveliness of nature around ceased to attract the attention of the soldier as he hurriedly gathered up his implements of war.
The command to "fall in " was speedily obeyed, and in a few minutes the whole effective force of the Regiment was in line with the brigade, marching to the front. While moving to this engagement the Regiment formed its first acquaintance.with its new brigade com- mander, who had been assigned to it only the day before -Brigadier-General Lauman. .
¢
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SHILOH.
For the part performed by the Regiment on this memorable occasion, we will first present the official re- port of Colonel Reed, made immediately after :
" HEADQUARTERS HTH INDIANA VOLUNTEERS,) Pittsburg, Tenn., April 9, 1862.
Brigadier-General J. G. Lauman, commanding Third Brigade, Fourth Divi- sion Army, West Line :
SIR :- I have the honor to submit the following re- port of the part taken by the 44th Regiment Indiana Volunteers in the actions of the 6th and 7th, near Pitts- burg, Tennessee :
We left our encampment about eight o'clock Sunday morning, with an effective force of 478 men, and marched forward to support General Prentiss' division, which had been attacked by the enemy. We had gone but a short distance when we met his men retreating in much confusion. We proceeded about one mile, and took position in line of battle in rear of a camp lately occupied by him. We formed our line under fire from the enemy's battery,-Colonel Cruft, 31st Indiana, on our right ; Lieutenant-Colonel Bristow, 25th Kentucky, and Colonel MeHenry, 17th Kentucky, on our left. I sent forward First-Lieutenant Wayne, Co. D, and First Lieutenant Barton, Co. B, each with a part of their respective companies, as skirmishers, in front of our line. They were soon driven in, and the whole line of the 44th and 31st Indiana furiously assaulted by the enemy, and as gallantly met, our men behaving in the coolest manner possible, loading and firing with the utmost rapidity ; and with so much zeal did they enter into it, that the officers had only to watch the fight as a matter of interest rather than of duty. The enemy was driven off with immense loss. They again rallied, and charged up to within a few rods of our line, and were again repulsed. You, General, were with us, and have
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SHILOH.
since gone over the ground so gallantly contested, and have witnessed how terribly destructive was our fire- the ground being literally strewn with their dead. But again they formed in column, and charged over an open field on our left, and in front of the 17th and 25th Ken- tucky, the gallant Colonel MeHenry commanding, who poured into their ranks a most terrible fire. I imme- diately wheeled two companies of my left wing to the left, and opened upon his flank ; his ranks were mown down at each fire, but he still pressed forward; and as bravely was he received. His front rank went down, leaving a line of dead across his front, when he retreated in good order.
This ending the engagement here, we were ordered to the support of the line on our left, about half a mile distant, which had fallen back. We took position on the left of, and supporting Willard's battery, which soon commeneed playing upon the enemy, and we were soon charged upon in large force; and here was the most hotly contested fight of the day, being in an open field, with the exception of a few seattering trees -- the enemy far outnumbering us, and fighting with desperate cour- age. The fire was fearfully severe, but our officers and men behaved with heroie bravery, never for a moment swerving from their position, pouring in their fire with the coolness of veterans, and driving the enemy before them ; but again and again, with fresh troops, they ad- vanced to the charge. Our ammunition being expended, a part of a regiment was ordered up by you, to take our place while our boxes were refilled. In a few minutes we again entered the fight, and charged forward far in advance of our former line. Our color-bearer and guard were either killed or wounded, at the same moment, and two other brave men in succession being shot down, and our flag riddled with balls, Lieutenant Newman, in command of Company H, bore it aloft, but soon fell
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SHILOH.
.
mortally wounded. It was again taken by our brave men, and carried to the front, both officers and men rallying with heroic energy to its support. Captain Murray, Company B, acting Captain George Weamer, and acting Lieutenant Warren Banta, Company E, fell mortally wounded. Lieutenant Kinmont, in command of Company F, and Captain Cosgrove, Company D, were severely wounded. Space will not permit mentioning many instances of personal bravery, nor is it necessary where all acted nobly. By this time our cartridges were again expended. You ordered up the 31st Indiana, which had occupied position as a reserve in our rear, to relieve us. We accordingly moved back in good order, and took position near a battery, by order of General Hulbert. The enemy, in tremendous force, drove back our lines, when we again changed position to the right, by order of General Hulbert. Soon after this you re- joined us, and at your suggestion I drew up in line across the road by which the enemy was advancing, and opened fire upon him. We were here entirely unsup- ported-our friends passing on. I moved my regiment by the right of companies to the rear, and retired by the flank to the battery on the hill in our rear, where we again formed in line in support of battery. The enemy made his attack on our left. A fierce contest ensued, in which some of our men were engaged. Night coming on, the enemy withdrew. We advanced our line 150 paces in front of the battery, and rested on our arms during the night.
On Monday morning we were relieved by fresh troops ; our men, worn out and drenched to the skin by the pelting storm (as General Hulbert knows, having spent the night with us), and having been twenty-four hours without food or rest, were given a few hours to prepare for the approaching battle. At about ten
SHILOH. 49
o'clock you again called us into line, the Forty-fourth on the right wing. Our brigade, sadly reduced in num- bers, but still ready for the fight, was put on march for the battle-field, and was led by you to the extreme right, to support General Sherman's division, where we arrived at a very opportune moment. We found the enemy charging upon and driving our forces to our left and front, over cleared ground, and used as drill ground by our troops. I immediately brought my regiment into line, and opened fire on the enemy. Our charge took them by surprise. They immediately retreated to the right and rear. Colonel MeHenry, bringing up the left wing of our brigade, charged forward into the thick- est of the fight. The enemy slowly retreated, returning our fire. Their battery also opened upon us. We pur- sued them over half a mile, but not knowing the posi- tion of our forces, I called a halt. At this moment, seeing General Sherman at a short distance, I rode to him and reported for orders-(having your horse shot under you, I was unable to find you at the moment). General Sherman ordered me not to advance further, but form our line where we were. Our men had become much scattered in the pursuit of the enemy, leaving us but a small force; and fresh regiments coming up to our support-amongst them the gallant 30th Indiana, Colonel Bass-the enemy were attacked with renewed energy, and after a fierce and bloody contest of half or three-quarters of an hour, were driven from the field.
During the fight of Sunday and Monday my regi- ment fired over 160 rounds of cartridges at the enemy. No men ever fought more bravely ; too high praise can not be given them. Captain Murray and First Lieuten- nnt Barton, Co. B, Lieutenant Newman, commanding Co. H, Captain Tannehill and Lieutenant Grund, Co. C, Captain Williams and Lieutenants Shoemaker and
.
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SHILOH.
Carey, Co. G, Captain Cosgrove and Lieutenant Wayne, Co. "D, Captain Aldrich and Lieutenants Wilson and Bennett, Co. K, Acting Captain George Weamer, Lieu- tenant McDonald and Acting Lieutenant Warren Banta, Co. E, Lieutenant Kinmont, commanding Co. F, and Acting Lieutenants Gansenhouser and Kinmont of same company, Lieutenant Hodges, in command of Co. I, and Lieutenant Curtiss, of same company, Lieutenant Burge Smith and Acting Lieutenant Ulum, Co. A, were all in the thickest of the fight, and no men ever fought more heroically, and justly deserve mention. I am greatly indebted to Lieutenant Colonel Stoughton for his valu- able aid; there is no braver man. He had his horse shot from under him, and was thrown with much force to the ground, in the fight on Monday ; and to Acting Major Heath, Captain of Co. 1, to whom too high praise cannot be given for his bravery and devotion to his duties. Adjutant Colgrove had his horse shot under him. Nor ought I to forget the bravery and devotion to their duties of our surgeons, Drs. Martin and Rerick. They were with the regiment at all times during the fight, caring for the wounded, and were exposed to the enemy's shot, and were both hit with balls. Lieutenants Wayne and John Frampton deserve mention for their devotion to our flag in Monday's fight. I cannot refrain from giving expression to my admiration, and bearing testimony to the noble and heroic manner in which General Hulbert and yourself exposed your lives in your constant and unwearied efforts. Each of you was at all times to be seen at your several posts, directing the battle. No General, in my opinion, ever conducted a fight with more ability, or displayed greater bravery.
Our loss in these engagements is 34 killed, 177 wound- ed, and one taken prisoner.
I am, General, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
HUGH B. REED, Col. commanding #th Ind. Vols."
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SHILOH.
We think the part performed by the Forty-fourth on the first day, at Shiloh, was never fully appre- ciated. The firmness of General Hulbert's division saved the day. General Lauman's brigade, of that division, held all the positions assigned it during the day, and did not retire until ordered, and the Forty- fourth was the last regiment to retire on the left of the army ; and the Colonel saw no pressing necessity to retire then, except the want of ammunition and sup- port. '
General Lauman, an Iowa man, in his report says :
" When I come to speak of the gallantry and brav- ery of the officers and men of my command, I find great difficulty in finding language strong enough to express my feelings on the subject, and can only say that they fought from morning until night like veter- ans. Well may Indiana and Kentucky be proud of them. They have added another bright page to their martial history ; and when all behaved so well, I find great difficulty in giving to each one the particular notice they so well earned. * * To Colonel Hugh B. Reed, of the 44th Indiana, I am under many obliga- tions, not only for his gallantry, but also for the valuable assistance he rendered me after my personal staff was disabled, in conveying orders to the different parts of the command."
General Hulbert, in his report, says of General Lau- man :
" I saw him hold the right of my line on Sunday with the small body of gallant men, only 1,717 strong, for three hours, and then change over to the left, repel H the attack of twice his force for a full hour of terrible fighting, closing by the most gallant and successful
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SHILOH.
charge, which gave him time to draw off his forces in order and comparative safety. His report renders full justice to his officers, among whom Colonel Reed, of the 44th Indiana, was especially distinguished."
The Colonel's conduct on the field richly merited these compliments, and much more. In consideration of his gallantry, President Lincoln sent in his name to the Senate for a Brigadier's commission, but it was accom- panied by so many others that the Senate failed to act upon all, his name among others. It would hardly be possible for a mortal to act more bravely in battle than he did. He was in the thickest of the fight on both days, had two horses killed under him, and had his clothing pierced with bullets in several places, but wonderfully escaped serious injury.
One of the immediate chroniclers of the war, a cor- respondent of the Philadelphia Press, after the battle, wrote that it was universally admitted that the Forty- fourth was the regiment at Pittsburgh Landing. Once when it made one of the brilliant stands against over- whelming odds, on Sunday, while companions fell back on either hand, a captain of one of the retiring com- panies of Wisconsin soldiers, said the Forty-fourth " fought like iron men-they wouldn't run." Perhaps that was the origin of the phrase, or it may have been a general thought-but however it came, it stuck, and for a long time the Regiment was known as the " Iron Forty-fourth."
" Early on Sunday morning," the writer continues, " Colonel Reed gave his men an order to 'fall and fire.' Simultaneously the enemy fired, and killed and
-
-
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SHILOH.
wounded some of the Indianians. The result of the fire from our side was of the most disastrous nature. The bushes were discovered to be in a blaze, and the groans of the rebel wounded were distressing, as the fact became apparent that they were perishing by fire. It is estimated that the last fire from our men, which consumed the bushes, killed twenty men, and seriously wounded a hundred, who were burned to death. One hundred and twenty of the rebels were buried in one grave in the vicinity. The bodies of nearly all of them were burned to a crisp. Another glorious stand was made by the same regiment, in an open field, against a brigade and a battery of the enemy. They killed nearly all the horses of the battery, and being joined by two more regiments, forced the enemy to retreat. At two o'clock the regiment was fighting a largely superior force. General Hulbert, who had been closely watch- ing the movements and efforts of the men, said to General Lauman : 'General, you will have to retire- you cannot hold your position.' Says General Lau- man : ' Did you ever see men fight so calmly and with so much effect before ?' The answer was ' No.' 'Do you order me to retire ?' 'No, you can do as you please ; but you certainly cannot hold your position.' Then said General Lauman : 'I shall fight.' And he did fight, and maintained his position until after four o'clock, and till the last cartridge was fired." These points, gathered up by the correspondent at the time, were no exaggerations.
When the brigade to which the Forty-fourth was attached was transferred from General Hulbert's divi- sion, he addressed Colonel Reed the following note :
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SHILOH.
" HEADQUARTERS ATII DIVISION, April 18, 1862. Colonel Reed :
COLONEL,-I cannot part with my late 3d Brigade without some expression of good feeling. I have had none but the most pleasant intercourse with the officers, and nothing but the most ready obedience from the men. Your gallantry and good conduet I have officially noticed, and I give up the Brigade with unmingled regret, but with the full assurance that you will keep your well won reputation. I do not think you can add to it.
Very truly, S. A. HULBERT,
Brig. General comind'g Ith Division."
The two medical officers of the Regiment, and the musicians, served both days on the field, dressing the wounded and sending them at once to the boats at the Landing, whence they were transported down the river to Savannah, Paducah, and other points where general hospitals were located. There were several remarkable recoveries. Lieutenant Jacob Newman, mentioned in Colonel Reed's report as mor- tally wounded, was shot in the abdomen, in front, the ball lodging beneath the skin on the back, from where it was removed by Surgeon Martin, on the field. He was not expected to live to reach the Landing, but he is living to-day, though still a sufferer from the wound. John Nelson, Co. H, was shot through the right lung, and reported dead by his company officers at the time, but recovered, returned to the Regiment, served out his time, and then re-enlisted as'a veteran. William Under- wood, Co. D, was struck in the head with a minie-ball, which penetrated the skull, and he was left dead, as was
1
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SHILOH.
supposed, on the field. He was afterwards found alive, and unknown to his company, had been carried to a hospital boat. He finally recovered, though a vacant space in his forehead, like that in an infant's skull, was left. This soldier afterwards re-enlisted in the 129th Indiana, and died of a slight flesh wound received in the Atlanta campaign.
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